On August 3, Angelica Smith ’14 competed in the Petite USA Pageant in Chicago, Illinois, where she emerged victorious among contestants from across the country. Remarkably, this was Smith’s first pageant experience, and she won the national title by exemplifying grace, style, and elegance. Smith expressed her joy on social media, stating, “One of the best parts about this experience is being able to represent HBCUs. Being part of an HBCU community has profoundly shaped who I am today.” As Ms. Petite USA, Smith is committed to promoting her platform, “Stature Does Not Determine Strength,” within the HBCU community and across the United States. She aims to encourage individuals to…

From 1939 to 1973, there was a fondly remembered cafe on East Market Street across from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s campus. Among the many businesses that populated the area, this place was considered a landmark and a go-to place for generations of Aggies. Beyond the juicy hamburgers and famous fried bologna sandwiches, this place was more meaningful for the man who ran it faithfully with good conversations, friendliness, and a grease-stained apron – that man was “Boss” Webster. Boss was much more than a cook to students of North Carolina A&T and Bennett College. He was an institution. Many students over the years had assumed that there…

The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Office of Alumni Relations would like to recap the unforgettable moments we shared during the Alumni Reunion Weekend for the Golden Class of 1974 and Silver Class of 1999. Aggies traveled as far as Portugal, Spain, Albany, New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles, and San Diego, California to North Carolina to convene during May 9-12, 2024. Most importantly, this year’s Alumni Reunion Weekend had groundbreaking attendance with the Golden Class of 1974 with 100 class members and the Silver Class of 1999 with 191 class members.  The weekend kicked off on Friday, May 10, with the Society of Golden Aggies Luncheon that…

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” The marriage of the Rev. Nelson Johnson ’86 and Joyce H. Johnson ’90 has stood the test of time, lasting for nearly 55 years. Their impactful story was featured in Essence Magazine’s January-February 2024 edition on Black Love. The Johnsons are the founders and co-executive directors of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, a community-based, grassroots organization rooted in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of seeking racial and economic justice, democracy and a beloved community. They…

For generations of Aggies, there is one name that fully embodied the right combination of music, stage, glamour, theater, and worldwide fame. That Aggie alumna was international opera star, Margaret Tynes ‘41, who passed on March 7, 2024, at the age of 104. As far as it is known to the university archives, she was not only the eldest living alumna and the eldest Miss A&T, but possibly the last living Aggie to have attended the university before 1940. She was an international star with an incredible voice, living in Italy, and with beginnings as a little girl in America’s segregated south, her life was compared to a fairy tale…

In the fall of 1984, freshman and sophomores, Lamont Christian ‘87, Charles “Shon” Yancey ‘94, Michael Humphrey ‘87, Gerald Tharrington ‘89, Darrell McNeil ‘17, and Stephanie Simon ‘87 would embark on what we now call the greatest percussionists of all time – Cold Steel. In the December 2023 N.C. A&T Alumni Times, Bluford Library Archives reported the first official mention of Cold Steel that was in printed form in 1993. The editorial team of the N.C. A&T Alumni Times met with the original members of Cold Steel to learn more about the origin story. In the fall of 1983, Lamont Christian was a freshman at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical…

Siobahn Day Grady ‘18, Ph.D., stands on the shoulders of hidden figures – women of color who worked in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and never acknowledged for their significant contributions to society. A passionate professor, speaker, author and role model to women and girls interested in STEM education, Grady was the first woman to complete her doctoral degree in computer science at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Grady, a native of Hillsborough, North Carolina, grew up influenced by her parents’ passion for technology. In elementary school, she fell in love with mathematics and science. When she decided to attend college, she wanted to attend a historically…

On March 15, two North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumnae, Wanda Gardiner ’87 and Victoria Revelle ’11, were honored during the CAA Tournament as Hometown Heroes. Both recipients received recognition basketballs during the 2024 women’s CAA basketball Championship at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. The CAA Hometown Heroes program recognizes individuals who have made a positive impact within their community or on the campus of a CAA institution. Over the past several years, the conference has been proud to honor members of the military, police, fire and rescue departments, teachers and many others who have provided an important service to aid people in their local…

A lifetime native of Forsyth, Georgia, David Sewell Jr. ’53 recently celebrated 70 years as an Aggie in 2023. He is 90 years young and will turn 91 in July. He attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1950 at the age of 16. During that time, he stayed in the new dorms called the barracks and majored in masonry. He graduated at the age of 19 and returned back to Forsyth, GA. During Sewell’s career, he served as an inspector with the Georgia Department of Agricultural General Fields Forces until his retirement. Sewell has traveled back to North Carolina A&T three times in his lifetime and loves…