Friday, August 20, 2010, at approximately 1:30 p.m., I, strolled down 10th Street with 10 other students towards the Real Crisis Intervention Center. This short walk may not seem significant to an outsider, but for us, it was the beginning of a new part of our lives. We were embarking on a journey that in some sense we had been preparing for over the past 12 years– college. But not only were we college students, we were also EC Scholars. Keep in mind, this was mere hours after our parents had left us in the unfamiliar residence hall and the 11 of us had only met about an hour before this walk took place. Interestingly enough, the activity that was planned for us was service work. Our first real interaction with one another as independent college students was a service project! What an awesome message to instill in students.
East Carolina University encourages students to take part in the Greenville community in many ways. Part of ECU’s mission statement explains that the university’s goal is to positively impact eastern North Carolina by training students and sending them back into the community. The fact that a service project was the first activity that I participated in as an ECU student really put into perspective what would be expected of me as an EC Scholar. It set the standard very high and it showed us the community is as much a part of learning as the classroom.
Stress is something everybody has to deal with, whether young or old, male or female, Type A or Type B. But stress can especially be hard on a college student. To start, students must attend classes. And no matter what major or year you are in, there is always one class that just eats all of your time. No matter how hard you work on it, you always feel like you’re playing catch up.
During my first semester here at ECU, I had the privilege of living in the Honors dorm. The experience of being part of the Living and Learning Community for Honors College students is beneficial in so many ways. As Honors College students, we meet together for Honors classes, but we also live together in the same building. This community allows us to build relationships within the Honors College that we can maintain throughout our careers at East Carolina University. It is also the perfect environment in which to build study groups and work on projects. Living on campus allows easy access to all of the resources of the library, as well as Mendenhall, and the Student Recreation Center.
I am an undergraduate researcher at the Brody School of Medicine. I first started in the field of research in high school observing my mentors. One mentor I observed in high school focused on the mitochondrial physiology of cardiomyocytes, while the other mentor focused on the therapeutic effects of human mesenchymal stem cells in hearts. When I first started, I knew almost nothing about any of these subjects. What little information I did know was from the biology classes I took in high school. I did not know any of the techniques used to do research, but I learned.
At ECU, there are tons of professors who come to the university wanting to teach and to find personal protégés. I have observed that few students at ECU take advantage of this. Since I am a student who seeks more knowledge, I advance outside conversation with many of my professors and they make time for me. Even if I’ve never met them, they make time for me. It’s that simple. I will share a few experiences that represent the vast majority.