Journey to the Degree: Fall 2025 Grads Share Their Stories

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Dec. 10, 2025) – As the fall 2025 semester draws to a close at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, approximately 1,100 students are preparing to celebrate their achievements at the university’s graduate and undergraduate ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 12 and Saturday, Dec. 13, respectively.

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Their journeys have been marked by challenges and triumphs, moments of joy and sorrow, and above all, a deep sense of satisfaction and pride. These soon-to-be alumni share inspiring stories of perseverance, dedication, scholarship, and innovation.

N.C. A&T students have excelled academically, professionally, and personally. While there are countless stories to be told, each one reflects the university’s diverse intellectual climate, entrepreneurial spirit, civic engagement, and commitment to academic excellence. Below are just a few of their stories, shared in their own words. Discover more in the days leading up to commencement weekend, Dec. 12 and 13, on the university’s special commencement website and on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Alana Holland - Biological Engineering

“Before I started college, I was told to rely heavily on my relationship with Christ because I was going to need it. I didn’t truly understand what that meant at the time.

My father passed away in the later part of 2019. I always knew I wanted to pursue engineering on his behalf. My mother is a 2005 alumna of North Carolina A&T, but I had never considered attending this university.

My high school environment was centered on PWIs and Ivy League dreams. My mother knew she wanted me to go to North Carolina A&T, but I did not know that when my acceptance arrived, all other letters would become irrelevant to her.

During my first semester, my mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. As someone who had already lost a parent, this health scare broke me in a way that words cannot fully explain. My grades suffered, and I lost my scholarship for the fall semester. I was devastated. At the start of spring semester, I decided that I would put myself first.

I got my GPA back up and focused on what mattered. I was accepted as an 1890 National Scholar. I maintained internships all four years. I studied abroad. I served in the community. I participated in coronation as Miss of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. I became a willing member of the National Council of Negro Women. And I held a research assistant position at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. However, I still faced adversity. But the Lord gave me the strength to see it through. Everything I went through was for this degree, this journey, and this growth. I am grateful. Grateful that I learned how to try again. Grateful that I got to attend my mother’s university. Grateful that I am studying what my father dreamed of studying. Everyone does not have the same timeline. No one receives the same blessings in the same season. If you try to keep up with the person next to you, you will ruin everything God has planned for you. During my time here, I have felt real joy on this campus. There is no place better than North Carolina A&T.”

Myles Saunders - Animal Science

“My name is Myles Saunders, and I’m an Animal Science and Chemistry student from Portsmouth, Virginia, graduating Dec. 13. I’m also a third-year section leader in the Blue & Gold Marching Machine and a proud brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, where I served as the Vice President of Programs. Outside of campus, I’m a certified scuba diver with Inland Divers of High Point.

Being a diver at A&T is extremely rare, so I took the initiative to build my own path — traveling to local dive spots, connecting with professional divers, and opening doors to opportunities most students never get to experience. Through these connections, I learned about the GVC Scuba Diving Apprenticeship Program, which I’ll be attending in Fiji this May. During this program, we’ll be diving from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., conducting marine research on whales and dolphins, working hands-on with marine biologists, and participating in coral reef and ocean cleanup efforts.

This experience is helping me prepare for my long-term goal of one day becoming a marine biologist.

I just want to show how Aggies are making an impact both on campus and around the world.” 

Photo credit: Jarvis Hough

Christopher Allen II - Liberal Studies

“My story is a testimony of faith, resilience, heartbreak and purpose. Very few people ever experience what I have had to carry on my shoulders, and even fewer manage to keep going. But through every storm, every tear, and every setback, I refused to quit.

In 2021, my father was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer. Then, in 2024, my mother was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. Having both of my parents battling cancer at the same time was something I never imagined I would face. Behind closed doors I struggled with depression, I was tired, overwhelmed and hurting.

In December 2024, I received the best Christmas gift of my life when my mom told our family she was cancer-free. That news gave me hope. I believed that one day my dad would say the same. But during my senior year, his cancer began spreading aggressively. During our last conversation, he told us he loved us, told me he wanted me to graduate, and he told me he could not fight anymore.

My first game back was in Orlando against UCF, the same city where we shared our last vacation together. Before the game, during my pregame walk, I talked to him in my heart. I knew he was with me. Even though we lost, I felt his presence the entire time. The following week, I tore my bicep and my season ended. I was angry and frustrated, but I eventually realized God was giving me time to grieve, to heal and to grow closer to Him.

Through all these trials, tribulations, and storms, I kept going. And on December 13th, I will walk across that stage as a college graduate and earn my Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies.”

Photo credit: Moodievisuals

Kennedy Williams - Biology

“My journey reflects that there is no single script for success in higher education. One of the most important lessons I learned at A&T is that comparing yourself to others leads nowhere. As a biology major, I was surrounded by classmates preparing for medical careers, and I felt a natural pressure to align myself in that direction. But, I was not pursuing the right thing for the right reason. 

At the end of my sophomore year, I was introduced to public health. For the first time, I saw how biology, sociology, and epidemiology could come together to improve people’s lives, especially in underserved communities. I connected with the field immediately, and that passion now guides me toward a career in global health where I hope to serve marginalized populations and influence health policy.

I am incredibly grateful for everything God led me through: becoming the second ESU Luard Morse Scholar in N.C. A&T history, studying abroad in London, traveling to four countries, and being selected as an NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program scholar. Each experience expanded my worldview and helped me step more fully into my purpose.

A&T became the first place where I could breathe and be myself without fear of being misunderstood. Ultimately, my story is about faith, resilience, and possibility.

After graduation, I will begin a two-year postbaccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, where I will continue exploring the intersections of biology, public health, and health equity."

LaDrea Pretty - Aggies at the Goal Line

I transferred to A&T in 2011. My major at the time was criminal justice. I liked the campus environment, but I’d go home on the weekends and was around the wrong environment. It made me lose focus. I started to struggle. 

I met someone who honestly didn’t support me being in school. I was at A&T, working and in a relationship, but we didn’t have the same mindset. Being with someone without the same mindset as you will sometimes take you off track. I lost sight of what was important. 

I lost my apartment. I lost school. I had to move back home. I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. Reality hit. I wasn’t the LaDrea that I was before. I had to get myself together. 

At the end of the pregnancy I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. She was born premature and only weighed 3 pounds. Her lungs weren’t fully developed so she had to stay in the hospital for almost 2 months. 

It was hard being a first-time mom watching my baby struggle to stay in this world. Once we got her home and she made progress, I said ‘I want better.’ I applied for a certain job. It was far-fetched. I didn’t think I got it. It took so long. I didn’t tell anybody I was applying. Everything I do, it’s a journey between just me and God. After what seemed like forever, I got the job. 

But coming back to school was always my goal. I heard people at work saying they were finishing their degrees. I just didn’t know how I could do it. I needed a sign. One day I was on Facebook and saw Aggies at the Goal Line, but I never looked into it. The next week things about A&T kept showing up. I prayed about it, applied and was accepted. I was so excited. But then my daughter had an asthma attack. She battles illnesses, but she’s so resilient. I look at her and see how she excels and that encourages me. I said, ‘I can do this.’ I can go back to school. I went back in Aug. 2024 and made straight A’s. 

Pray. Ask God to walk with you. Don’t listen to what’s going on around you. Stay focused. If finishing your degree is something you want to do, then go for it. I really appreciate Mrs. Carliss Jacobs. She was my superhero. She was on it. And I’ve never even met her. I really loved the Aggies at the Goal Line program. I recommend it to everybody.”