Aidan Norris
What is the most fundamental change you’ve experienced since your time as a first-year student?
In my very first semester, inspired by the lessons from my involvement in the Program For Leadership and Character, I began being more intentional about how I lived my life. I started looking for opportunities to promote justice in my every day life. Since then, I have become better at understanding my limits and knowing how to say no to some things while deepening my involvement in the things that truly matter to me.
What non-academic experience at Wake Forest was most meaningful to you?
The support and inspiration of the people in Leadership and Character has been the most impactful on my life at Wake, but in my day-to-day life the Ultimate Frisbee club community has dominated. I have been immersed in this community since day one and am proud of the program I have helped build in my time here.
What song or songs will always remind you of your time at Wake Forest? Why?
7 nation army reminds me of the football games. The boys are back in town will remind me of time with friends. Don’t stop believing will remind me of my first weeks at Wake.
Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate motto is a guiding philosophy for many students and alumni. Did it have an impact on your student experience and has it influenced your plans for the future?
I think that pro humanitate has been one of the major themes of my time at Wake through the Program for Leadership and Character and is a guiding motif for my future. I hope to pursue a career in the clean rural electrification of East Africa. I see it as my purpose to give back to the communities that shaped me and to leave the earth a greener place for the generations to come next.
What was your favorite class outside your major or minor areas of study and why did it appeal to you?
Commencing Character by Dr. Lamb. I really liked the idea of applied ethics and I appreciated the focus on contemporary thinkers through studying commencement addresses.
Wake Forest has lots of traditions, and sometimes students create their own. Do you have a favorite Wake Forest tradition?
Pitsgiving. I love the Pit. I am one of their biggest fans. Pitsgiving is one of the best days of the year for me.
What surprised you most about your Wake Forest experience?
How kind, helpful, and eager to get to know students the professors were. I have gotten to know many impactful mentors in my time here and they have truly been one of the best surprises I could hope for.
What was the most rewarding experience you had as a Wake Forest student?
Leading a thread at the Stamps Scholars National Convention. I got to dive into a topic that I normally don’t get to cover (play/youthful excuberance/growing up) and share it through interactive sessions with students from around the country.
Imagine you return to campus for your 10-year reunion. What do you hope will remain the same? What do you hope will be different?
I am excited to see the grounds. I am hoping that campus will be less preppy and more nerdy.
Now that you are a graduating student, what advice do you wish you could have given yourself as an incoming student four years ago?
Don’t be afraid to start and blaze your own path.
Compare your career plans as a first-year student with your career plans now. Why did your plans change or not change?
Things have remarkably not changed. I am eager to do the same work and have progressed in that direction. The order changed slightly – I no longer want to go straight to graduate school – but what I hope to do instead (Peace Corps) is something that has been on my radar since early high school. While I have not been accepted yet, I am really excited about the opportunity to apply my education to make a difference in the world.