alumni of note HARMONY CROSS, ’13 Harmony Cross came to North Carolina seeking a true “Southern experience.” She says she found that at NCCU, plus much more. Cross, a Syracuse, NY, native, graduated from NCCU with a bachelor’s degree in public administration. She is set to earn her master’s degree at Temple University in Philadelphia in July 2014. “Going down South to college got me to slow down, in a good way, and to enjoy life and live in the moment,” Cross said. She says she came away from NCCU with a solid education, plus the self-confidence and personal insight she needed to move forward in pursuit of her goals without always knowing exactly where the path will lead. She said her experiences as a resident assistant during her sophomore and junior years at NCCU helped her decide to pursue a career in higher education.
four who soar
“I would like to see an integration of the traditional classwork and more practical experiences,” she said. “We learn so much more when we are doing things with our hands – getting outside of the classroom.” “I would highly recommend that everybody stay on campus,” Cross said of her four years living and working in residence halls. “I realized the positive impact of living amongst your peers.” Serving as Miss NCCU in her senior year inspired her to become a role model and inspirational speaker for minority students, she added. “I want to inspire more young urban students to set the bar high and go for it,” Cross said. Her ultimate goal is to combine her love of higher education and her motivational approach to student development by establishing a college in urban Syracuse. “I would like to see an integration of the traditional classwork and more practical
experiences,” she said. “We learn so much more when we are doing things with our hands – getting outside of the classroom. For the immediate future, Cross is planning a work-study trip to Jamaica this summer, where she will also work with teen-age girls in an after-school setting. Then it will be back to Philadelphia for a single remaining class before she receives her master’s degree. Then she is willing to wait and see where life takes her. “I may take a year off from school, get a job in higher education, and develop my portfolio as a motivational speaker,” she says. Whatever she does next, it is bound to be exceptional. “I don’t believe in settling for mediocre behavior – if you set your mind to something you can do it,” she said. Photo courtesy of Vernon H. Samuel
CHRISTOPHER LOPEZ, ’13 Christopher Lopez graduated from NCCU with a degree in business administration and a one-way ticket to California, where he intended to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. But first, he had to fulfill a promise to meet with Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) in Washington D.C., where Lopez had attended a summer leadership program two years previously. “He told me, ‘I know you want to pursue entertainment, but before you do that, let me bring you to D.C.,‘” Lopez recalled. A few days later, the new graduate made the drive with his parents from Jacksonville, N.C., to Washington D.C., and was hired on the spot as Taylor’s executive assistant and education policy specialist for TMCF, a national organization representing students attending the 47 public historically black colleges and universities in the United States including NCCU. “Instead of tunnel-visioning along my path, Johnny said he would take me the long way around,” Lopez said.
While most of his work is directed at advancing the fund’s mission of improving graduation rates and extending employment opportunities for HBCU students and alumni, Lopez has also had a chance to explore his own interests. It turned out that Taylor, who worked as an attorney in the entertainment industry before joining the TMCF, still has a host of connections in Hollywood. “The biggest thing I’ve done so far was getting to co-host an awards program with Bill Cosby. And he and I have stayed in touch. So I feel I’m pointed in the right direction.” Lopez described himself as an underperforming student in high school who had a turning point in the fall of his freshman year at NCCU. Actor, author and Harvard University graduate Hill Harper, who works with youth through his Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, came to campus as a Lyceum speaker in 2009, Lopez recalled. “When Hill Harper spoke about having a blueprint for college and the meaning of education, it kind of changed my whole direction,” he said. “I have utmost pride and support for NCCU.”
“The biggest thing I’ve done so far was getting to co-host an awards program with Bill Cosby. And he and I have stayed in touch.”