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The graduating class of 2023 are official Smithites! Thursday, August 29Ìýincoming 2019 freshman, dressed in black and white outfits, filled Biddle Hall Auditorium for their first Convocation, which also included a Pinning Ceremony.Ìý

Miss North Carolina, Alexandra Badgett, met with students at °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ during a College Tour in conjunction with Miss Taste of Charlotte. Badgett, a Charlotte native, is hoping to recruit more African American women for pageants.

This summer 11 students presented their research in the New Science Center auditorium on the campus of Johnson C Smith University. It was all a part of an eight-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) created and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As a collaboration among Davidson College, JCSU, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, this project places students in research settings alongside faculty members and key community players to define and creatively address social problems in the neighborhoods that surround Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte.

For three weeks, 14 students are participating in the National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) on the campus of °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ. JCSU is one of five Historically Black Colleges and Universities partnering with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to change the future of transportation.

The °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ women's tennis team was named to the 2019 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team and six Golden Bulls earned individual ITA Scholar-Athlete honors, the ITA announced Thursday.ÌýThis year the Intercollegiate Tennis Association saw an increase in qualifying teams and scholar-athletes.ÌýAll-Academic honors were awarded to 940 teams and thousands of scholar-athletes.Ìý

Students enrolled in the McNair Scholars Summer Program presented research to faculty, mentors and staff during a symposium. The six-week summer program couples students with a faculty mentor as they engage in research based on their academic discipline.Ìý

The Black Ink Monks, °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ’s oldest non-greek organization, returned to the American Hebrew Academy (AHA) in Greensboro, N.C. in January of 2019. Their annual trip educates AHA students about spoken word – using oratory skills for self-expression, anger management, and education.

Recent graduatesÌýGorana Bogdanovic and Jakeyah McNeil excelled both on and off the field while at °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ and have been honored as nominees for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award following outstanding careers as Johnson C. Smith student-athletes.Ìý

This year JCSU students had an opportunity to experience the sights, sounds and culture of Israel. Traveling with chaperones Dr. Cindy Kistenberg and Kendal Mobley, the group saw Caesarea, a Roman city built by King Herod the Great in honor of Augustus, enjoyed rafting on the River Jordan, and visits to Nazareth, Capernaum, and traditional sites of the Sermon on the Mount and the feeding of the 5,000.Ìý

Kaleyah Braxton ’21 spent Fall 2018 sharpening her photography skills as an intern in the Department of University Communications and Marketing, capturing images at sports, academic and social events. She took her craft to another level with a two-day wildlife and bird photography course limited to a dozen professional nature photographers at the Carolina Raptor Center.Ìý