Nance Nance Revolution! (+ My CPW Recap) by Bryan G. Nance
New art and new memories.
As Sam Cooke once said, “It’s been a long time coming but I know a change gonna’ come.”
For the greater part of my blog’s existence, many of the regulars have insisted on calling me Nance Nance Revolution (NNR). Well thanks to one of my favorite prefrosh, the dream is now reality!
Check out an incredible piece of graphic art from Ms. Star Simpson of the great state of Hawaii. (Embarrassing moment coming…) Star, you are so awesome for creating my new banner. Not to mention the fact that you are a perfect fit for MIT and I can’t wait to see you as a freshman this fall. Remember to bring warm clothes… even our September weather may be a bit brisk for you!
CPW RECAP
I would like to give a shout out to all of the great students who humbled me with their presence during Campus Preview Weekend. Thank you Blessing, Carley, Star, Timur, Carlos, Jose, Lisa (love the hair color!), Allyson, YeSeul, Darryl, Jonathan, Cecilla, Ricardo, Keri, Willie, Dina, Javier, Isaiah, Bayo, Nur, Justin, Camille, Xavier, Marie, Daniel, Muhammad and Ryan (just to name a very few of you).
For those who couldn’t make it (like Kelli), we really missed you. Words cannot express how pleased I was to gaze upon the MIT family and see a reflection that is much more representative of America than ever before. Ladies and gentlemen, take a bow. You came, you saw, you proved why you belong at MIT.
While I’m at it, parents, you should take a bow as well. You heeded the call of your sons & daughters. You got out of the way. You left the students to their own devices. As we say in the urban vernacular, “You chilled while your peeps was handlin’ they biz in the cut.”
For those who missed the festivities, we kicked off CPW with two receptions on Thursday night – one for parents and one for students.
I was at the parent reception and those folks went to Church! We had a Gospel Choir sing and two of MIT’s finest – Karl Reid (Director of the Office of Minority Education) and Wes Harris (Department Head of Aero/Astro) – lit the crowd on fire. It didn’t hurt that we had an open bar for the parents! (Hey, $40,000 worth of tuition ought to get the parents something too!)
The student reception began with a buffet that was out of this world! Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Candied Yams, Sweet Potato Pie, Burritos, Refried Beans, Tamales, and of course Enchiladas. As a way of welcoming you, 200+ of my favorite MIT students showed up to welcome the newly admitted minority students. And just to show you that we got flava’ we were treated to hot performances from Mocha Moves and Casino Rueda.
Friday we let you go to classes and see MIT in all of its glory. We finished off the evening with what I thought was the star attraction, the Meet The Bloggers party. It was great to put names and faces together, and it was really cool that all the parents showed up to say hello.
Saturday was a day of days! We were treated to an unexpected Probate Show from the Distinguished Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. (Big ups to my main man Bradley from the ATL!) Thanks to their showmanship we were able to bring African American Sororities and Fraternities from all over the greater Boston area to campus. This was a great way for us to prove that the minority community here is much bigger than a single campus. When you come to MIT you inherit an extended family from all over Beantown!
What’s a Probate show without food? Prefrosh and their parents got a chance to break bread with over 400 minority students from the greater Boston area. No trash talkin’, no drama, just a sea of Black and Brown folks chillin’ and eating top shelf BBQ. (Don’t think I didn’t see the folks from the Dirty, Dirty – a.k.a down south – make those pulled pork sandwiches with the cole slaw!)
That night transitioned nicely as the brothers of Chocolate City hosted a standing room only Open Mic Spoken Word event. All I can say is two snaps up! But the piece de resistance was watching one of my best friends take the stage at the Battle of the Bands. My colleague and fellow blogger Ben Jones and his band Tremulant took center, and as Eric B. & Rakim used to say, they Moved The Crowd. As if that wasn’t enough, my boss and mentor Dean Marilee Jones took the stage with Tremulant and delivered a stirring rendition of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi. (Where else can you see Tim the Beaver crowd surfing?)
There is no question that this event was the highlight of my tenure at MIT. Just as I’ve acknowledged the attendees, I need to do the same for the folks behind the scenes that made the magic possible.
First I need to thank the Minority Ambassadors – Ms. Monica Simo, Ms. Val Lugo, Mr. Jeffery Kirby, Mr. Jon Gibbs and Mr. Luis Cervantes. These super-dedicated students take time out of their busy schedules to assist the admissions office in recruiting our fair share of minority students.
I’d also like to thank my co-workers for allowing me to try different hair-brained ideas all at the last minute. Thank you Ben, Jenny, Alia, Mikey, Stu, Jo-Jo, Amy, Matt, Edmund, and of course, Marilee.
The biggest thanks of all have to go to my wife Tina. Thank you for letting me pursue my passions with reckless abandonment. Thanks to you and this job, I am constantly reminded that I am bigger than the sum of my parts.
Enough from me. What do you think of my new NNR banner? How was your CPW experience?
I love it! Thank you for the kind words – as for warm clothes, I’ll have to FIND some first.. haha.
I hope you recover from the computer – that cannot be fun.
I can’t wait to see you in the fall!
Star,
Welcome to the MIT family!
