Morehouse College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Business Administration and Chinese Studies – Concentration in Marketing
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: African-American Straight Male
Summary
I was a varsity athlete for two years. This was the first year I didn’t play. I’m very active within the Morehouse Business Association (MBA), which is a program [I’ve had a leadership position in] for two years that exposes the student body to opportunities in business and prepares them for the business world. My Freshman year I was selected for being outstanding by upperclassmen to be part of the Freshman Prodigy Program.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: African-American
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Private high school in Atlanta, Georgia with a graduating class of about 159 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: Business Administration and Chinese Studies – Concentration in Marketing
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I was a varsity athlete for two years. This was the first year I didn’t play. I’m very active within the Morehouse Business Association (MBA), which is a program [I’ve had a leadership position in] for two years that exposes the student body to opportunities in business and prepares them for the business world. My Freshman year I was selected for being outstanding by upperclassmen to be part of the Freshman Prodigy Program.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
I have a passion for [my sport]. It taught me to balance my time and to do multiple things at once. There’s comradery, and a lot of my friends came from being on the team. It’s like a job because of the time commitment, so you can imagine you get very close to your teammates. The MBA was more impactful because of the opportunities it gave me to be a leader within the Business department. It provides a gateway to be in key leadership positions. A lot of people get their internships by going to an MBA event that companies sponsor. We also have a lot of recruiters who’ll be at an event, where you can put a face to the name on your resume.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your majors?
It varies based on the class. In the business classes, a lot of them have three exams including the final, and then you’re out. There will be homework from time to time, but the exams are weighted the heaviest. I’m in a Corporate Finance course right now where there are four tests, and they are the only grades. The general education classes are more work-intensive as far as the number of assignments you have.
Is there anything you feel the Business department does especially well or poorly?
They do a good job of preparing students for their career. They do a good job preparing us on how to act, dress, and what professionalism looks like. I think they need to expose more opportunities in the technological space from a career standpoint.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s very collaborative. Morehouse is based on the principle of brotherhood, and It’s a founding pillar. It’s widely accepted to work with your classmates on assignments, to study together, and to be taught by them. I had a friend take Data Analytics last year, and since he already went through it, he taught me what he learned. It’s not necessarily competitive, and I think that’s a major part of why so many of our graduates have high positions in life. You’re collaborating opposed to competing with your neighbor. Our graduates always tend to come back and help the students in school now.
How accessible have the professors in your department been?
The Business department is very structured, and they make it very clear when their office hours are.
What was your favorite class in your major?
It wasn’t a major class, but it was called Special Topics in Management. In the class, you learned about the business and cultural environment of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the overall UAE. You had to pay, but you had the chance to go to Dubai after completing the class in December. I think it’s pretty amazing that Morehouse offers that opportunity. Dubai was one of the coolest places I’ve been to.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice so far?
I’m very happy with my choice because I’ve been able to learn the ins and outs of a business, see how it’s run, and see how powerful they are. They can be organizations of change that help the world solve it’s biggest challenges at a massive scale, whether that be socially or technically. I chose business because my mom exposed me to entrepreneurship at a very early age. She used to own a clothing store, and my dad has his own dental practice. I was raised in a house of entrepreneurship.
How has going to an HBCU impacted your academic experience?
I was one of four or five Black guys at the private school I went to, so to have that roll switch is a different feeling. I think you can be more free with yourself. It exposes you to people who look like you and who have similar experiences that are trying to achieve the same things as you. You’re not limited in scope because they’re still from diverse backgrounds, areas, and have different experiences. I think it’s provided me with a lot of different perspectives, and lack of excuses as well because it’s easy to say “oh my professor is prejudice and that’s why she graded my paper harder,” but when everyone is African-American at a school you really have to push yourself to be the best that you can be.
Reasons to Attend
1) Brotherhood.
2) The alumni network. There are opportunities to do whatever you want to do in your life. There is someone from Morehouse that is in almost any career field.
3) The things you learn beyond the technical skills, like how to be professional. Morehouse cares about the whole man instead of just the student or the scholar.
Reasons Not to Attend
I don’t have any.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Brazeal Hall with one roommate.
Sophomore: The Otis Moss Suite with one roommate and two suitemates.
Junior: The Otis Moss Suite with one roommate and two suitemates.
How do you like going to school in your hometown?
