Meet First Year Students Stella Bradford and Anna Murray

In the past few weeks, I was able to talk to two extraordinary fellow NC State students. I had the privilege to work with Stella Bradford and Anna Murray, who are both freshmen here at NC State. In this article, I will talk about both the students’ experiences at NC State and the extraordinary things both these students accomplished before they got to NC State.

Stella Bradford is a freshman majoring in criminology. Before starting at NC State, she was on America’s Softball Team. She traveled to Italy to play in a series of games and travel all over the country. For fun, she said she goes to sporting events and hangs out with friends. She made sure to emphasize that she has really bonded with her suitemates and that she has made many friends in her time here at NC State. Academically, she has achieved high marks in all her classes and is taking an insects and people class right now, which she is really enjoying. She pointed out that she has worked extremely hard at her academics to maintain her A and B average in her classes. She chose NC State because of the amazing criminology program, and because she had wanted to go here since she was little.

Anna Murray is a freshman majoring in sociology. Before starting at NC State, she started a mentorship program called DREAM Team back at her high school for sophomores through seniors. DREAM Team is an after-school mentorship program for middle school students. In the DREAM Team, students work to help with transitions, run certain clubs, help kids who need extra support through one-on-ones, and work with fundraisers to make donor calls and other in-office duties. At NC State, Anna has joined a sorority, which she said has provided her with a feeling of friendship and belonging. Classes have gone well for her thus far, and she is currently taking cultural anthropology and is enjoying it. For fun, she spends time with her friends on Tucker-Owen Beach and plays volleyball. She also said she has enjoyed going downtown to the science and history museums. She said she chose NC State because as she was walking around with her parents she saw people out and about, and it felt very welcoming.

Both these freshmen are exemplary and embody what it means to be an NC State student. I very much enjoyed talking with them and getting to meet them. Thank you to both Anna and Stella for taking the time to talk with me and meet with me.

This article is by Syd Cassels, a Department of Sociology and Anthropology student ambassador majoring in sociology and minoring in anthropology and geology.