Like all eager and apprehensive high school students, I did my fair share of college research. SAT scores, GPA, student-teacher ratio, guaranteed housing, majors, mascots… Yes, mascots are important too. After all, if you’re going to have to chant their name at every sporting event, it might as well be a good one. I remember looking at NC State’s athletics, and “Wolfpack” was all over everything. I thought, “Oh, so wolves right? They’re the Wolves. I mean, they could’ve just said that.” But I couldn’t have been more wrong. NC State could never be the Wolves because the atmosphere created by NC State’s community will always be a Wolfpack. 

And after one step on campus, anyone who didn’t already know that will definitely find out. You don’t need to go to the bookstore to find out what’s in stock, or out of stock for that matter. Nearly every student is wearing something straight off the racks from the new and improved Wolfpack Outfitters no matter what kind of day it is. Go to Carmichael Complex, and you’ll see NC State Nike shorts or Wolfpack t-shirts scattered across nearly every bench press and treadmill. Go to Talley Student Union when it’s snowing and see the lines at Port City Java and Jason’s Deli filled with students cozied up in their Wolfpack hoodies trying to make the best of not getting a snow day. Better yet, go to a football game and, well… let’s just say a picture of fans in the Carter-Finley Stadium bleachers is one fabulous ad for the bookstore. When you’re part of the Wolfpack, you want everyone to know, because that’s how passionate you are about NC State. 

Let’s not forget about Fridays. Wear red, people! Even this past first week of school, I was happily surprised to see so much red already, and it was only the first few days officially back. The classrooms, the Brickyard, the Free Expression Tunnel … Red was everywhere. As a side note, I saw very little blue. Well done, Pack. Well done.  

A few years ago, my family and I were on vacation down in South Carolina at Hilton Head Island. Being from New Jersey, that’s a pretty long way from home. One day we were out on the beach going for a walk along the water, and all of a sudden, a guy under one of the beach tents holds up a “Wolfie” and shouts “Go Wolfpack!” Wait, what? It turned out that my older sister was wearing an NC State hat (she’s a proud alumna), and when the man saw it, he couldn’t help but share his enthusiasm about representing NC State. We weren’t in New Jersey. We weren’t even in Raleigh. But somehow, my sister was part of a family that spanned across state lines — a family I wanted to be a part of too. 

If you’re out on Miller Fields for some pick-up soccer or ultimate Frisbee, you’re part of a Wolfpack that’s always ready to pass the ball around and throw a disc to create a team for you to join and play a sport you love. If you’re freaking out about a calculus test, you’re part of a Wolfpack in D.H. Hill Library that is also drinking Hill of Beans coffee to stay awake all night, willing to help and study with you. If you’re out on the beach in another state, you’re part of a Wolfpack that is always a supportive family, no matter how far away from campus you go.   

So out of all 18 colleges I applied to (yes, you read that correctly, 18!), I ended up here. And the biggest reason for that? With all the school spirit that NC State embodies, I’ll never have to be a lone wolf again. As this new semester starts, I’m so excited to be back with the Pack. The NC State Pack understands that in order to be a great university, we need to have a great deal of school spirit. And to all the newcomers out there this year, welcome to the Wolfpack. 

P.S. But seriously, wear red on Fridays.