When I was in high school I didn’t think I was going to like it, but my parents went to Morehouse and Spelman respectively, and I think they’ve given me space to really do my own thing. I’m also actively involved on campus, so I don’t feel the need to go home a lot. I go home sometimes, but there was never a period where I felt that I had to go home for the weekend. I think that’s the culture of the college because so many people aren’t from Atlanta. You get a feel of what the culture in Chicago, D.C. or L.A. might be like because of the diversity of where people are coming from. I feel like I’m familiar with certain things when traveling outside of Atlanta because of my friends and where they’re from.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Due to the nature of the school’s location, I think you learn where to go and where not to go. I think you have to gain awareness of your surroundings for sure, but most people don’t encounter bad situations. They also have security and patrol around. We’d like to see a little more consistently, but going to the library late at night there’s always a police car around, so that makes it a little better.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in?
I love Top Golf. I like the eating options, so I’ll go out to restaurants with my friends. There are parties, of course. I’m not a big partier, but I do on occasion.
Who hosts the nightlife you participate in?
It varies. It’s probably a student from our class, or during Homecoming there are lots of parties put on by the fraternities which are normally pretty large in attendance. When you establish your circle of friends, just going to one of their apartments and having that fellowship with a good circle of friends is pretty cool too. That’s what I normally do.
How happy are you with the options for weekend activities at Morehouse? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m pretty happy. I wouldn’t change anything.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
A good amount of them were from Atlanta, so that’s pretty cool. I was part of this organization called Jack and Jill of America, so some of them came from there. I’d say I met my best friends on [my sports team.]
Through connections too. Alumni I might know would say his friend’s son is going here, and I’ve met people through scenarios like that. Lastly, clubs and organizations. I’m a pretty well-known person, and I’m not a stranger to anybody, but it’s normally in class when you get to study with people you want to surround yourself with people who are doing well.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Morehouse?
It’s very social. The brotherhood is the glue of the college, and it’s the main pillar. Also having Spelman and Clark nearby allows us to fellowship with the students there. That makes for an awesome social environment.
How has going to a traditionally all-male school impacted your experience?
In class, you kind of know that you’re in an all-boys school. At the same time, some of the students from Spelman and Clark take classes at Morehouse too. Once you get out of class you don’t feel like you’re truly at an all-boys school because there are so many opportunities to be engaged with the students at Spelman and Clark daily.
To what extent do people of different sexual orientations mix socially?
You can’t necessarily identify who is what all the time. Personally, I’m nice to everybody, and I’ve studied with people of other sexual orientations. I’m pretty sure I have a couple of friends who are bisexual.
How do you like the size of Morehouse in terms of undergraduate enrollment? [There are about 2,200 students.]
It’s a good size. It could be a little bigger, but I don’t think it should reach past a certain enrollment. When you go to a school like Morehouse, you really get to develop a relationship with your professor and the students. I have friends that go some of the larger schools in the country, and they say you never see the same people in the cafeteria twice. To me, that’s crazy because I have a bond or experience with people in my class, the class above me, and in the class below me. I can go say hi and it not be weird because they know who I am. I think it’s an appropriate size. I think the largest class I’ve had was 50 people, and it was a general education science course. [The average class size is about 19.]
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
People in Greek life and not in Greek life definitely mix socially. It’s very popular, but most of the school is not involved in a Greek organization. Morehouse in itself is almost like a fraternity. That kind of premises over everything, and the organizations kind of fall underneath. I have friends that are part of Greek organizations, and they didn’t disown me because I’m not part of one.
How has going to an HBCU impacted your social experience?
By being around people that look like you who are trying to do the same amazing things you are, you build bonds. Wanting to help each other provides a really collaborative space in which people begin to know who you are. You can really develop some powerful and lifelong friendships.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Yes. I would venture to say the whole Atlanta University Center community is very active. I got my internship last summer because I reached out to a woman who went to Spelman, and coincidentally she went to my high school as well. She literally put her name on the line so I could get a job at PayPal last summer.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I think we have a very high financial institution influence on the Business department. Because that’s not necessarily my interest, I would say the career center may not have been as impactful in actually finding my job. I’d say that they do have a lot of connections for sure, but you have to go to them looking for a role [in what you’re interested in]. They don’t have the most marketed companies like J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and SunTrust, which visit campus 20 times in the semester, compared to when Google and Facebook came twice the whole year. We also have something called the Opportunity Hub, which is through the entrepreneurship center there. It’s an organization that has chapters all over the country that try to get African-Americans into tech companies or starting their own tech company. It’s very much centered around technology. They’re almost like a second career resource.
Have you learned any computer programs that will be helpful to you professionally?
We’re learning Excel. Through Data Analytics, we’re supposed to learn how to do a little bit of Python.