This summer I will be taking 9 hours over the two summer sessions, I will work with admissions, and I will be working somewhere else around Raleigh. You can expect that I will be posting about NC State things! Follow me on twitter @NCSU_john – See you in the fall for another year!

Jammin'

Intern Hangin'

'sup?

Marcus and Brittney

Michelle and Brittney!

Brittney and I, complete with a cheesy smile!

We're pretty awesome people.

Have a great summer!

Freshman Year: GO PACK!

My time here at NC State has been adventurous to say the least. I’ve made friends, lost some and gained sisters, (thanks to sorority life). I’ve moved more times in the past 4 years than I had before in my whole entire life. I’ve learned and matured more than I could have ever imagined. And most importantly, I’ve gained memories I’ll never forget.

Whenever I introduce myself to people and I tell them where I’m from they always ask “Why did you come here?” The answer is that I wanted to go to a school with a fashion program but at a “regular university” and NC State just happened to be one of the few schools that provided me with that opportunity. While that answer is true, it’s not the whole truth. I wanted the best college experience I could ever have. I have to say that I was very lucky because I got everything that I ever wanted. I was accepted to my top school, my dream major, and I was able to afford it thanks to a great financial aid package provided by NC State.

Senior Year: Office time with Brittney!

When I graduated from high school I was prepared to never look back. I was finally able to leave home, live semi-independently and spread my wings.  Now, as I approach college graduation I can’t help but look back and reflect  on all of the experiences I’ve had, even the ones I didn’t have, and the decisions I’ve made. This has definitely been one of the very best years. My friendship with Brittney and the amazing sisterhood I’ve gained through Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated are indispensable. I can’t even imagine going forward without these people in my life and it’s amazing that without NC State I would have never met any of them!

I still haven’t quite wrapped my mind around the fact that I am leaving NC State, the place that has become my second home. As I prepare to leave; my advice to all future and current members of the Wolfpack is to make every year your best year. Time really does fly by as fast as everyone says, so enjoy every last one of your college years at one of the best universities in the world. Go Pack!

Senior Year: Sisterhood!

Follow my summer and post-graduate journey on twitter @NCSU_Jasmine

Future plans? Well, I’m definitely coming back in the fall. For the summer I will be in (drumroll please……) THAILAND! (Crazy right?) I leave in a few weeks with the Ethnographic Field School anthropology program. I will be visiting Bangkok along with other cities that are very well known and doing field research! I cannot even describe how excited I am. By the end of this year (as in 2013) I will have been on so many flights, I might lose count. But oh well! I cannot complain. That is the life of an International Studies major and well, I LOVE IT.

I hope all of you have a wonderful summer! If you have any comments or questions, please let me know!

Feel free to keep following me on twitter: @NCSU_brittney

So…..Let’s take a look with a…..YEAR IN REVIEW!!!!! WOO!

Jasmine -> She graduates. I'm going to cry.

Jess & Jenn -> My Favorite Lunch Dates

My Amazing ASB Team!

ΛΠΧ -> My Amazing Sisters

Daysi & Jenn -> My Prophytes <3

Leilani->My Best Friend, Other-Half (Better Half)

It's hard to believe graduation is less than 2 weeks away!

So many things at NC State ended up being the exact opposite of what I was expecting as an incoming freshman (probably for the best). When I was a high school senior, ready to graduate and move down to Raleigh, I pictured college to be the most stressful, overwhelming 4 years of my life. Don’t get me wrong, they were definitely stressful and overwhelming at times (but hey, what isn’t?), but those stressful times were mixed in with some of the most fun and memorable experiences with some amazing people I met in college.

I will be moving to North Carolina as a full-time resident after graduation!

One other thing that I definitely didn’t understand prior to my freshman year at NC State that I wish someone had told me is that professors and other staff members at NC State do actually care about your well-being. In high school my teachers made it clear that professors will fail you and not care about it. Well, professors will fail you (unfortunately that’s true), but what they didn’t tell me is that if you ask for help professors will generally go out of their way to make sure you understand the material. College is not as cold and ruthless as the world makes it seem, it just takes a lot of time and energy to find success.

It is hard to believe that my four years as an NC State student are already finished. In 2 short weeks I will be walking across the stage, festively dressed in my cap and gown, and celebrating with my family and friends. Lucky for me my time at NC State isn’t over! I will be continuing to work in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions full-time after graduation and I could not be happier! I guess I just love NC State too much to leave!

Go Pack!

I’ve had this feeling quite a bit, considering I moved often as a child and more recently after high school. But now it is related to NC State, my dear home for the past four years and which I shall leave this summer.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been having a lot of “last time…” moments: Last time using Hunt Library? Last time riding the Wolfline Bus? Last time eating the delicious NC State-made Ice Cream at the Creamery? I like to think these would be “Last time….for a while” as I hope to visit Raleigh in the near future.

