An Introduction: Grayson Fleming

My name is Grayson Fleming, a 3rd year transfer student coming from East Carolina University. I left school in Greenville to take a year off and transfer closer to home and participate in a more academic environment. This transfer has not been super easy considering these unprecedented times but I’m making the most out of the remainder of my college experience. As it sits, I’m currently pursuing a major in Economics within the Poole College of Management. The curriculum here at NCSU is about 3x as rigorous as my previous institution and I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a hair of “Imposter Syndrome” surrounding my involvement in such a competitive business program but I came looking to challenge myself and graduate with what I consider to be a meaningful degree so while nervous, I believe I’m prepared.

Admittedly, my relationship with writing is a bit one-sided. I would not exactly say that it is an activity I enjoy because its a passion, so much as I feel its something I’m “good” at relative to other subjects encountered at school. Regardless, I’m fully aware and appreciative of effective writing/communication’s effects within the work environment and am enthusiastic about many of the lessons underlined in this courses syllabus. Unfortunately, this familiarity is not from first person experience as I’ve yet to get a “big boy” job, or the standard 9 to 5, per say. While I do not believe the majority of my previous occupations would be considered professional, I still feel they have still refined my ability to communicate. If nothing else, my jobs working in customer service have taught me to be quick on my feet and given me invaluable experience in minor conflict-resolution skills.

As for hobbies and creativity, my interests largely revolve around just lifting weights and staying active. I would consider myself a bit more social than average as reflected in the (E) portion of my MBTI type (full acronym: ENFJ) but the constant quarantining has definitely hindered that characteristic of mine. The inability to leave and venture aimlessly around campus and Raleigh has been disappointing. Growing up in Cary, about 7 minutes from NCSU’s main campus, means that I’m not necessarily a stranger to the area but I do still feel that the midst of my college experience has been irreparably damaged. Regardless, I initially felt the MBTI survey questions to be a bit arbitrary but ultimately found that I agreed with the sites explanation. The experience was interesting. If the site’s assessment of me holds true, I also discovered that I’m a bit more in tune with the emotions of others as well which I find reassuring.

Finally, my goals for this course is to pass with a satisfactory grade and take the next step towards earning my degree. Beyond that I’d like to keep honing my understanding of professional environments and communication within which I believe this course will achieve. I don’t typically head into a course particularly optimistic about my takeaways but I genuinely feel this class will eventually produce me very tangible results down the line. Thanks for taking the time to read,

Grayson Fleming