College+Application+for+Edward+Carson

//North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina// __College Application for: Edward Carson__ May 1st, 1956 My name is Edward Carson and I was born and raised in North Carolina. My parents are from Virginia and moved to Wilmington, NC in 1935 in search of a boating job for my Dad. I was born in Wilmington in 1938 and now attend Williston High School. I have grown up in Wilmington and share a loving home with my parents and two younger brothers. Growing up in a house full of boys means that we were always active. I have always enjoyed being outside and played football for my high school. My brothers are now following in my footsteps and also playing football for Williston. I try to be a good example for them at all times and lead by my actions rather than my words. I am hardworking and always eager to learn. I think education is extremely important and have worked very hard in high school so that I can continue my education. I do not want to end up working in a dead end job because I have no degree, I know that I am meant to do something greater. I also believe in standing up for what I believe in and try to get my brothers to do the same thing. Wilmington has had its fair share of violence over race relations but I believe non-violence sends a louder message. One of my biggest heroes is Rosa Parks, the courageous woman who non-violently protested giving up her seat in Alabama last year. I know they are doing revolutionary things down in Alabama and I admire their efforts. As a young black male, I know that I have more work cut out for me but like the boy cotters in Alabama, I am willing to put in the hard work. North Carolina State College is the right fit for me. I do not think I belong at the University of North Carolina with there prestigious education and liberal arts. Raleigh is a great city and North Carolina State has a lot to offer a young person. I am aware that a African American has never been accepted to the college before but since the Fourteenth Amendment, the doors to this great University are now open to everyone. I love the fact that NC State is such a growing school and is quickly becoming one of the largest schools in the state. I have known for a while now that I wanted to attend this college and have been very impressed with the extension and growth of the campus. Buildings are continuing to pop and and major degrees keeps getting added to the curriculum. I would very much like to be a part of the extension as NC State grows into one of the greatest colleges in the nation. I am planning on enrolling in electrical engineering at NC State. Part of the reason that I think NC State is the right fit for me is because it offers such an advanced array of engineering programs. Within the last 10 years the engineering programs have really expanded and grown in numbers. As I stated before, I am a very active person and engineering will provide me with the opportunity to remain active and study a subject that will keep me engaged. I will be able to work with my hands and explore different avenues of research and learn lots of new things about electrics that I have never had the opportunity to be exposed to yet in Wilmington. Electrical engineering can give me a lot of practical training that I can take out into a trade once I graduate. Engineering is something that interests me a great deal and is also something that I know I have a great deal more to learn about. This major will allow me to combine something that I am genuinely interested in along with real world application. What will I bring to NC State? Diversity. North Carolina State has never had an African American student enrolled on their campus before. I would love to accept the challenge and be the first. Having African Americans at NC State will bring a new dynamic to the campus, something that has never been available before. I am excited to see what I can learn from my white classmates and, although I know I will receive opposition, I would hope something would be excited to see what they can learn from me. My background, ethnicity, and even way of life is going to be completely different than any other student at the school and I think integration is an essential part of having a dynamic university. I know that several other African American students are applying to NC State as well and I hope that the increased diversity on the campus will continue to grow. I do not fear the opposition that I will face, I view it as an opportunity to enrich people on a different way of life and expose my peers to someone of a new race that they may have no had the chance to interact with. Being able to be surrounded by people that are different than you are is a meaningful education all on its own. The nation as a whole has overcome many challenges. I was born just after the Great Depression but I have heard my parents talk about the hard times they suffered. When I was born, my family, along with many others, were still feeling the effects of that time. My dad lost his job as a factory worker in Virginia and my parents had had little money to begin with. For all of my life, my dad has worked long hours in the boat yard fixing ships that come into the port. It is a tough job for very little pay. My family has never had much money and being a poor, African American male in the South, is not an easy task. There have been many times where I wasn't sure if we were going to have dinner on the table or if I missed the bus to school, I could not go to school that day because my family could not afford a car. I started working as a bus boy in a local restaurant when I was in high school to help out my parents. I would have liked to have been a waiter because they made more money but blacks were not allowed to work in the dining room. I do not know of very many white people that would have been receptive to an African American male delivering their food. I have always known that education was going to be my ticket out of this poor lifestyle. However, school was not always easy. My high school, Williston, is still segregated and did not provide me with the most stellar learning environment. The building is run down and falling apart and most of the textbooks that the school has are outdated because our school only got the hand-me-down editions when the white school across town got new books. The faculty at Williston is all African American but because there are far less African American people that are certified to teach, the teacher student ratio is through the roof. I can remember being in an English class with 35 classmates. I am thankful that I am going to graduate and go to college but it also saddens me that I am one of few people of my age and race that are getting the same opportunity. Hopefully, if I can set an example, more and more African Americans will pursue a higher education and a better way of life. **FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY:** //**ACCEPTED JULY 1 FOR AUGUST ENROLLMENT**//
 * 1)  //Tell us about yourself.//
 * 1)  //Why North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina?//
 * 1)  //What major do you plan to enroll in and why?//
 * 1)  //What will you contribute to the NC State Community?//
 * 1)  //Tell us about a challenge that you have had to overcome.//