Fall Graduate Secures Graduate School and Future

LLP Student Profile: An Interview with Nickcolus Blakemore
By Brianna McGuire
LLP Social Media Intern

Nickcolus Blakemore

Nickcolus Blakemore is a graduating English major with a minor in mass communications and an eye
on the future. He was selected from a national pool into two graduate school invitatoinal graduate prep programs that took him to Texas this summer as part of STEP and Michigan this Fall to participate in MUSE.  He has graduate school plans for life after TSU, and his sincere gratitude for the English department is very beautiful and genuine. Blakemore spoke with me about his experiences in LLP and about the professors that have pushed him to become a better student and a better writer.

Tell me about yourself.

I will be graduating this Fall and I hope to get my master’s degree and have a career in screenwriting in the future. In my writing, I hope to center black people on television and tell a story of the struggles and challenges that we face as a race.

Tell me about your experience as an English major.

 As an English major, I can truly say that most of my support has come from my professors. They have been very dedicated to my success, and they have been very willing to work with me one on one and give me the time that I may need as an individual to ensure that I have the best possible path forward. At times, I do wish that the English Department could get more recognition and attention from the university because the professors do put in a lot of work, and I would just like to see their work supported and rewarded from outsiders.

What are some skills that you may have gained from the English department?

 There are so many. First and foremost, I would like to give a big shoutout to my mentors and professors Dr. Zeba Shahbaaz and Dr. Michelle Pinkard, the department chair. They have both instilled values like consistency, reminding me to stay consistent with my work and my writing. They have really trained me to become a better writer. I don’t think that I could be the writer that I am now without them. Lastly, they have encouraged me to go forward and challenge myself to different opportunities.

Speaking of opportunities, can you tell me more about the MUSE program that you just attended at Michigan State? How did you get involved?

 The opportunity was actually sent to me by those two professors I’ve mentioned before. After it was sent to me, I decided to do some of my research on the faculty and the program itself. When I did my own research, I saw that the program was researching certain topics that I was interested in such as Afrofuturism, critical race theory, black LGBTQ, and feminist theory. After seeing that, I applied and got accepted. It is a program that allows students to introduce your research interest and prepare you for graduate school. While I was there, they had us sit in a few classes, panels, and seminars — most importantly, a graduate school seminar where they spoke to us about tips and preparation for grad school.

 What was your experience like at Michigan State University? After your experience there, are you interested in going there for grad school?

 There are top tier institutions for research and I loved to hear that because I know that it would allow me to discover a broad range of interests when it comes to research. There are a lot of things that I enjoyed about the English department there and what they have to offer, they also have a lot of interdisciplinary studies there as well. As far as grad school is concerned, it is definitely an option for me, at the moment I am keeping my options open though.

 How did the MUSE Program impact you?

 It made me feel more prepared for grad school, they encouraged me after hearing my research so that kind of let me know that I was on the right track and they helped me to see what I can expand my ideas on after hearing the panelist and professors speak. It was a very full circle experience.

 Last question, I know that you spoke earlier about your gratitude for the English department because of their generosity and encouragement. Before you graduate next month, are there any words that you would like to leave the English Department with?

 Thank you for everything, and I will see you all at the top!

On the behalf of your peers, thank you Nickcolus for being a great representation for other English students at Tennessee State University. From having multiple classes with you, I have noticed that you have represented the Language, Literature, and Philosophy Department very well through your hard work, determination, and passion for writing. We cannot wait to see what you will do in the future, but we know for certain that you will make other students like me very proud and inspired by your future endeavors.