Laboratory Animal Sciences graduate Bryant Wiley '20 found a love of large animals by working on the University Farm.
As a virtual audience of family and friends cheered from home, 86 summer and fall graduates from all four departments of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences joined the ranks of N.C. A&T graduates.
N.C. A&T honored graduates, including 73 bachelor’s degree recipients and 13 graduate degree recipients of the CAES, during a video celebration on Dec. 12 on YouTube and Facebook Live. University and UNC system leaders and Aggie alumni made remarks.
One of the undergraduates, Diamond Mangrum, double-majored in biological engineering and applied mathematics. In addition to being a resident assistant and an intern at NASA, Mangrum was 2019’s Miss A&T 2019. She used her platform to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to her fellow Aggies, organized peer and community tutoring sessions throughout the year.
“It was the chance of a lifetime to serve the student body and the Greensboro community, and at the same time, to try to bridge the gap that exists for minorities in academics. I want to help our community understand that we’re capable,” she said.
Former Miss A&T Diamond Mangrum '20 plans to go straight to grad school on her way to becoming an astronaut.
She plans to apply straight to graduate school after graduation. At the top of her list is Stanford University in California, where she hopes to earn her master’s degree on her way to becoming an astronaut.
Another undergraduate, Bryant Wiley, was born to be an Aggie, having heard all about A&T excellence from his mom, an alumna. Still, he wasn’t sure until he saw the University Farm on a campus tour.
“Once I knew what I wanted to do, there was no other option for me,” he said. “I didn’t want to be one in a thousand. The smaller class sizes, the ability to go to the farm, and the chance to have more significant interactions with professors sold me.”
As a laboratory animal sciences major, Wiley would work at the farm for two years, and at the end of that time, realized that his veterinary interests went far beyond dogs and cats – he is equally at home with livestock animals. He plans to head straight to veterinary school to continue working with his menagerie.
In-person commencement activities were cancelled earlier this year due to restrictions made necessary by COVID-19, as was the spring graduation in May. Both videos will remain posted on the social media platforms, where the spring video has generated more than 110,000 views and hundreds of comments and reactions.