One of the last all-nighters at the lib

Right now, my biggest “Last time…” is with this: Blogging. This will be my last official blog as a student intern for the Admissions Office at NC State. It’s been a great experience to work and participate in events organized by the Admissions Office here at NC State in Raleigh and around North Carolina, and hopefully I was able to help a couple of you out there in making your college decision easier (Go Pack!).

In the past four years while attending NC State, many things changed for me. At NC State I learned of the value of hard work and discipline. I think that certain courses, especially in my Senior year, helped me to finally put aside that bad vice of procrastinating and prepared me to be a successful professional with a strong work-ethic and high goals.

I also made great, long-lasting friendships forever bonded by this amazing time as part of the Wolfpack and which definitively made my time at NC State unforgettable. You have no idea how much I will miss Game-Day(s)!

Game Day at the Stadium....a great experience at NC State

As for my summer plans, after four long years of studying and hard work I decided to take a nice vacation and so I will be traveling across the European Continent (probably the last summer I will have the time and money to do so, once I begin working I will not enjoy 2 month long summer vacations hehe). Once I return from Europe, I will begin my relocation to Charlotte, North Carolina, where I will begin a new chapter of my life.

Forever, GO PACK!

Jimmy – a very proud Wolfpack Alumni

Forever a proud member of the PACK

At first glance, it seems like I’m an artistically minded person through and through, but little do you know…

I’m  pretty much an expert in gastronomy, both in my own kitchen and, surprisingly enough, in dining halls.

Now, before you call my bluff, hear me out. You see, North Carolina State University Dining always offers an extensive amount of choices for students to enjoy, ranging from fried chicken to baked fish, fresh beans to amazing soups, even the occasional sushi sampling. The amount of food choices that one experiences everyday here at State is great. However, as with any eatery, sometimes the food on the menu (while always scrumptious in State’s dining halls) doesn’t quite fit the mood. That’s where the art of Gastronomic Experimentation comes in.

For example, I love chicken. One day recently, I made a short trip to Clark Dining Hall and found that I wasn’t really in the mood for many of the items on the menu, despite my love for everything that is Clark Dining Hall. However, this isn’t to say that I would be unable to enjoy a meal, as I mentioned before, because the amount of choices is unparalleled. With that being said, I decided to have a bit of fun and conduct research on the various applications of chicken tenders within the Clark Dining context. I concocted two simple, yet absolutely delicious, recipes involving Clark’s delicious tenders.

With those two simple approaches, I completely appeased my taste buds’ cravings.

Now, mixing and experimenting with dishes is really fun to do. However, one must keep in mind that common etiquette still applies when conducting food experimentation. Too many times have students, while conducting gastronomic experimentation, piled their plates high with foods which they were unable to finish. Avoid that by experimenting in small, and everything will be perfectly fine.

And with this being my last blog for the semester, I’d like to thank all you readers for enjoying our posts. I hope you liked them as much as we liked writing them! This summer will be spent relaxing, making video games with friends, building up my portfolio, and enjoying the sights and sounds of a foreign country. With this being said, I once again hope you all enjoyed the blog, and I hope to see you all again in the Fall!

Photo by: Pinterest

Summer. A Beautiful word. A beautiful word that holds so much potential: sleeping in late and going to the beach (if you’re lucky). But alas, once you are in college it all changes. Your summer might be filled with a job, summer classes, organization planning, etc. ORRRRR you could be one of the lucky ones that get to study abroad! However, that will not be, but highly suggest students took look into it! But there are so many things to do in the meantime!

Photo by: Pinterest!

This summer I will be enjoying the beach, hopefully a tan, working, and a lot of planning for the upcoming semester (also my boyfriend will be going to boot camp, so good luck to him!). I will be the President of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc. ‘s Eta Chapter at NC State University. So I have BIG shoes to fill from the past president and it will take a lot of energy and hard work to keep the chapter going strong. So my summer will be filled with sorority fundraisers, Lumbee homecoming,  Busch Gardens with Alpha Pi Omega sisters & Phi Sigma Nu brothers, and extensive planning for future events.

Photo by: Busch Gardens

APiO & Phi Nu

Of course I will be spending time with my LOVELY FAMILY!

My mother and thy father!

My lil sis!

some of my extended family

Even though I am done writing for the moment, please comment and tell me what your plans are for this summer! Hopefully, it will include getting ready to go to NC STATE!!!! GO PACK! See you guys next semester!

