A freshman year of challenges and triumphs
Plus: Ledger's weekly crossword and the news of the week — 14 students hurt in school bus crash — 2 new towers planned for SouthPark and Midtown — Big Atrium merger — Panthers schedule released
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Checking in with Garinger High grad Anisha Sunuwar as she looks back at her first year at UNC Greensboro
Anisha Sunuwar’s dream of becoming a nurse began when she was in high school and her mom was in and out of the hospital as she battled a digestive ailment, with Anisha serving as her interpreter. Anisha just wrapped up her first year at UNC Greensboro and she’s back in the dorms this summer as she takes anatomy, an anatomy lab and philosophy.
by Cristina Bolling
Anisha Sunuwar captured Ledger readers’ hearts in 2020 when we wrote about her for a piece about the struggles of high-poverty Garinger High School during the pandemic. Anisha was an honors student who immigrated with her family from Nepal when she was 10, and our article highlighted how she was juggling helping her mom who has a chronic illness with working part-time and attending high school virtually.
We checked back in with her last spring as she was graduating from Garinger and getting ready to head off to UNC Greensboro, her tuition and living expenses being paid for by a generous Ledger reader.
Now, Anisha has her first year of college under her belt. It’s been a year of big changes — moving away from home for the first time, navigating a university campus, facing academic pressures and making new friends. She is the first in her family to go to college.
We talked to Anisha, 19, last week as she was getting ready to start a summer session at UNC Greensboro. She’ll be living in a dorm on campus and taking courses in anatomy and philosophy to move her toward her nursing degree. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: How would you describe your first year of college?
The first year was really challenging for me. I don’t think I was mentally prepared for everything I was going to be learning, all the classwork. For example, I didn’t realize that things like the syllabus were so important. When I was in high school, I never looked at a syllabus, but in college I realized that if I didn’t look at the syllabus and prepare before classes, I wouldn’t know what the professor was talking about.
I have friends who were sophomores who are Nepali who really helped me out. A funny story is, I had an asynchronous stats class, but I didn’t realize that it wouldn’t show on my schedule (because it didn’t have a fixed meeting time – all work was done remotely). I was showing one of my friends in the nursing program all my classes on Canvas (a course management app) and she was like, “Why haven’t you been doing any work for this class?” I was only going by what I saw on my schedule. I emailed the professor, and she was very understanding. She said she knew that freshmen struggle a lot. I met with my advisor, who said I was probably taking too many classes. She made me drop one of my classes, so I dropped that stats class.
Q: How easy was it to make friends? Was the social part of college hard at first?
In the beginning, everything felt big. I didn’t go out very much. For a while, I was involved in a program called Crew, which was a Bible study group. I went for a while, but classes got busy and I stopped going. Second semester, I joined a group called NSA — Nepali Student Association. It’s a cultural group. We talk about our Nepali culture, which makes me feel really safe at UNCG. I feel like I’ve met people here who’ve gone through the same things as me, and it makes me much more comfortable.
Q: Did you have any big learning moments, where you faced a challenge and came out stronger for it?
First semester was really busy and really complicated, and I failed bio. I passed the class (a lab) that went along with it, but I failed the main class. I re-took it second semester, and I passed with a “B.” Retaking it helped a lot.
Failing that class was really hard. I was told that if you fail two classes, you won’t be accepted into the nursing program. That tensed me up even more. It was scary and frustrating. I didn’t want to slack off. I went to my advisor to make sure I was on the right path. She said, “It’s not that bad. First year students do this.” She was motivating me a little bit.
Q: You’re the first in your family to go to college, and I remember that your mom wasn’t too excited that you were moving away from home. How did your family adjust to you being in Greensboro?
My mom wanted me to come home almost every weekend, so almost every weekend I would drive back home. That was a little frustrating. Not every weekend, but most of the weekends.
Her health has gotten a lot better. She’s able to do most things on her own. I still translate for her, and I’m the one who refills her medicine. My mom can drive, but she only goes to places she knows because she doesn’t know how to use a navigator. So I drive her around (to other places).
