since 1960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community.”
October 5, 2012
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
NCWC Welcomes 18 New Internationals, Total Enrollment Rises
By Kristi Lucas
Decree Staff Writer
First-year enrollment is slowly
rising in the traditional day program at
NC Wesleyan.
The college has enrolled 37 more
first-year students than it did in fall 2011
by taking a more aggressive approach
to recruiting. Incoming students include
225 freshmen (18 from overseas) and
41 transfers. Although Bill Allen, vice
president of Enrollment, was hoping for
a bigger turnout, he insists that all 266
new Bishops are “phenomenal students.”
NC Wesleyan’s recruiting counselors
are motivated to work harder, and willing
to work late shifts again to see a greater
improvement in enrollment next year, Al
len said. “They were especially assertive
with the phone, making between 250-300
calls each week,” he noted.
The new school website also helped
to draw in the 37 additional students.
Its aim was to interest potential stu
dents to learn more about the college
and its programs.
Allen said that the recruiting office
is being more proactive with travel, to
increase representation on campus from
other areas of the country. More than
half of the incoming students are from
North Carolina, specifically Eastem
Carolina, while Virginia is the second
most represented area. “We’re hoping to
see gains in New Jersey and South Caro-
hna in the coming years. We also want
to see continued growth in all the areas
we recruit,” said Allen, who believes NC
Wesleyan has potential to recruit athletes
from the Northeast who are looking to
attend college in the South.
Wesleyan has added its name into
search fields of the ACT and SAT tests
in more areas of the country. Students
taking either test can send their scores
to four different colleges free of charge.
By adding NC Wesleyan as a search op
tion, the college hopes potential students
will be more willing to apply since there
is no cost barrier, Allen explained.
Not much has changed with the gender
gap on campus. Football is major factor
for the 70 percent male-dominant popula
tion, with over 100 players on the team.
In a recent interview, Allen said it was
too early to report the average high school
Dustin Midgett, Lucrezia De Pascalis and Kimberly Oriol, seen here working on an
English 111 project, are members of NC Wesleyan's class of 2016. Midgett and Oriol
are North Carolina natives, while De Pascalis is from Turin, Italy Photo by G.waiiace
GPA and SAT scores of the new students.
That information will be forthcoming.
Wesleyan has seen improvement in the
representation of intemational countries,
making diversity an even greater strength.
The college has gained students from
Mexico, Panama, Italy, and Jamaica, to
give it a total of 24 represented countries.
Sweden, Nepal, and Germany have the
greatest representation on campus, with
Advice Offered for Wesleyan’s Newest Students
By Casey Burd
Decree Staff Writer
For incoming freshmen, the explosion of
new experiences can either be very exciting
or they can be very intimidating—or a little
of both. Leaving home for the first time.
Doing assignments without parents nag
ging. Being entirely self-sufficient. It can
all be liberating but it can also be stressful.
Being away at college means that you’re
the sole decision maker when it comes to
all of the choices you wiU face. It means
you have to be willing to make sacrifices.
It means learning to adapt. It means you
actually have to make an effort Being
away at college means that you alone are in
charge of your success.. .or lack thereof
If you are a first-year student, you
might still be getting used to all of the
changes you have faced so far. Maybe
you are incredibly stressed out. But all
of your new-found responsibilities do
not have to be stressful. They can be
thrilling. After all, you are now an adult
with much more freedom. As long as
you are always prepared, you should
not be scared of freedom. It’s possible
to have the time of your life in college
and still stay on top of your academics.
So whether you’re stressed or thrilled,
there are some guidelines that will al
low you to have the best possible year.
As a college student, it’s up to you
whether you go to class or not. Laine
Hicks, a starter for the NCWC women’s
soccer team, has had her share of
absences over the years. She knows what
effect that multiple absences can have on
your grades. “Unless you have a parent
like roommate, no one is going to be there
forcing you to get up, get ready and take
on the day,” she said. “You actually have
to get yourself up. Even on the days when
Dr. Marjon Ames, assistant profes
sor of history, and Dr. Andrew Stern,
assistant professor of religious
studies, have joined the NCWC
full-time faculty. See story on pg 4
Photo by G. Wallace
you feel too lazy just to roll out of bed.”
Of course waking up isn’t always
fun but according to Hicks, it is
necessary. She believes that Wesleyan
is unique for its small population,
saying, “At huge universities, there are
large numbers of students assembled
in each class so their professors don’t
have time to take attendance. But here,
some classrooms have as few as four
students in the class, so our professors
definitely have time.” Like a lot of
twenty-year-olds, Hicks enjoys her
sleep; but, for her, it’s just something
you have got to be responsible about,
even if you’re tired. “Just go to class,”
she advises. “One extra hour of sleep
every now and then is not worth losing
a letter grade in college. You can
always take a nap later.”
