In New Terrain

By Stacy Chandler

Toinette Powers ’21 loves to make herself uncomfortable.

After growing up in Thomasville, N.C., Powers charted new territory by becoming the first member of her family on track for a college degree. She wasn’t settled at NC State long before she pushed the boundaries of her comfort zone even farther by traveling to Mexico — her first time outside the U.S. — on a service learning trip as a Caldwell Fellow. That experience, in which Caldwell Fellows spent time with elementary and middle school students, put Powers on a path to a double major in international studies and psychology that also has taken her to London and Spain.

On each trip into an unfamiliar situation, Powers says she uses her initial discomfort to grow and connect. “When you’re uncomfortable, you are able to learn the most because you don’t have that much control,” she says. “You have to figure it out the best way you can. It’s less about other people’s differences; you’re trying to find more of each other’s similarities while also being able to recognize those differences.”

It’s less about other people’s differences; you’re trying to find more of each other’s similarities . . . 

That ability to connect and adapt to new situations came in handy when Powers first arrived on campus. She had to shift her identity from being the oldest of four siblings who often helped her single mother with parenting duties to being a full-time student who needed to focus on herself. As a first-generation student, she was eager to soak up every minute of her college experience. “I would make sure I talked to every single professor about every little thing, because I didn’t want to miss it,” she says.

Her enthusiasm for education was instilled by her mother, who attended college for a few months but was never able to finish. From an early age, Powers tried to set an example for her three younger siblings, who she says are poised to follow in her footsteps.

For her own future, Powers wants to find a way to blend her academic interests with her desire to keep challenging herself. First will come graduate school, and then, she hopes, a lifetime of “uncomfortable situations . . . I feel like that’s where my growth happens.”

The NC State Alumni Association founded the Caldwell Fellows and supports its scholarships, stipends and programming.