A freshman year to remember

A+freshman+year+to+remember

Ave' Mullen, Staff writer

It’s so hard to say goodbye to a wonderful year a AIC and football team and the Honors Program are two of the organizations that showed out and ended this year on a great note with much to look forward to.

AIC’s football team kicked off their spring game – the last of the academic year — on Sunday, April 15 on Ablow Field. Even 36-degree weather and snow flurries falling, the team came out and played with no challenge. On the same day at 9:30 a.m., the Honors Program took off on bus bound for Hartford, Connecticut to visit the Mark Twain House and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, both historical landmarks of literature and society itself.

Ave’ Mullen
AIC football team plays its final game of the academic year.

Both groups, although different in content, have a lot in common.

They both have put in hard work in their own ways this school year.

The Honors Program members have faced all the labors of a busy semester with advanced assignments and co-curricular activities. The football team has been in grind more all year while balancing weight room, practice, and school work. However, through the challenges of both workloads and personal lives as well, both come out on top for these last few weeks of school.

The Spring Game was a big opportunity for the football team to show up and show out for the anticipating AIC football fans. Almost 100 people gathered in the stands to watch the scrimmage between offense and defense.

Coach Kenneth Tinsley, with this being his first time coaching the defensive side, was able to give us some perspective on how the team has been coming along and how he is preparing his team.

Tinsley was happy to talk about the team.

“The relationships between each other is the absolute best,” Tinsley said. “It’s a good feeling seeing your players always together on and off the field. When that normally happens, a strong bond is created and the effort. to work together towards a common goal is high.”

Some players can look forward to this coming season is #24 Samad Davilla, a running back, #38 Isaiah Robinson a linebacker, and #1 Tommy Smith, a wide receiver. We look forward to all the success they will bring.

The Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut, where AIC’s Honors Program recently visited.

Faculty and students in the Honors Program spent their Sunday exploring and learning about the history of the famous author Mark Twain. Most people are familiar with him from his books The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The trip was a wonderful and insightful experience for all.

“Students may think professors know it all, but the truth is that we are always eager to learn more about our favorite subjects. Museums like this assist in that process,” said Lori Paige, professor of English at American International College who teaches some honors courses.

Seeing the author’s house allowed them to examine some aspects of his personal life, like how he was a family man, and to get a better understanding of his personality and how it related to the content he produced.

“He was also a very funny person with a wonderful sense of the absurd that came out in the decor of the house and the games he thought up for his daughters,” said Paige.

The visit to Hartford did not only bring up literate, but also history of the Civil War and civil rights movements going on at the time.

They got a chance to visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, which the home and museum of author Harriet Stowe, famous for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

“The students and I saw some absolutely shocking posters and news articles from the pre-Civil War area relating to the treatment and capture of runaway slaves. I think it’s safe to say we were all very moved by that display and grateful to Stowe and Twain for their important work in forcing Americans to see the evils of slavery and helping the Abolitionists eventually end this barbaric practice,” said Paige.

This experience was an eye-opening one for all who attended and there will be many more to come. Be on the lookout for more from the football team and honors program!