A couple of days ago, I was able to attend the National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk. The Buddy walk established by the National Down Syndrome Society in 1995 to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. It has now become the premier advocacy event for Down syndrome. I attended the buddy walk with my sister and girlfriend, through their Master’s program at NCCU. There were so many people promoting the awareness of Down syndrome. Everybody was playing games, eating food, and having a good time. I was amazed at the musical selection. The first musical act was a group of drummers, some of the drummers had Down syndrome. They were really good, and very animated. It was cool seeing people come up and learn to play the drums after their performance. The next group of performers was a band. They had a Blues Clues feel. I really enjoyed watching the band interact with the children who were at the event. At one point, they had a dance-off. This little boy jumped in front of everybody and danced his heart out! I guess I don’t need to say that he won the dance-off. The actual walk took place at the end of the event.  Everyone walks around a track that is lined with posters of children with Down syndrome. This is where reality set in for me. As much fun as I had, I quickly realized how important it is to advocate for Down syndrome. According to the Buddy Walk website, buddywalk.org, since its creation in 1995, over 2,000,000 people have participated in a Buddy Walk world-wide. I challenge you to research Down syndrome, and join a Buddy Walk in your area. I promise you it will change your life.

Last Saturday I was inducted into NC-State’s oldest honor society. The Golden Chain Society was founded in 1926. Every year 12 rising seniors are inducted. Some links in the Golden Chain society include former Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., legendary basketball coach Everett Case, UNC System President Emeritus William C. Friday, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Henry Hugh Shelton and NC State’s Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Kay Yow. While at the ceremony, I was informed that acceptance into the Golden Chain Society is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a rising senior at NC-State University.

I was ecstatic to find out that I was accepted into such a prestigious honor society. To date, there are 1,069 links in the Golden Chain Society, and with my last name being York, I am currently the last link added; link number 1,069 lol. After receiving my link, I was able to reflect on these last couple of years at NC-State, and see how my hard work has paid off.

Coming in as a freshman, I never would have guessed that I would be inducted into such a society, but through God’s grace, hard work, and motivation from others, I am now link number 1,069. When coming to college,  make sure to stay focused on why you’re here. Have fun, Work hard, get involved, and find people who believe in you. Allow these people to feed into your life, and I guarantee that it will pay off down the road. You will accomplish things that you never thought were possible.

I went home a couple of weekends ago to go to one of my cousin’s basketball games. I had never been to a game quite like this one, and I had no idea what to expect. To my surprise, it was an intense and enjoyable experience.

The game that I am talking about is wheelchair basketball. About two years ago, my cousin was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome. To my understanding, this rare disorder of the nervous system paralyzes its victims, my cousin being one of them.  Everyday she is improving, coming from no movement in her arms and legs, to using a walker and shooting a basketball. I believe that in faith, she will soon be walking on her own again.

A couple of months ago, she decided to play wheelchair basketball. I remember pulling up in the parking lot of the gym, not knowing what to expect from the game. As I walked in, I was surprised. The two teams were warming up for the game. They were doing lay-up drills, making behind the back passes, shooting 3-pointers and foul shots, and doing everything that I would do in a basketball game. They showed me some AND1 moves I’d never seen before! Please believe, that they can, and will cross you over!!!

After the game started, the intensity level sky-rocketed. Everybody was into the game! The players were very physical, and were fouling each other, hard! By the end of the game I was in awe. I was amazed at the skill level of each and every one of the players. After the game (My cousin’s team won!!!) my cousin began to explain to me the amount of work that goes into wheelchair basketball, and how she had to get used to its style of play.  Now, whenever I come to town, my cousin can expect to have one more fan cheering her on at her games.

