Inspired Ambition

NC State senior Marquis McCullough isn’t the type of person to sit around and wait for things to happen, so when he attended a pre-college leadership program held at NC State University, he found a campus full of like-minded students he could relate to.

“People’s ambition to actually do substantial work really impresses me,” said McCullough, a Science Education major from Hickory, N.C. “NC State is a place where if students see the need for change, they don’t wait for the administration to do it, they take action themselves.”

“It was really inspiring when I first got here, and it’s encouraged me to become much more involved throughout campus.”

A future science teacher and a Teaching Fellow, McCullough has been involved with a number of activities he hopes will benefit his development both as an instructor and as a person – he has served as a College of Education senator in NC State Student Government, on the African-American Student Advisory Council and is the Historian for the Association of African-American Student Educators.

In addition, McCullough is a founding member of the Uninhibited Praise Gospel Choir and helped mentor fellow students as a resident advisor at Bragaw Hall, where he has met students from all walks of life.

“I think diversity is an issue many people aren’t exposed to. The many groups we have on campus gives you a chance to connect with people who may not look like you or have the same beliefs as you,” McCullough said. “Another experience is dorm life, where you can walk outside to find people you don’t even know and they invite you to play a game of volleyball and you end up being friends for the whole year.

“I’ve had so many different and great experiences, that it is not possible to list them all.”