Q: It seems like you got a lot of help from the Nepali community at UNCG. Will you pass some of your new knowledge onto freshmen next year who might be facing similar challenges to what you faced?
Yes, I want new students to know if they ever need help, we are always there. We are also planning on doing something with NSA, where Nepali high school students can come to UNCG to visit. Now, Nepali high school students go to UNC Chapel Hill, and they give them a tour. I went two times when I was at Garinger. We’re talking about doing that (at UNC Greensboro) too.
Today’s supporting sponsor is Soni Brendle:
A new crossword puzzle
If it’s Saturday, it’s time for a new Charlotte-themed crossword puzzle.
This week’s is called “Charlotte Parking.”
Ledger crosswords are created by Chris King, edited by Tim Whitmire and presented by CXN Advisory. Enjoy!
.PDF (suitable for download and printing):
.PUZ (suitable for use on tablets and computers with Across Lite app):
As always, you can check out all of our puzzles and solutions at our dedicated Charlotte Ledger Crossword page. (We’ll include the solution to this one in Monday’s newsletter)
This week in Charlotte: Big Atrium merger; 2 new towers planned in SouthPark and Midtown; 16 injured in school bus crash; Letters reveal more behind-the-scenes of Winston firing
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
CMS letters released: (Ledger) The public got more insight into what unfolded prior to the firing of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent Earnest Winston this week with the release of two letters, one that Winston’s lawyer sent the school board in December, and a response that the board’s attorney sent in April. The letters include differences of opinion about whether board members overstepped their authority in dealing with Winston, and they show that there had been discussions about whether Winston should resign.
CMS teacher of the year: (Observer) Imee Idjao, a third-grade teacher at Villa Heights Elementary School, was named Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ teacher of the year. Idajo, 41, came to the U.S. from the Philippines in 2010. She told The Observer that she tries to “shine a light on students’ strengths and help them see the special qualities they might not know they have.”
Duke plagiarism accusations: (Duke Chronicle) A student’s speech at Duke University’s commencement on Sunday contained a lot of the same specific phrases and ideas as a 2014 Harvard commencement speech, leading to accusations of plagiarism. The university said it is investigating, and the student, Priya Parkash, said in a statement from a crisis PR firm that she was “embarrassed and confused” to learn that some of the passages were similar. Judge for yourself in this YouTube video comparing the two.
Politics
Construction ownership: (Biz Journal, subscriber-only) Leeper Construction believes it reclaimed a 25% ownership interest from former City Council member James Mitchell a few months ago after Mitchell failed to repay a $375,000 loan, according to public records unearthed by the Charlotte Business Journal. Mitchell disagrees with the company’s interpretation. It is an important issue because Mitchell is running for City Council seat, and Leeper is a city contractor and cannot do business with the city if Mitchell owns a substantial portion of the company.
Time to vote: Early voting for Tuesday’s primary election ends today. It’s from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 16 sites. After that, polls are open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. More info.
Local news
School bus crash: (WCNC) A dump truck and a school bus headed to South Mecklenburg High School collided head-on Monday morning, injuring 14 students and both drivers. The dump truck driver told investigators he fell asleep before crossing the center line and hit the bus. Both he and the bus driver were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Airfares head skyward: (Ledger 🔒) Travelers looking to book summer vacations and business trips are finding that airline prices are much higher than those they saw during Covid. Industry experts say airline companies are reacting to higher gas prices and high demand, and they say some people are taking “bleisure” trips that mix business and leisure travel.
Business
Atrium merger: (Biz Journal) Charlotte-based Atrium Health is merging with the Midwest’s Advocate Aurora Health to become Advocate Health — a deal that will double Atrium’s size and create the fifth-largest health system by revenue in the nation. The new Advocate Health will serve 5.5 million patients across six states: Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. It will operate more than 1,000 care sites and 67 hospitals with nearly 150,000 total employees. Combined annual revenue will exceed $27B.