I believe that right before exams, almost every college student begins to stress a little bit.  Just hearing the word “exam” makes me cringe a little. The good thing is that NC State offers different types of stress relievers, such as free coffee and donuts in the library during exam week, and yoga classes to relax. This semester I decided to do my own stress relievers. These consisted of my study group and me renting out a class room and playing Rock Band on a HUGE projection screen for 4 hrs (taking place after our 3hr study sessions), going to sing karaoke with my sister and her friends, and going salsa dancing. By using all of these ingenuous techniques, I was able to relieve all of my stress, relax, and be totally confident in taking my exams. I would study early and make sure that I knew the material, and I would unwind by doing one of these three stress relievers. They must have worked because I did well on all of my exams! This is one thing that I learned in college. Stress only hinders your work, and your body. If you ever feel stressed, make sure to have a stress reliever prepared…or just go play rock band: Either one works!

Being a Chancellor’s Aide is, in my opinion, one of the greatest things an NCSU student can become. Not only do you get to hang out with the Chancellor, and all of his staff including the Vice Chancellors, and various Deans of colleges, but you also get to go to all of the football games and basketball games with a guaranteed ticket of admission. As a Chancellor’s Aide, I get to the sporting events 1 1/2 hrs early. We go to the Chancellor’s box and mingle with his guests. Our job is to make them feel comfortable. This is a great networking opportunity. We also get to eat the food in the box, which is delicious by the way. Just two days ago, at the State-Wake Forest game I met NC Senator Richard Burr while in the box. He was a cool guy. The Chancellor will also have guest performers at some of the games. We had NCSU’s Pack-a-Belles perform at the Wake game. They are one of our women’s acapella groups. While at this particular game, Dr. Stafford, our Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs took a couple of us to the rooftop of the football stadium to watch the game. The view was crazy! There are so many perks with being a Chancellor’s Aide. I feel that every student should at least apply to become one during their sophomore year.

Homecoming weekend was great. There were lots of games and activities taking place. We even had a concert with Common and N.E.R.D. which was great. A lot of my friends were pulled up on stage and were able to chill with Common and N.E.R.D. One thing that I participated in was called the Leader of the Pack. Leader of the Pack is NC-State’s way of choosing a homecoming king and queen. It differs from any other school because the main focus is not on a student’s popularity, but on their leadership, academic acheivement, and commitment to service in the community and NC-State. I went through the application and interview process and was one of three finalist for the males. As a finalist I had to campaign to get the student body to vote for me. I was also able to ride in the Homecoming parade, go to the Homecoming football game and eat in the Chancellor’s box, and go out on the field during half-time. They announced the winners on the field. Although I did not win, it was still a great experience. Even being considered a finalist was an honor. And although we did not win the football game, it was still a good one, lol. This was probably the best homecoming that I’ve participated in.

Hello everyone. This is my first post of the year. This post is going to be focused on my summer activities. I am starting with the summer because so much happened! So here we go!!!

During the summer, I was accepted into a program known as The Institute for Responsible Citizenship. This summer program selects 24 top African American students from around the US to take 3 classes and reside on Georgetown University. Going to various events and meeting multiple political icons, such as Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, Clarence Thomas, etc became a regular thing for us. Along with our classes and these events, we choose an internship in the DC area. The nice part was that if your internship was not paid, the Institute would give you a $3,000 stipend! I interned with TV One Television Network as the intern for the Office of the Presidents. I was able to form strong relationships with, not only my co-workers and other interns, but with the President/CEO of TV One, and all of the executives. They even invited me to attend the Democratic National Convention and help them shoot a live DNC after-show. I was able to go to Obama’s speech! Please check out the Pictures, because I met a lot of people in Denver. As you can see, I had a great summer. I hope that you all enjoy the pics!

Why did you choose to attend NC State?

I have always had it in my heart to attend NC-State. NC-State was the only college that I applied to after graduating high school. I had no interest in any other schools because I knew that this school would meet all of my social and academic needs. My sister also was a factor in my choosing NC-State. She will be graduating from NC-State in CHASS this May. I was able to view how her life had been, and still is being benefited from attending NC-State, and realize that I could also gain this benefit.
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