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.