Courtney Jamieson graduated from
NCWC this past spring. Attending
Wesleyan for the past four years—be
ing a soccer player, captain of the
lacrosse team, an academically gifted
student as well as a friend to many—
has certainly earned her enough
experience to give reliable advice and
that she does. Jamieson thought for
a moment before deciding what her
most important piece of advice could
be. “It’s all about balance,” she began.
“Just don’t make everything all play
and no work. But don’t make it all work
with no time for a littie play.” Jamieson
believes that there is a responsible
balance between the two. “Don’t stress
too much; it’s not healthy,” she said.
“Take a break every now and then to
enjoy yourself. But don’t get so caught
up in partying and having fun that you
forget to do your school work.”
One student who certainly doesn’t
forget to do her school work is Ashley
Marks. She is a senior who, you could
say, has been through everything there
is to experience here. How has she
managed to thrive the entire time while
maintaining above-average grades,
playing multiple sports and still being
able to hang out with friends? Marks
knows how important it is to stay on
task and how much damage can be
done by letting yourself get behind.
“But above all else,” she stated, “the
most important thing to remember is to
keep your head up when you receive a
bad grade.” She went on to say that it is
virtually impossible to go through col
lege without at least one disappointing
grade. “Making it through college is
just like any other life goal,” she said.
“There are bound to be obstacles. If
you want to reach your goal, you can’t
waste your time overthinking your
mistakes.” However, she doesn’t think
you should completely forget about
those mistakes. “Of course you should
learn from them but once you’ve
realized what you did wrong, fix it and
move on,” she advised.
Being able to recover from a disap
pointing grade isn’t always easy but it
makes you a better student in the long
run. Similar to Marks, Chelsea Colucci
thinks this to be true. But she would say
that reflecting on your performance is the
most vital part in recovering from a bad
grade. “Say you receive a disappointing
mark on a test,” she said. “You can’t go
back in time and change it. But you can
ask yourself a few questions so you can
be better prepared for the next test.” So
what questions should you ask yourself?
Colucci suggests, “Did I study? How did I
study? What study method could’ve been
more effective?” Then she says that if you
ask yourself questions such as these and
you’re able to reflect on yourself, you are
actually bettering yourself. “When you
reflect, you realize what you did wrong,”
she explained. “And when you realize
what you did wrong, you figure out what
to do right for next time.”
According to Jake Swartout, a third-year
student and pitcher for Wesleyan’s baseball
team, communication is the key to success.
“If you don’t understand something, don’t
let sit there and struggle to understand,” he
said. “Ask someone to explain it.”
Swartout insists that seeking help
isn’t a sign of weakness. Instead, he
would say it displays your desire to
better yourself. Aside from asking for
help, he offers another example of com
munication lessening the stress on your
shoulders. “Make sure you maintain
solid communication with your profes
sors,” he said. “If you actually make
an effort to communicate with them,
you build this sort of relationship with
them. You earn their respect.” And if
you have the respect of your professors,
“You’d be surprised how understanding
they can be,” Swartout stated. “If you
have to miss class for some reason,
let them know. And that’s when their
understanding is beneficial,” he noted.
If you are currentiy a freshman, you
know that venturing off to college is a
huge life change. With all life changes,
there is bound to be some stress. Obvi
ously these are merely a few sugges
tions but they are worth remembering.
It doesn’t take too much effort to go
to class, reflect on your mistakes then
move on, communicate with teachers
and your classmates, and maintain a
balance between your schoolwork and
your social life. And if you keep these
tips in mind, you might rid yourself of
some stress. Some things you will have
to learn from your own experiences but
the best advice from others comes from
those who have already been through
it. So take advantage of these simple
yet useful tips and begin your journey
down the road to success.
five students from each country.
The Bishop athletic coaching staff
performs part of intemational recruiting.
For example, Frankie Taal, head coach
of the men’s soccer team, traveled to
Iceland to recruit players. He also plans
to travel to Brazil in mid-December.
Additionally, the college hired an
alumnus to go to Germany on a recruit
ing trip. The student visited college
fairs in Hamburg and Munich last fall to
spread word of North Carolina Wesleyan.
In early November, President Gray
and Allen will travel to China as part
of an effort to form a relationship
between the country and the city of
Rocky Mount. “The trip is part of a
larger cultural and learning exchange,”
mentioned Allen. Gray and Allen will
potentially meet with 10-12 very large
high schools in Beijing, Shanghai,
Hainan Island, and Hangzhou.
“The group leading this program will
be able to help us recruit new students
as the years progress,” Allen said. “I
think once we get a name established at
some of the schools, we’ll see potential
for quite a great deal of communication
between China and our region and
North Carolina Wesleyan College.”
