"A Bumpy Road to NCCU"

ATL Chapter Holiday Scholarship Recipient’s Story (PDF)

By Saria M. Canady

Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.

That’s the mantra by which NCCU student Tiffany Ross lives. Ross, 27, is the 2009 recipient of the NCCU Greater Atlanta Alumni Chapter’s Holiday Scholarship.

“I’m so grateful for it,” Ross said of $250 the scholarship, given to her based on need and her academic standing.

Ross boasts a 3.5 GPA, but she isn’t just making the grade. She is also making waves and a name for herself at the university. Last year, she was awarded for her community service efforts, and recently was invited to speak at the alumni reunion banquet.

“I got to rub elbows with important people,” she said. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Ross.

NCCU CENTENNIAL SPORTS HISTORY: DID YOU KNOW? (PDF)

Photo: The 1938-39 NCC Boxing Team, including coach John B. McLendon (far left) and Israel Allen
(far right). (Photo courtesy of NCCU Archives and Records)

Pugilists Packed a Punch at NCC in 1930s

DID YOU KNOW? Back in the 1930s, North Carolina Central University (then known as North
Carolina College for Negroes) field teams in the sport of boxing.

In fact, among NCCU’s first Athletic Hall of Fame induction class in 1984 was pugilist Israel
Allen, who was undefeated in his quest for state and regional championships on behalf of the
Eagles. From Peoria, Illinois, he also played tackle on the football teams in the late 1930s.