Taylor Beamon

The Collegiate 100 is an auxiliary group of the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. that extends its mission on university and college campuses nationwide. The NCSU chapter focuses on mentoring, education, community service, economic development and health and wellness in order to enhance the growth and development of African American males.

Taylor’s words of advice: “First let me start by congratulating each of you on making it this far in your academic careers. You are about to embark on four of the most exciting, challenging, and influential years of your lives here at State. My advice to you though is to not think of college as the plateau of your success, instead let it be just a stepping stone in the path that you will continue down many years after you graduate from this great institution. Take these four years as an opportunity to open your eyes to the culturally diverse community that NC State offers and never limit yourself to the people and activities that you were accustomed to in High School. I will leave you with a quote my father told me when I first stepped on this campus “Habits, both good and bad, can be broken. Therefore rather than making excellence a habit you do occasionally turn it into lifestyle that you do consistently.” Keep these words with you as you sit class, walk the Brickyard, and even when you find yourself at your first house-party. With that being said I welcome you to the next chapter of your lives and hope that you make the absolute most of it. Go Pack!”