"African Brilliance"

Hearing Dr. Greg E. Carr’s “Learning, Wisdom, and the African World Experience” lecture was a fantastic way to start Freshman Seminar. I found that the main point of the lecture was that “human brilliance must be lent to African brilliance”. In other words, people of today’s society need to learn that many of “our” (the Western world) theories, beliefs, and daily practices are all derived from classical and ancient African culture; people need to understand that Africa truly deserves all the credit for what we know today. Many of the Greek- and Latin-based customs that we have used for hundreds of years were initially used in ancient Egypt and other parts of Africa.

After listening to Dr. Carr speak a second time, I really began to think more about just how much ancient African culture influences our daily lives, especially as Westerners. I remember learning about how much of our Western customs originated from the Greeks. Learning that not all of what we learned in school is true, this first lecture has definitely sparked a new interest in learning about ancient Africa and African history. Even though it was briefly mentioned in AP European History, I’d love to learn even more about the Diaspora and how the separation from their country changed the African people in general. I can’t wait to learn about Egypt and after hearing Dr. Carr talk about it, go there, experience their culture, and “get in touch with my roots”, as they say.

Overall I’d say that this first lecture was a complete success. One of my friends even told me that she was glad that I dragged her there at nine in the morning! I think hearing what Dr. Carr had to say definitely made us (or at least me) more aware of our culture and how much we had left to learn about our history as Black individuals in this society.

Howard University: 1st Week, 1st Year

Although I am taking Freshman Seminar, I am not a freshman... Understandably some people may think I must have been slacking and waited until my Junior year to sign up for this course. However, this is my third, and final, attempt at completing Freshman Seminar, all because some professors who will remain unnamed insisted on treating this socially minded, but still educational, class as a post-med training seminar or something similar. So when writing this blog, please keep in mind my freshman year was 2 long years ago!

When coming into Howard, I was excited at the vast cultural dynamic the school embraced and quickly fell into the Caribbean Student Association scene. Growing up in Trinidad and Tobago and then suddenly moving to Potomac, Maryland was a culture shock, so hearing familiar voices and observing similar mannerisms was humbling. Freshman week was not as exciting as my roommates didn't "enjoy my company", and so I went to only a little of the events.

I enjoyed all of my classes, and after exploring the courses decided to become a Political Science and Psychology double major after my first year. In this decision, I see how I changed after my first year in that I became my own person, with my own aspirations and goals, and defined myself within Howard. Sure there were boring weeks, where classes became mundane and hardly attended, but there were certainly also extreme drama filled weeks too, and courses that completely changed my outlook on the dynamics life possesses. With concerns to Freshman Seminar, I look most forward to learning about how our African civilizations impacts our education of today. Being in the American school system for all of my life, I never was taught the history of Africa in education, only the biased, European strides.

The M.E.C.C.A. : My first week

  When I first arrived on the campus of Howard University, I have to admit, It was the happiest day of my life. No more boring, hot, Louisiana. I felt as though I was refreshed. I had a change of scenery, a refreshed atmosphere, and a new lease on life. When I found out i had to take a Freshman Seminar class, I have to admit I thought this will be the most pointless class ever. I said to myself what are they actually going to teach me that I really need to know in real life. But like everything at Howard, I had to suck it up and take the class.

    My first day in freshman Seminar was interesting it was so many students in the class. So when the instructor began to go over what the course is really about, I was very intrigued. My whole perception of the course changed. Freshman Seminar now seems to be a class that I know I will enjoy. I think freshman seminar will help me greatly with my goals at the school, because it will teach me about many great African Americans I never really read about. Which in turn helps me with my African American studies class. I'm really interested in learning more about that and can't wait until the lectures begin

     I can say that my expectations at Howard have been exceeded. Everyone is so willing to help out when there is a problem with anything. Upperclassmen  are always there to tutor or just give good advise. I really thought it would be the total opposite if what it really is.  Classes for my first week went rather smoothly, besides the earthquake shake up. It was something i never experienced before, but Got through it. Now I am excited to see what the rest of the year will be like the Howard University.

My First Impressions of Howard University and Freshman Seminar

I didn’t know what to expect upon my arrival to Howard University. Like most incoming freshman, I hoped to make friends and get the schedule that I wanted without complications. However, I knew the transition from high school, and then summer vacation, to a college environment would be difficult, so I was grateful for freshman week. Freshman Orientation was helpful and informative and the scheduled activities were effective social icebreakers. The professors of the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS), and even upperclassmen, went out of their way to make our transition as easy as possible. The talent show, BBQ, and late night Target, were well executed and a great introduction to Howard life.

Furthermore, starting class bright an early on Monday was not as terrible or difficult as I thought it would be. I easily found all my classes and showed up on time. Despite some lateness’s and instructional setbacks, my teachers all seemed nice and well-informed on their individual subject matters. I think I will grow both as a student and person at Howard because so many of my teachers intertwine the culture and history of black people with the core academics. I think I will have to change a lot about myself to be successful here. For example, I am naturally a shy person and do not open up to people quickly, but at Howard it is all about who knows you; therefore, I will have to force myself out of my quiet demeanor in order to make friends quicker.

Based on the introduction to Freshman Seminar Professor Williams presented us on Tuesday I have high hopes for the Freshman Seminar course. I am really excited about the third lecture “Something Torn and New,” a lecture on the perseverance of the African people through slavery and then their cultural rebirth in America. I’ve always been really interested about the culture of African people because of my exposure to them through my church. This lecture, according to the syllabus, intends to examine the trauma of enslavement, which I always find interesting. However, I am most interested in how they actually preserved their culture because I haven’t read much on that topic.

I said in the beginning of this entry that I didn’t know what to expect before stepping foot on campus. But if it was one thing that being at Howard has done is awakened my expectations. By talking with some of the upperclassmen and finding out some of the doors education has opened to them, I determined that Howard University has high expectations of me and I have decided to set high expectations for Howard University.

My First Week at "The Mecca"

My first week at Howard was not as stressful as I'd been imagining it be all summer. I kept picturing myself getting lost trying to find the right classroom. Not yet have I come in contact with an upperclassman that was rude to me and the classes I'm taking I think I'll enjoy. I think the only stress-inducing incident during the past week was registering for classes, but this was to be expected, hearing many a horror story from my sister, a graduating senior. Other than that, I can say with confidence that the orientation sessions truly prepared me for my first week of classes. Hearing the heads of departments in COAS and other professors speak helped me understand what to expect in class.

I think the goal of the Freshman Seminar class is to really teach us and make sure we understand the University's mission statement, and the College of Arts and Science's mission statement: to teach their students how to come up with solutions to communal and societal problems that surround us. We are taking this seminar in order to learn more about our history as African Americans and as students of Howard University and as nerdy as it sounds, I am honestly looking forward to hearing the many lectures that are planned for this semester.

I think the one speaker that stands out the most and that I cannot wait to hear from again is Dr. Gregory Carr. Of course it was really exciting to hear that he grew up from my hometown of Philadelphia, but what really amazed me was the vast amount of information he knew. When I learned that I would get the opportunity to hear him speak again, I immediately made a mental note to get to class early so I can get a good seat.

I'm hoping that hearing all of these lectures will really benefit me just as much as they are supposed to; I hope I can get a lot of useful information out of them that will help me eventually develop the skills I need to come up with solutions for everyday (and maybe even one day, community or world) problems. I think that this seminar course will help be even more aware of not just the Howard community, but the DC community as well.