Chris FrazierThe bullets I was sweating on my trip to the third floor made for an unconventional first day. Farrison-Newton Communications Building’s humidity and HVAC issues didn’t help the nerves when I peeked into room 348.
Dozens of awards and old newspaper stories covered the Campus Echo’s newsroom, its reporters, co-editor-in-chief, sports editor and Bruce dePyssler, the faculty adviser.
“Hey,” he said as the others looked up.
As my imagination ran wild with the surrounding pictures’ history, I briefly mentioned that I transferred from Temple University and that I sent a portfolio with the goal of competing in N.C. Central University’s newsroom.
Now that I have earned opportunities, scholarships and awards, I urge my peers to do the same.
I said “portfolio,” but it was really a slideshow of my publications at The Temple News. And even that sentence is an overstatement.
My hour-long commute to campus and full-time duties as a Boston Market supervisor left dePyssler with only three essays and an opinion column.
“Hey [co-editor],” he said, “we got ourselves an expert.”
His words turned my mind into a whirlwind. I didn’t believe I was an “expert.” My time, or lack of, in Temple’s newsroom saw my peers on their fourth lap, while I was still lining up.
dePyssler wanted to make me the Opinion Editor immediately, but I disapproved. I wanted to earn it and even if my stories held some weight, transferring meant starting fresh.
It meant working.
After hearing these concerns, dePyssler said if I wrote two columns as a reporter, it would be enough to make me an editor.
The change was illustrated in the Echo’s “About” section in a week.
At the beginning of September, I noticed COVID-19’s silent return. Classmates, reporters, even dePyssler spent some days off after testing positive.
As it continued to disrupt campus life, I was reminded of a moment in my “Reporting and Writing” course at Temple. I had completed a draft for an assignment when Claire Smith, my instructor, took a look.
Despite writing opinions, she said that I wrote like I was in a “professional newsroom.”
I never published a news story before the COVID article, but Smith’s words stuck. And since that mask-wearing first step, covering news at the Nest became my home.
My byline was found under University Police’s Rape Aggression Defense class, NCCU crime, Esports, an award-winning feature on Veteran’s Day and historical symposiums.
While other reporters slowed down, my consistence stood out.
The increasing attention caught me off guard, as I was trained to tell the stories, not become them. But in time, the faculty’s impression of me manifested in an endorsement to represent NCCU at different conferences.
Participating in the “Transforming Education” forum and the second annual Democracy Summit at Howard University allowed me to compete with student journalists nationwide.
It also helped me network and make friendships I carry today.
And once I returned to the sloping hills and verdant green, I did my best to pass on what I learned to the reporters at the Echo.
So much so that in the second half of the fall 2023 semester, dePyssler made a decision. One of our co-editors was expected to graduate in a couple of months.
I was going to take their spot.
Since entering the role, I have seen the newsroom more than I had my dorm. At times, a faculty member joked about me being the Echo squatter who never leaves.
While I can safely state that this was hyperbole, I’ll acknowledge that I reported on NCCU’s biggest stories since my arrival in 2023.
I was feet away from Muni Long when she performed in the McDougald-McLendon Arena. Witnessing my Flex Dollars disappear during the cyberintrusion feels like yesterday.
I stayed on campus when most Eagles left to report on how the university was coping.
Echo reporters and I attended the town hall meeting and asked questions following the Lawson Residence Hall shooting. My reporting revealed the price to fix Farrison-Newton’s elevator and why it took so long.
The yellow tape, which was placed after gunfire forced an early ending to our 2024 homecoming, was photographed.
It took me less than 24 hours to report on the N.C. Audit, which found $45 million in financial reporting errors.
And like many of you, I witnessed University Police take a Student Panther to the ground during the 2025 housing rally.
My 58-story portfolio left me with good and bad memories, a massive network, a second family and the ability to compete with aspiring journalists nationwide.
I want the same for you.
The first thing NCCU did when I arrived was call me an “expert.” And since that moment, it has provided opportunities to make it true.
Despite the problems my fellow Eagles and I face on and off campus, we can still change the world.
If my path as an undergraduate does anything, I want it to motivate the Nest.
Yes, the fact that dePyssler wanted to make me an editor on day one is as true as it is that the Echo has been functioning on a skeleton crew until this academic year.
But I still had to give something back.
I had to accept the plane tickets and prepare when it came time to present to other schools. Hours were spent cultivating sources in my investigations which include students and administration officials.
Essentially, my portfolio required being the first person in the newsroom and the last person to leave.
I write this to confirm that it’s supposed to be hard. I had to compete for individuals’ time and information. And in the words of one of my professors, Brett Chambers:
“Competition breeds excellence.”
As Eagles, that’s what we’re destined to be. So even when you got a C or B, ask an extra question in class. Attend job fairs, especially when everyone tells you that you won’t get hired.
Apply for everything. Don’t let fear hold you back from the person you can be.
Use all the tools at your disposal, our mental health programs, study sessions, campus pantry and especially the Campus Echo.
Speaking of which, when I had our last meeting and was surrounded by the future editors, I realized that the room was filled with experts.
Don’t let the journeys to leadership cloud your judgement. And never allow anything to limit what you could be.
You all, the 2025-2026 editors, will be better than me. I’d argue that you already are. You just don’t know it yet.
To help, I’ll leave you with a line my oldest brother taught me:
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