Towers rising: Developers revealed plans for two residential towers this week: One in SouthPark (🔒), where a tower of up to 195 feet would anchor a mixed-used development with 700+ apartments and a pedestrian street called a “woonerf”; and one in Midtown (🔒), where a 250-foot tower would be beside a new 150-room Hilton Tapestry Hotel. Neighbors by the one planned for SouthPark seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach (🔒).
Rising mortgage rates: (Ledger) Increases in interest rates are translating to higher financing costs for home buyers. Local real estate agents say buyers are acting with more urgency before rates rise even more.
Sports
Panthers’ schedule: (Panthers) The Carolina Panthers’ schedule is out. The team opens at home on Sept. 11 against the Cleveland Browns. There’s also one night game, on Thursday, Nov. 10, against the Atlanta Falcons.
Good reads
A perplexed transplant: (Charlotte magazine) Charlotte magazine’s Tess Allen, who moved to Charlotte in January, shares 10 things about the city that perplexed her upon arrival, including purple streetlights, the ongoing fascination with NASCAR and the lack of Charlotte natives.
Chick-fil-A traffic fiascos: (Transit Time) It’s time for Charlotte to at least try to solve the problem of traffic backups near Chick-fil-A restaurants, writes The Ledger’s Tony Mecia. Yes, Charlotte has worse problems, but the traffic troubles are unsafe and unfair to surrounding businesses whose entrances are blocked by people in pursuit of waffle fries — and there are possible solutions.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Rezoning petitions: (Monday 🔒) Where are developers planning apartments, townhouses and more? Find out in our monthly listing of Charlotte rezoning petitions.
Epicentre auction: (Monday) The old owner of the Epicentre, CIT Group, might be a bidder in the site’ foreclosure auction. The Epicentre was expected to be sold on Thursday, but the auction was postponed until July.
Social districts moving slowly: (Monday). While other N.C. cities and towns are implementing areas where people can walk the streets with open containers of alcohol, Charlotte says doing that here will take another 3-6 months. The head of a state retail association says Charlotte should move faster.
A later-in-life shot put champion: (Ways of Life 🔒) Jerry Vaughn made shot put his obsession after retirement, and the accomplishment he was most proud of was breaking the 50-foot barrier, which had never been done by a USA Track & Field athlete over 70. “He worked tirelessly for that record,” his daughter Logan Vaughn said. “He had to completely dedicate himself to go to every single meet because he figured some days would be good days and some days would be bad days, but if he wasn’t always throwing, he was going to miss the good days.”
2nd campus for public boarding school: (Wednesday 🔒) The N.C. School of Science and Math is putting the finishing touches on its new campus in Morganton, which is expected to open in the fall and is more convenient for Charlotte families than the original campus in Durham.
Duke Energy art: (Wednesday 🔒) We answer a reader’s question about what will happen to the big neon light-up artwork on the side of the Duke Energy building on Church Street, now that the building has a buyer and will be converted into apartments, retail shops and restaurants. The artwork is called “Quadrille,” and was installed just in time for the Carolina Panthers’ first regular season game in August 1996.
‘Simply amazing’ home support for soccer team: (Fútbol Friday) Charlotte FC looks to extend its home winning streak to five games as it takes on Montreal on Saturday. Coach Miguel Angel Ramirez says the team enjoys a huge home field advantage because of the fans: “Every coach that is coming to me is saying the same [thing]: ‘What’s going on here is simply amazing. The atmosphere that you’ve got in this stadium is unbelievable.’”
Ballantyne boundary maps: (Friday 🔒) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials ran two proposed maps by community members Wednesday, showing how the new elementary school slated to open in Ballantyne could change the boundaries for Hawk Ridge, Elon Park and Ballantyne elementaries. School officials say they’ll take community members’ feedback into account when deciding where the lines will be drawn. School board members will vote on the boundaries in June.
Join us for Charlotte Ledger night at ‘Charlotte Squawks’ on June 10; 10% off for Ledger members
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project