Getting Into the Groove - My First Months at NCCU by Titania Fisher....

Getting Into The Grove of Things:

Okay, so it’s been over a month now that I’ve been attending NCCU. Wow! Where did the time go?

It seems like it was just yesterday when I was driving around in circles looking for a parking space and praying I wouldn’t be late for my first class. Now as I sit in my office studying for midterms, I realize that we’re half way through this semester.

My first semester at NCCU has been a rocky one. Just when I thought I had my home life, school, and work down to a science, I received a email from my advisor stating I would have to meet with her once a week, go to two Lyceum programs, and write two reports. OMG! And I still have to do my community service hours!

Where am I going to find the time to do all of this and still keep up with my homework assignments? This means, I would have to live, sleep and eat NCCU. I must also give up Spring Break to complete the rest of my community service hours and write Lyceum papers. I can easily get discouraged from all of this, but instead, I draw the good out of it and use it as a stepping stone to get to the next level of achieving my goal.

Freshmen and Sophomores LEAD!

On Saturday, February 21, nine freshmen and sophomore students from NCCU attended the LEAD 2009 Conference at Meredith College. The conference theme was "Sustain Yourself, Sustain Your Environment." The conference displayed various innovative methods to be sustainable, to go "green," and to be considerate of sustainability during hard economic times.

The LEAD Conference is hosted by a college or university each year in North Carolina. It brings together students from around the state for a day of leadership development workshops!

The nine NCCU students presented a workshop about diversity, discrimination, and stereotypes and how it applies to leadership roles. It was a wonderful experience, and the students represented NCCU with tremendous professionalism and school spirit!

Most excitingly, the LEAD 2009 Conference ended with the announcement that LEAD 2010 will be hosted at North Carolina Central University.

All incoming freshmen will have the chance to attend the LEAD conference in February 2010 at NCCU to learn valuable leadership skills!

Students pictured are (left to right): Jamal Cuthbertson, Melony Ochieng, Adam Hendrick, Olivia Scott, CJ Thompson, Kimisha Falls, Audrey Barbee, Brian Merritt (advisor), and Brandon Hicks. Not pictured: Julie King, and Peggy Watson Alexander (advisor)

Keep reading....Many of these students are featured in the NCCU Freshman Year Blog!

Advice for Freshmen from Tatania Fisher.....

NAME: Titania Fisher

HOMETOWN: Stamford, Connecticut

FAVORITE CANDY: None, but my favorite color is purple :-)

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE NCCU: Because NCCU has an excellent Law Department


A Little About Me:

My name is Titania Fisher. I was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. I like reading, shopping, traveling, and spending time with my family. I’m a first semester transfer student at NCCU. I have and Associate Degree in Criminal Justice, and while attend NCCU, my major will be Criminal Justice with a minor of Psychology.

During my first semester at NCCU I've felt overwhelmed by trying to juggle working full-time and going to school. I learned very soon that I would have to put my social life on the back burner. I realized that going back to college wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. If I wanted to pass all my classes I would have to hit the books hard. I would have to stay focused and develop a routine, which would allow me to stay positive and not give up.

My life in general - Going back to school has made me feel better about myself, and I’ve met a lot of new people from all walks of life. My life is not too affected by my school work because I’m new to the area, and I don’t know that many people. So, I just focus on work and school.

One thing I wish I knew before starting college:
That I would have to fit community service into my already-busy schedule. (Community service hours are a requirement for NCCU student to complete each semester)

A few suggestions to prospective students:
Stay focused, manage you time, and ask questions!!!!

More from Karrehl Moore, NCCU Freshman.....

Lots of Work: Being a freshman I am often pressured with lots of work and as well as a lot of other things going on. Currently I am an Accounting major, a Conference Assistant for New Residence Hall I and II, and part of the election board and hall committee in New Res I.

My Major: I may only have one class in my major for now (Finite Math 1210), but I will have much more than that for my next year in college as a sophomore.

I will have taken almost all of my general education courses during my first and during the current, my second semester, of freshman year. If you choose a complex major, it is important to listen to and work with your advisor. Knowing that college isn't easy, any person new to a system must adjust his or herself to the way of doing things in college. For me I know things will become extremely hard soon enough considering that I am considering adding a second major.

To return to the Office of Orientation and First Year Experience website, please click here.

NCCU Athletics Update: Feature on Men's Basketball....

Incoming Freshmen....Are You Interested in NCCU Athletics?

Take a look at this video featured on the local television station, WNCN-TV 17 . It features the NCCU men's basketball team.

As our Athletics department makes a transition into Division I, many games will be played away from home! A response to a question regarding this transition was posted on the NCCU Athletics website-- http://www.nccueaglepride.com/ -- from the NCCU Athletic Director, Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree. See below:

Why do we have such a rigorous basketball travel schedule?
~Regina, Raleigh, N.C.

"I am so happy someone has finally asked this question. Due to our independent status right now, it is very difficult to schedule with teams who are conference members. If you notice that most schools start conference competition the beginning of January, thus the number of available dates these schools will have for non-conference games decreases significantly. Thus, we are left with very few open dates to schedule later in the season. Hence, all of our travel and the bulk of our schedule occurs during the months of November - January. Once we have been accepted for membership into a conference, our travel schedule will decrease."

Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree
NCCU Athletics Director

Photos courtesty of http://www.nccueaglepride.com/


To return to the Office of Orientation and First Year Experience website, please click here.

NCCU Freshman, Karrehl Moore, tells more....

My Activities on Campus: Knowing that I am a freshman in college and life as an athlete goes, I have held back on playing baseball for a year at least until things started to settle down.

Now, I did try out for the baseball team early in the fall, but it was not working out too well considering the committment it takes to remain on the team. I had all morning classes, homework, and baseball practice every day in the afternoon right after my last class. Because of this constant running around I got no sleep whatsoever. I may be a late-night person and like to be up at night, but when I need sleep I must NEED it because my body just shuts down.

Baseball at the time was just not working for me even though I know I love baseball and wanted to play it badly. Soon enough I made the personal decision to put it aside and get my academics straight first. The whole point of my story is to learn what you can and can't do alone and with other things as well. It is beneficial for you to decide what you really desire to do.

For the college life there is plenty of activity for everyone to get involved in. You must take it upon yourself to find out your interests and get involved. Other than that, just relaxing and hanging with friends in the residence hall is fun enough... but don't hang too much and fall behind. Just set boundaries for yourself and your peers.