After five years of late-night essays, tough choices, and personal growth, senior A’Majeine Carson urges students to stay curious, trust themselves, build real connections, and keep pushing.

Carson is an English major with concentrations in creative writing and professional writing. She was involved with the Decaturian, Millikin’s Black Student Union (BSU), InterVarsity, and BURST Magazine. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a teacher’s certification.

Carson came to Millikin as an exploratory studies major and took a creative writing class with Dr. Stephen Frech, who provided positive feedback and a variety of writing opportunities in the class.

This experience influenced Carson’s decision to pursue English. 

Carson had always enjoyed writing, and the class opened her eyes to different writing possibilities. 

Dr. Scott Lambert, a journalism professor at Millikin, encourages students to write for the Decaturian, Millikin’s student-run newspaper. Dr. Lambert’s class had an unstructured schedule that focused on current issues and events, encouraging students to write about them. 

Carson reflects on a memory from one of Dr. Lambert’s classes.

“The first day of class with him, he asked, ‘Who is obligated to read your writing? Why should anyone read your writing?’” Carson said. “Everyone was thinking and writing down what they thought, but then he said, ‘No one is obligated to read your writing. What makes your writing readable? What makes it important? What makes the audience want to read what you wrote?’ When you have that understanding, just write, but don’t write because other people say so; write because you want to.” 

Her first assignment was to write a food review for an Indian spot, which pushed her out of her comfort zone. 

Writing for the Decaturian has helped Carson develop her communication skills and ability to engage with people.

“With Dr. Lambert, he’s encouraging you in different ways to approach certain things, writing in the newspaper, and learning how to communicate your story,” Carson said. “He was the only one reading the pieces we were writing in class, and wanted to emphasize other people reading our work.”

Carson held the position of a writer for the Decaturian but has previously served as the news editor. 

As a writer, she covered various campus events, including a Girl Scout Drive, Valentine’s Day in the UC, and the Step Show for Homecoming. Her role involved attending events, gathering information, and writing stories to inform the student body. 

“If you see something that’s going on, or even if you’re interested in it, just go over there, check it out, get some [information] on it, and then try to get it out to the students or the public,” Carson said. 

This experience helped her build her communication skills and understand different perspectives. 

“There’s so much stuff that goes on on campus, and there’s no way that you can go to every single thing,” she said. “I think being able to get the opportunity to write stories and tell the students what their campus is doing [is interesting]. If you’re not able to go to the events or you’re not seeing the events [firsthand,] you’re going to think Millikin is boring. But being able to talk to students and people I’ve never met before and writing these stories puts Millikin on the map because they see that Millikin is doing a good job, you know?” 

Carson encourages students to join campus activities.

“Try to join some clubs,” she said. “Build connections, build networks, go to them and see what it’s about.”

Reflecting on her time at Millikin, Carson shares advice learned from the past five years. 

“Learn as much as you can learn,” she said. “It’s one thing that no one can take away from you: anything you’ve learned from your education. Don’t ever let your friends or your family tell you which direction you should go in. You should make sure you’re at peace with that direction.” 

She reminds us to continue learning and stay motivated in college. 

Be open-minded. 

“Listen to understand, not to respond,” Carson said. 

The college experience is not linear, but free for people to figure out all the different steps, methods, and techniques to solve a host of different problems. 

“Keep your professors in the loop of what’s going on,” she said. 

Millikin thrives on performance learning, and your professors always want you to succeed. So if you need help, reach out.

Carson mentions Tabitha Brown, an Emmy-winning actress and viral influencer known for her positivity and warmth, as a source of motivation and inspiration. 

She references a video she saw where Brown talked about finishing what you start, especially quoting her advice to remember why you started something: focus on your initial intention and motivation, keep your core values in mind, and understand the work you’re doing is not going to waste. 

She uses Brown’s message as a motivational tool for staying committed to her academic journey. 

“What you’re doing right now is going to pay off,” Carson said.