Forming Connections Through Spring Connect

As a first-year student planning her collegiate future, Moriah Williams had her sights set on a career in the veterinary sciences. The hands-on experience available through NC State’s animal science program is what drew her to apply. Today, after over a year on campus, she has found success and opportunity as part of NC State’s 2023 Spring Connect cohort.

As part of NC State’s mission to educate the students of North Carolina, a select group of first-year students are admitted to the Spring Connect program every year, filling spaces created by December graduates. Spring Connect students maximize the time they have during the fall by taking classes at a community college, getting hands-on training with a part-time job or expanding their worldview by traveling abroad.

A Charlotte native, Williams chose to spend her fall semester acclimating to the city of Raleigh by moving close to campus and completing a full semester of coursework at Wake Tech Community College.

Keeping her pre-veterinary goals in mind, Williams completed biology and precalculus coursework at Wake Tech, allowing her to transition seamlessly into an introductory animal science course, a higher-level biology course and a calculus course for her major this semester at NC State. 

“The biggest benefit of Spring Connect, for me, was having that transition semester before being immersed into college life. Having that semester definitely helped me when it came to being away from home, meeting people and developing my academic skills.”

As an incoming student to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), Williams had the additional benefit of participating in the CALS STEAM program during the fall semester. Through STEAM, Williams connected with other Spring Connect students in her college and attended a day-long event that included her first ever NC State football game. 

Beyond her successes academically, Williams has found her place within NC State’s campus community in a variety of ways. Alongside other Spring Connect students, she has started a recreational volleyball club. She has also connected with other minority students on campus through Black Campus Ministries and the African American Cultural Center.

Williams is expected to graduate on time with the class of 2026. For future Spring Connect students, she had the following words of encouragement:

“Spring Connect students should be confident in who they are and their abilities. I feel a lot of times, especially students who start in the spring, they think they’re less than students who start in the fall but that’s not the case. Coming to NC State, you’ll have the same opportunities as students who start in the fall and you can be just as successful as any other student on campus.”

NC State is excited to welcome the next cohort of Spring Connect students to campus in January 2025. Students admitted to the Spring Connect program should confirm their enrollment in their wolfPAW account by May 15 to secure their enrollment.