During NC State’s Day of Giving, CCEE alumnus Rhett McLaughlin (BSCE 2000) and Link Neal (aka Rhett & Link), via their company, Mythical, established a full-ride, two-year scholarship. The scholarship, titled “The Rhett & Link Engineering Innovation Scholarship Fund,” will be available to third- and fourth-year engineering students who demonstrate commitment to innovation and creativity in engineering, sciences, the arts, entertainment or the intersection of these disciplines. One student will hold the scholarship for two years.

Rhett & Link met on the first day of first grade in detention after writing profanities on their desks and their teacher sentenced them to color pictures of mythical beasts. It was the start of a lifelong friendship filled with creativity and curiosity. Their friendship continued at NC State University where Rhett graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 2000 and Link graduated with a degree in industrial engineering in 2001.

Now, the “Internetainers,” who started on YouTube in 2006, deliver standout sketch comedy and interview celebrity guests for over 25 million YouTube fans. The two are featured on Forbes’ Top Creators List, included on Forbes’ Highest-Paid YouTube Stars List, are New York Times best-selling authors, have appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 10 times, and they won the ‘Show of the Year’ Streamy Awards in 2019 and 2022 for Good Mythical Morning.

Their entertainment empire, Mythical, is home to an array of digital-first comedy, variety, culinary and gaming shows that draw audiences comparable to their peers in broadcast and cable TV. Mythical has an enormous reach with its owned and operated YouTube channels amassing 31 million subscribers and 12 billion lifetime views, plus over 23 million followers across other social media platforms. Becoming the Internet’s version of late night, celebrity guests across Mythical shows include Tom Hanks, Post Malone, Jack Black, Amy Schumer, Daniel Radcliffe, Megan Fox, John Boyega, Madison Beer, and NCT Dream to name a few.

Rhett & Link define mythicality as “a desire to learn and do new things, an appreciation of originality, and a tendency to not take yourself too seriously.” The Rhett & Link Engineering Innovation Scholarship Fund will provide one student with the financial support to fearlessly pursue their own mythicality.