Fun Things to Do On Campus

Hi everyone! My name is Lauren Hysong and I am a senior in biological sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences here at NC State. As my roommates and I are getting ready for this weekend’s football game against Pittsburgh (Go Pack!!!), I wanted to take a moment to tell you about all of the fun things that go on around campus. As most of you know, it’s football season, which is a notably exciting time among State students. Home football games are a great time to hang out with friends, show your school spirit, and have a lot of free fun. And not long after the excitement of football season, NC State basketball games roll around. There’s nothing like seeing the RBC Center full of NC State fans cheering on our basketball team! And though football and basketball are the two most popular sporting events to attend on campus, NC State also has a wide variety of other ACC sports that have games on campus all the time. Soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball, tennis, gymnastics and wrestling are all excellent programs that win numerous ACC and national titles and always put on a great show for students. And did I mention it’s all free for students??

Not a big sports fan? That’s fine--Arts NC State has a wide variety of shows and performances all around campus. We just finished renovating Thompson Theatre, where numerous plays and shows are put on year-round. Center Stage brings in musicians from around the world to perform, and our Dance program puts on great shows! One of the most popular venues to attend is Stewart Theatre in Talley Student Center, where many acts perform, such as our famous male a capella group, The Grains of Time. They are great live, and I highly recommend seeing a show while you’re here! Movie fans can visit the Campus Cinema, where for just $1.50 you can see a movie not yet out on video without ever having to leave campus. They also put on free advanced screenings throughout the year so you can see movies before they hit theaters.

In addition, many clubs and organizations put on events all throughout the year. As a student at NC State, there is never a dull moment on campus. There are flyers out everywhere on campus for fun things that go on all the time! I for one can’t wait for the Women’s Center to put on their annual Chocolate Festival this October. As future students, I hope that you all take full advantage of all of the fun things that go on around here. See you at the football game!!!

A Day in the Life - Tailgate and Football

Hey everyone, my name is Dave Overman and I am a junior majoring in Human Biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences here at N.C. State. Today I want to share with you my experience from this past weekend where I had the opportunity to attend the annual CALS Tailgate and afterwards attend an N.C. State Football game. I started my day at 8:00am when I met up with some of my fellow ambassadors at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds to set up for the Tailgate. Each year, our college chooses a Saturday with a home football game to invite all of the alumni, faculty, and current students out to have a great time tailgating and then we all go to the football game. This past Saturday morning, we spent much of our time getting Dorton Arena ready to host our tailgate. We blew up hundreds of balloons, set up all kinds of decorations, helped prepare the food, and set up display stations for some of the departments and student organizations within our college. After everything was prepared, it was time to have some fun.

Over the course of the afternoon leading up until the kickoff of the football game, we had thousands of people show up to celebrate our college with us. Numerous professors, alumni, current students, parents, distinguished faculty, and even Mrs. Wuff showed up to enjoy spending time together. Some of the activities that my friends and I got to experience at tailgate included face painting, enjoying a live band, getting some cool give-a-ways from the college, holding a snake and some crazy looking insects, homemade cookies, and seeing tons of friendly faces. We also got to eat a great lunch of good ole fashioned barbeque that was delicious! I had a BLAST at tailgate that afternoon hanging out with all of the people there.

After the tailgate was over, we walked over to Carter Finley Stadium where we got to spend the night watching our Wolfpack Football team play the Gardner Webb Bulldogs. We cheered, screamed, and celebrated as our team put on a show beating the Bulldogs. I’ve never experienced anything as exciting as a Wolfpack Football game. There is just something about atmosphere with the crowd, the students, the cheerleaders, the mascots, and the band playing the fight song. And we always close a game by putting our arms around each other in the student section and singing the Alma Mater. It is such an electric experience and one of my favorite parts about being a student at N.C. State. You get such a sense of unity by cheering on your school and showing your school pride together with your fellow students.

Well that is pretty much my experience from this past Saturday at the Tailgate and the football game. I had a blast hanging out with all of my friends at both events and I am looking forward to doing it again at the next game. GO PACK!