To improve enrollment in the coming
years, the enrollment office must focus
on NC Wesleyan’s strengths, which,
according to Allen, include the ability for
students to participate and make a differ
ence. He added that with a small campus
environment, students have the opportu
nity for leadership and the opportunity to
experience their likes and dislikes.
Allen believes another significant
strength is the Freshmen Advantage
program, in which North Carolina
Wesleyan College enrolls freshmen who
show potential despite having SAT or
GPA scores below the required level.
Thirty-nine freshmen are currentiy part
of the program, which requires that they
seek additional advising and attend study
halls throughout their first semester.
“I believe there are people out there
who want the small school environ
ment,” Allen said.
Richardson Takes Reins of
NCWC’s Elite Tennis Program
Worth Richardson, a 2006 graduate
of rival Christopher Newport University,
has succeeded Dominic Modise after his
successful run as coach of Wesleyan’s
tennis program.
Modise left the college to take the
head coaching position of the women’s
team at the University of Southern
Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
On Richardson’s appointment. Athletic
Director John Thompson called him “a
bright, eneigetic coach,” adding, “we look
forward to working with him to further
the great success of our programs."
A native of Culpeper, Virginia,
Richardson comes to Wesleyan with
six years of experience, the first five as
assistant men’s coach at his alma mater.
Last year, he served as associate tennis
coach of the men’s and women’s teams
at Bucknell University, a Division I
program in central Pennsylvania.
As a collegiate athlete, Richardson won
a USA South Conference tide with the
Captains, and in 2006 he was named to the
all-conference and all-toumament teams.
The Decree conducted a recent email
interview with Coach Richardson on the
outlook of the men’s and women’s teams.
Q. How would you describe your
coaching philosophy?
A. If I had to use one statement to
express my coaching philosophy, it would be
“Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm.”
You can work hard and force yourself to do
the right thing, but laugh and have fun doing it
Q. In what specific ways will it help that
you played in the USA South Conference?
A. It certainly helps being familiar with
many of the wonderful people involved
with tennis in our conference. Having the
ability to tell players you have a confer
ence championship as both a player and
a coach goes a long way toward getting
players to buy into your system as well.
Q. What are your two teams doing
this fall?
A. The women are playing in the
USTA/ITA Regional at Mary Washington
which is the biggest individual tourna
ment of the year. As best I can tell, this
is the first time in years the women have
competed there and they could do quite
well. The men have a very busy and
challenging fall season with tournaments
at Mary Washington and Elon before
heading down to Emory for their USTA/
ITA Regional. Several of the men’s
players are also traveling to ITF Futures
tournament across the country and play
ing in what is the equivalent of Single A
Minor League tennis.
Q. You were named the new coach
several months ago, in June. How has
your late appointment affected recruit
ing for this year?
A. Unfortunately, there was nothing
in the pipeline on the men’s side and
unbeknownst to me, several of the top
players like Rinat Khussainov were look
ing into transferring. This led to a stressful
summer but we were able to retain most of
the players and recruit a great young man
from Russia. Katie Beeman is a freshman
on the women’s side and is showing much
promise. Both the men and women have
strong teams that could win the confer
ence, but I am actively recruiting players
to come in the spring as well.
Q. Wesleyan has flourished in large part
due to the intemational recmits. Why is this
the case? And do you intend to maintain the
same level of recruiting overseas?
A. Tennis is played in virtually every
country around the world. There is an amaz
ing wealth of talent out there. I intend to
recruit both internationally and domestically,
looking fw the best players possible on both
the men’s and women’s side. However, it is
easier to recmit top male players to a Division
HI school as there is far less scholarship
money available at Division I and Division II
schools. Women’s teams get 8 scholarships
while men only get 4.5—^and there are far
more women’s programs than men’s as well.
Q. Which athletes from both teams left
after Coach Modise’s departure?
A. There has certainly been a lot of
turnover. On the women’s side, Shelly Hart
and Bibhuti Baral transferred, while Kristin
Seidel graduates in December. On the men’s
side, Rumyantsev, Lemongo, Prata, and
Filonov have all used their eligibility or
graduated, while Selander and Khussainov
transferred. About the transfers, my only
concern is that these young men and women
are missing out on a great experience—per
haps all would be happier here than where
they are now. But nonetheless we wish
them the absolute best. While losing a lot of
players may be alarming to many, I remain
confident and impressed with the players
currently on the roster. We’re capable of ac
complishing many great things this season.
Q. Which of your top six have
returned to each team?
A. On the women’s side returning
starters include Yvonne Kamegene,
Samia Kacher, Tori Jones, and Bristy
See Richardson pg 3