South Carolina State has a lot of opportunities for advancement for undergrad students. I work in the Career Center and we do things like plug students in with internships, sometimes we're externships and even job opportunities. We have a lot of companies that partner with South Carolina State, so they're specifically looking for South Carolina State students. So anytime you want to plug in those opportunities, you can just pop into the career center and they will help you with everything that you need to get that.
We are partners in the community. So our students are able to not only do hands on clinical practice at the Harold Powell Speech and Hearing Clinic, but we also partner with agencies such as the Orangeburg, Calhoun Allendale Bamberg Head Starts, we screen their students as well. We also have partnerships in our public schools, some of our students go and get hands on training in the public schools.
I'm a part of 101 Black Man of SCSU Society and I'm also a Student Orientation Leader. Both of them have allowed me to become a better leader. I've really begun to adapt the roles of a servant leader to put forth effort for the individuals I'm serving. I want the people I affect to shine, and that inadvertently will reflect positively on me.
The knowledge that you gain here extends far beyond just the classroom. You can use the experience and the knowledge in multiple aspects of your life. I was a part of the national acclaim program Calle Me Mister. And all of those experiences and meeting so many diverse people. It broadened my perspective. It provided me with the soft skills that I didn't necessarily pick up in the classroom that, I believe, really put me on the next level in my career and personal life.
I don't think that I would be where I am now, if I didn't go to SC State. They really did prepare me for what my future was. I think I would have been prepared if I went to other schools, but I don't think that I would have gotten the nurturing that I got here that gave me the courage to actually go out mentor and get this higher degree.