The Beginning
I knew I wanted to attend college when I was 15. At the time I had thought I wanted to enlist in the Air National Guard for a four-year contract and then commission to spend the rest of my time in the Air Force as a pilot. As time progressed, new developments presented themselves, and my plans morphed. One constant was my plan to obtain a baccalaureate of some sort from somewhere. My parents had both attended college, but neither had graduated. I had seen the employment struggles they had experienced, largely related to the lack of that degree, and knew I wanted to strike a different path.
Why A&T
By the time I had to choose where to attend college, I had already seen a few friends attend pricey private institutions on scholarships, lose those scholarships, and be forced to drop out. So, I knew I wanted to attend somewhere with a relatively low cost of attendance to improve my odds of graduating on time. Having already taken a few courses at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC), I knew my coursework would be challenging and the fewer factors I had to stress over, the better I would be able to perform.
My youngest brother had recently been born and I wanted to stay nearby so that he would see me as his brother as he grew up, which limited me to colleges in the Greensboro area. I had heard from friends who had gone through ROTC before me about the challenges of cross-town schools for ROTC and knew I wanted to go to a university that was the Air Force ROTC host university to limit those (again, limiting unnecessary stressors). I wanted to attend an institution close to home so that I could stay at home and not have to worry about room and board. I had also heard lots of good things about A&T that made it very attractive in terms of education quality, job prospects, and having an alumnus who went through my program and became an astronaut (Dr. Ronald E. McNair)!
Why Physics
The story of my choice to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Physics was a bit convoluted. As previously stated, I knew I wanted to attend college. I also knew that I would need scholarships and grants to pay my way. Since I knew I wanted to go through Air Force ROTC and they had a high school scholarship program, I wanted to do my best to apply for one and get it. When I was looking through their list of majors they wanted the most, there were a few that caught my eye. Aeronautical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Meteorology, and Physics all looked interesting. I decided on Physics because it was the broadest degree that dealt with subjects I considered to be exciting.
At the time, I was still unclear exactly what I wanted to specialize in and thought a physics degree would be the most helpful base. If I chose to pivot to an engineering field or some subset of physics, having a pure physics background would leave options open with retraining becoming a viable option after a few additional courses. As I proceeded through my career, sometimes I wished I had chosen Spanish, Arabic, English, Mathematics, or Aerospace Engineering as my major, but eventually came back to physics because my interests continued coalescing in that direction. In fact, my next stop education-wise will be physics-related. General Relativity, Space Science, and Space Operations are at the top of my contemplation list for my Master of Science when I start on it in a few years.
Why AFROTC
I knew that I wanted to join the Air Force when I was 15. When I was a high school junior, I decided that I wanted to go through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) as my commissioning source since it would allow me to stay close to home and not cost Uncle Sam as much as the Air Force Academy would have.
Living in the Dorms
I originally planned to stay at home and commute. However, since I didn’t have a car, that would have proven quite logistically challenging. I eventually discovered that my financial aid package would cover room and board on campus, so I chose to do that. I spent my first year in Vanstory Hall, which at the time was a co-ed dorm splitting genders by floor. It had a traditional dorm setup and was an old building in need of renovation. It was still safe for occupation, but not comfortable. In my second and third years, I lived in McCain Hall (Aggie Villages), first in a double and then in a four-bedroom single suite. Aggie Villages are the newest (and nicest) dorms. They fill up quickly, but if you live on campus, it’s a great spot to be. My last year, I lived in The Apartments at Block 43. The drive was a bit of a shock, but the quietness of the location and overall setup were both nice.
First Year
My first year was spent testing the waters to see how everything operated and how classes were when taken full-time. I quickly discovered that I didn’t want to have any evening classes and that taking classes full-time makes it a bit harder to put in the work necessary to keep high grades. When I was at GTCC, I made As in all my classes with little effort. However, at A&T, I was taking two or three times the number of courses in a semester, which made it harder to keep the grades I wanted. My first year in AFROTC was spent trying to figure out where I fit in. Ostensibly, I was supposed to be with the incoming first-year students. However, I had enough prior knowledge to fit more easily with the second-year students, despite missing some of their knowledge.
During this year, I submitted my Air Force of 2050 Essay. I found out about, applied for, and attended Project Global Officer at Indiana University. My fitness stamina increased from 30-minute workouts to handling grueling hour-long workouts twice a week with ease (and more workouts outside that). I also discovered that chemistry was far harder for me than physics.
Second Year
I experienced explosive growth during my second year. I attained one of only two 4.0 semesters, restarted the detachment’s drill team, held responsibility as color guard and drill team commander that few achieve that early, and helped restart our unit’s Arnold Air Society squadron. I learned just how exciting philosophy can be. I attended a second year of Project Global Officer, this time at the University of Arizona. I attended AFROTC Field Training (think boot camp) where I learned a lot about how I operate under pressure in leadership settings. I also had my intermediate physics laboratory class, where I learned just how cool some of the possible experiments are.
Third Year
My third year held some of my most challenging classes. Quantum Mechanics I & II, and Electromagnetism I & II were my four toughest classes. I had some formative AFROTC cadet leadership experiences. I discovered that the Great Man Theory of leadership had been materially misrepresented in most treatments of the leadership theory. I had the honor of presenting a memorial flag to my detachment commander during his retirement ceremony. I also attended my final Project Global Officer program, this time through the University of Arizona’s partner in Morocco, with an experience so fantastic that I’ll write a future post about it.
Fourth Year
I finally got a car in my fourth year. I then proceeded to put an incredible amount of mileage on it, but it’s still been a great little car. Having my own car brought to light just how bad parking is on campus. It’ll take several parking decks around campus to fix, which will be pricey and not happen for a while. As it stood while I was there, it frequently took me 15 to 25 minutes driving through all the parking lots before I could find an available spot, which would frequently be on the opposite side of campus from where I needed to be.
My classes were good and I ended my time with a 4.0 semester, which was all the more impressive because of the major disruptions to instruction by having to deal with COVID-19 mitigation measures in the middle of the semester.
My AFROTC active-duty cadre had almost completely turned over, so I had to become accustomed to new cadre members and how they wanted operations to run. While change is not always fun, it helped teach me in a way I wouldn’t have experienced without a change in leadership styles and philosophies. I also had an amazing time at higher levels of cadet leadership learning through application in a way that will help me significantly once I get my first supervisory positions on active duty.
Opportunities
My time at A&T brought many opportunities. I had the opportunity to help through volunteering with AFROTC, Arnold Air Society, the Society of Physics Students, and the math lab in Marteena Hall. I had essay contest opportunities, met many high-ranking individuals at conferences, met an astronaut, was selected to join the Space Force, and got the opportunity to study abroad, among many other opportunities. Another big thing is that because NC A&T is a historically black university, I learned a lot about the experiences and culture of Black America in a way I would have never learned at any of the other universities I had considered attending. The cultural experiences were invaluable.
Impact
As the first person in my immediate family to graduate college, I have a lot of opportunities open for my future. I learned a lot and had an amazing time through my four years at A&T. Those four years have set me up for success in the next phase of my life. I can’t wait to see how the next chapters of my life unfold!