Shorts, flip-flops, random adventures, fun in the sun, popsicles, cookouts and  pool parties; all words that mean summer is right around the corner and I am ready for it! In a couple weeks I will be returning home to The Bahamas and I am super ecstatic because I have not been home since Christmas. I look forward to weekdays with home-cooked meals from my mummy and weekends chilling on the beach with my friends. I am currently waiting to hear back from a few summer jobs that I applied to back home, so hopefully I will hear some good news soon. During the summer I will also be preparing for my final semester at NC State as I graduate in December! It’s a scary thought to know that I will soon be out in the “Real World,” but I look forward to starting a new chapter in my life.

Underwater Adventures with my family

Here are a few things I hope to do this summer:

I really really want to go skydiving!

I look forward to eating delicious food like Stuffed Lobster!

Go scuba diving!

Spending time with my friends

As I will be returning to the Admissions Office in the fall you can look forward to hearing from me again.  It has truly been a wonderful year and I wish each and every one of you a happy summer vacation!

Don’t forget to follow my summer adventures @ncsu_michelle

Joseph using alcohol impairment goggles at the Wellness Fair

On Tuesday before class I attended the Interactive Wellness Fair in the Brickyard. This event highlighted the seven dimensions of wellness which are physical, social, emotional,intellectual, spiritual, occupational and environmental. There were more than twenty booths that participated at the fair. The volunteers educated students on health issues through mini informative sessions and interactive exercises. I spoke with representatives from the University Counseling Center who were conducting free screenings for eating disorders and depression; as a student at NC State you can schedule to speak a counselor for free.

Taylor and I playing the Archeological Dig Game

Taylor and I attended the CHASS Fest on Wednesday where there was a celebration for all of the CHASS disciplines. At each individual booth, students were given the opportunity to learn about the different majors in CHASS as well as participate in games. One of the games that Taylor and I played was at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology table where we played the Archeological Dig game; we were given two minutes to find five objects that were buried in the dig.

Also on Wednesday was the Earth Day celebration in the Brickyard. NC State students celebrated the planet and local food on this day. There were numerous amounts of organizations in the Brickyard who educated students on the importance of sustainability and buying local produce.  I bumped into Tony during the Earth Day celebration and he was beautifying the bricks with his artistic chalking skills.

Tony drawing in the Brickyard

Water tumbler that I won at the Earth Day celebration

Last week ended with a bang at the Office of International Services End of Year Party. It was a wonderful time to celebrate the end of an amazing year with all of the international students at State.  There was delicious food from the Caribbean and Latin America for students to indulge in, as well games and activities to partake in. I attended the party with the first friend that I ever made at State, Michael. Michael and I first met at the International Students Orientation, as we were placed in the same small group and we have been friends ever since.  At the party, we partnered up and entered the doughnut eating competition where we raced with other teams to see who could eat a dozen doughnuts the fastest.  Unfortunately we didn’t end up winning, but the party was a great way to celebrate the end of another successful year at State.

Doughnut Eating Contest

Micheal and I with Mrs. Wuf

As always don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @ncsu_michelle

Reason number 481……

Just kidding. I probably could think of 481 reasons, but I’m sure you wouldn’t want to read it. I can say one thing though, those of you who are getting ready to attend NC State (or some other lackluster place [haha]) and those of you who are current students: this week does, in fact, end. I know, final projects are weighing down on your shoulders and studying for exams has caused Red Bull stock to hit its all-time high. But breathe. You’re almost done.

This blog is my last for the semester, so, in the spirit of this week of doom I figured I’d take a break from the 4 essays and 3 final projects I have yet to finish to tell you wonderful people about my as-soon-as-classes-end plans.

First and foremost, I will be spending as many hours as I can sitting in my NC State tailgate chair on the edge of a lake with a cold cooler to my right and my tackle box to my left.

I also applied for about 11 internships, so hopefully I will land one of those jobs over the summer.

I really don’t have much else planned. I’m looking to buy a new car, if I get one of those jobs. I’m moving again into a house near campus with two friends of mine from high school. Both will be transferring to State fairly soon, which is exciting.

I encourage those of you who are preparing for college to enjoy these summer months. Meet up with friends, hang out as much as possible; waste time together because these three months may in fact be the last time in a while that you’ll see those people. I went on road trips to the beach, threw all nighter party movie marathons, and spent countless hours just sitting at Starbucks chatting the day away. Those are the times you’ll be able to look back and appreciate before (somewhat) real life sets in.

Those of you in the collegiate demographic, do as you always do–spend the day at the pool, go to work, take a summer class, whatever. You’re adults now. Just remember if you do anything crazy or ridiculously fun and I don’t get invited, I WILL FIND YOU. Not really, but you should invite me anyway.

This is my last moment of zen for the semester; enjoy it; breathe it in.