The Face of SC State

The Face of SC State

    Trent Bryant, the drum major, visited my class last week to talk about his claim to fame on the South Carolina State University campus. The director of SC State University, Sam Watson, took Trent's photo. He didn't know his photo was on SCSU's home page. "Wow" was all he could say when he learned that he appeared on the main page. Trent informed us that he doesn't feel nervous. He is from Georgetown, South Carolina, and was involved in the sixth-grade concert band and the community drum line as a child.

    When he first saw his picture, he just took it in and said "wow... look at you boy". He never thought that he would be on the front page of the website. When he came to SC State, he never played in the marching band, only concert band. He has always had a knack for music and knew he would be a part of the SC State marching band. 

    When he was younger, he saw the SC State band play and he made his decision. He would attend SC State and join the marching band. He worked his way up the ranks to the drum major and has made a name for himself here at SC State. When we asked him what he would say to his younger self, and he said "be patient... you've got greatness coming". 

    Overall, Trent expressed to us his passion for music, desire to be involved in music, and how his hard work paid off. After college, he plans to get into the manufacturing business. 

My 2025 Outlook

     Welcome back to Jalen's Introspective, as I will discuss my 2025 outlook and resolutions. In 2024, I didn't fully accomplish all my goals, so this year, I have to work even harder. I want to block out negativity, get an internship, and graduate early.

    When I say block out negativity, I'm referring to breaking toxic bonds and changing toxic habits. Seeing how procrastination made my 2024 difficult at the beginning of the year, I will emphasize to make sure that doesn't happen again. In 2024, I had some bonds with people I had no business getting close with. It took a toll on me mentally, and it hurt deeply when a situation shook my year. I have to stop putting myself in toxic situations and that's something that I plan to work on. I realized that I had habits that put me in bad positions so I feel it's time to break them. 

    Dealing with everything going on, I wasn't doing a good job of blocking out the negative thoughts and thoughts of doubt. I've been working on that, and I think the results have been positive so far. When we got back from winter break, I was informed that I could graduate early. Since I heard that news, I've been seriously thinking about getting a summer internship. So far, Indeed hasn't been much help, but I've been just doing Google searches to find an internship right now.

    Overall, I believe that I have a lot of personal growth to do in 2025, and I think I'm heading in the right direction. My 2024 wasn't that great, so 2025 has to be amazing!