Catching up With Kent Welch

More specifically, he wanted to make sure did a better job of keeping up with reading, studied a tad bit more in advance, formed a solid sleeping schedule and just stayed on task as far as the books are concerned.

But don't read too much into this. Welch said he did not have many qualms with the first semester of his freshman year.

"It went well," he said.

"It was an adjustment, but I don't think college is something people get acquainted with in a couple of weeks."

And this semester, he said he has kept to his plan to hit the books harder. But of course, times of procrastination crept in, he said. "Sometimes I stuck to it better than others, but for the most part (it worked)."

With only five weeks left in the semester, this freshman from Winston-Salem said he is enjoying his days at UNC, trying to improve upon the areas he deemed in need of attention and make his way through exams.

Welch said taking 13 hours has eased any stress and will continue to as the semester ends. But with fall term registration just around the corner, Welch said he has plans to step it up in course hours to 15 or more. "The lighter course load was a great for getting adjusted to the college lifestyle," he said.

With more time to kill, Welch got to further check out the UNC Greek scene this semester as a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

"It's an interesting way to spend your college years," Welch said, adding that he enjoys the camaraderie the fraternity brings.

Without as many classes to focus on, Welch dabbled more with banjo playing. "Lessons are going well," he said. "I'd like to find people to play with regularly, but I'm not in any rush."

One thing Welch is in a hurry to finalize is his place of residence for next year. The current Granville Towers resident is trying to wrangle an apartment off campus to live in next year. "That's a big question mark," Welch said.

But one person who will help him replace that question mark with an exclamation point is his twin sister and UNC student Katie. Welch said his sister keeps an eye on him and offers much appreciated assistance.

"She's really good at detail-y things, he said. "It's not like a motherly type thing, but she helps me. ... I guess she kind of watches out for me."

This semester also brought another female figure into the picture. Welch is in the developing stages of a new relationship which places more dimensions on the freshman experience. "I wouldn't say it changes my day-to-day routine," he said. "But it's definitely an added element -- an element not there last semester. It's cool though. I'm not complaining."

Like many freshmen, Welch is still playing the choose-your-major game, deciding what careers interest him and which major is the best preparation. The career wheel recently landed on going to medical school as one choice, which narrows down his job field but not a major. "I'm not science-oriented enough to major in chemistry or biology," he said.

But for now Welch is trying to see what options are available. "My weekly career choice is pre-med," he said. "And it's lasted more than a week.

"I have less doubts about that than I did about a lot of other things I've thought about. When I actually did think about medicine and being a doctor as a career choice, it was something I could see myself doing. But also, I'm a freshman -- that definitely could change pretty easily."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.