Julia,
Did you run across any other MIT folks in ATL? Several reported having to miss CPW because of the COCA-COLA Scholarship. When will you know the results?
Phillip,
I KNOW you had a good time at CPW! Everytime a saw you you were with a different beautiful young lady. (Sorry to put your business ot there) I look forward to seeing you on campus this fall. You too are a true MIT fit.
Kristen,
IS is possible that you are MIT’s biggest cheerleader? Welcome home! Great ink work!
JKim,
I suspect that I owe you royalities for the use of your tagline NNR. I don’t honestly know if I should hug you or hit you!?!
Wonderful banner!
I played that game waaay to often at CPW.
And I sent in my decision last Sat. to MIT.
Saying I’d be spending the next 4 years of my life there ^_^
So all is good!
Oh and sorry I never got to meet you at CPW Star T_T.
Oh well there’s always next fall.
See ya
Nance,
You crack me up. Like an egg. BATTLE OF THE BANDS!! m/
We should talk, we haven’t in a while
borski.
As the official instigator of the name “Nance Nance Revolution”, I heartily approve
I’m so jealous I missed CPW though :—–
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kristin R.
EMAIL:
IP: 67.22.230.228
URL:
DATE: 04/25/2006 11:34:56 PM
COMMENT_BODY:
Yay! Nance is back! And with a futuristic banner to boot! And of course CPW was the best weekend in recent history!
That’s enough exclaiming.
hey bryan!!!! I’m so sad that I missed CPW, but a shout out to Jess Kim cuz we represented MIT in ATLANTA for coke scholars!! whoo-hoooo~~ But i’ve been preoccupied with convincing all of MITES 05′ to come to MIT (instead of the school across the river) and i think it’s been working?! anyways, just dropping by to say hello!
I’ve been wondering where you’ve been!! Glad to see a post
. I sent mine too….I guess you’re stuck with me for another 4 years!! muhaha
yay Bryan ur back on the blogs! I’ve decided – coming to MIT for sure! =) (u made the right decision about me)
I had an awesome time at CPW, can’t wait for the fall. Great banner, and Star, nice to see u on the blogs!
Thanks again Bryan. It’s finally settling in.
yay for Yeseul too =]
shhhh Bryan haha. i love myMIT blogs, but some things are better left private =P
thanks again. don’t worry – u’ll see me enough in for four years too =] (hopefully singing)
Yes! He blogs!
It was great to meet you too, and CPW was amazing. You’ll see me again in August, if not sooner.
That banner rules all! Star is my new god, and Jess was already up there for coming up with “Nance Nance Revolution” in the first place…
Carly,
I’m glad that you will be joining me (and the other black folks at MIT) this fall!
Yeah, like Julia said, I missed CPW for Coke Scholars. Which was AMAAAZING, but CPW sounded insanely awesome as well :
I’ll take the hug, thanks! :D
Nur, I’ll see you next fall, then!
Well Everyone,
It is nice to see that I’m loved! May 1st is approaching… Are there any of you still sitting in the undecided section? Let me know so that I can pull you over to our side. (with a little help from my friends.)
Nur,
Welcome to MIT! This fall it’s me, you a pocket full of tokens and DDR!
I love the graphic. CPW was sooo much fun, it really was nothing like I expected. Thanks Bryan for proving that there are black people at MIT. I can’t wait to come in the fall. Thanks for everything Nance Nance Revolution.
Hey Mr. Nance how are things going…I have recieved my comformation for admission. I am very excited to be attending. I applied for project interphase to I am eagerly awaiting that decision now(hopely the only decision waiting for the next few months). MIT is amazing! peace thank you
Hey Mr. Nance how are you…I just wanted to say that CPW was great! I got my conformation for admissions a couple days ago. I am very excited to be attending. I applied for Project Interphase and I am eagerly awaiting that decision(hopefully the only waiting for a couple more months). Thanks again peace. See you soon!
Hey Mr. Nance CPW was great! I recieved my conformation for admissions. I am very excited to be attending MIT. I applied for Project Interphase and I am eagerly awaiting that decision(hopefully the one decision waiting I will do for a couple of months man it stressful.) Well it was great seeing you and I will see you soon . Thanks again Peace
Hey Mr. Nance CPW was great! I recieved my conformation for admissions. I am very excited to be attending MIT. I applied for Project Interphase and I am eagerly awaiting that decision(hopefully the one decision waiting I will do for a couple of months man it stressful.) Well it was great seeing you and I will see you soon . Thanks again Peace
Sorry for all the multiple comments my computer is going crazy. I need to get a new one soon mine is ancient.
Hey Nance
Can’t wait to see you in the fall! (And it would be even better to see you in June with P. Interphase ^^)
Up MIT!
-Lisa
Sorry for going out of topic. Please guide me about the procedure for international stuedents to repay their loans ( taken to contribute for self help ) after ending their student status. Once they return to their home country it may be quite large amount in terms of their own currency!
What a banner.
Yah I’m ‘still’ around. I havent been commenting out of politeness’s sake but I luv this banner.
Woot!
You’re welcome. Does this mean I get an exceptionally good Mother’s Day gift this year? A sister would really, really enjoy some cash. Yup.