Humans of NGU: Dominic Powell
Miranda Bradford, Associate Writer and Photographer
Usain Bolt once said, “Easy is not an option. No days off. Never quit. Be fearless. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours of work.” For Junior Dominic Powell this is more than just a saying; it is his lifestyle.
Growing up in the third world country of Jamaica, Powell explained how he had fewer opportunities before coming to the States to attend college. In the high school he attended in Jamaica, he was involved in running and swimming.
“At first I swam and ran. Then I had to pick between them and running was easier than swimming and I had more opportunities available,” said Powell.
In Jamaican schools such as Powell’s, running championships were really popular among the boys and girls. The different schools would come together and separate the students by ages to run in heats and finals.
Powell came to the United States to further his education and running career. He was in search of better opportunities and a different college experience.
At first he applied and planned on attending college at Georgia Regions but there was a problem with his paperwork. He scrambled to find a place to go and searched colleges around that area that offered a computer science or engineering degree that also had a track team. When North Greenville University came up as an option, he called the track coach at the time, Michael Bayne.
“He was so willing to help me get into school and give me the best financial figure he could find,” Powell stated.
Powell recalls how the first offer Bayne found he still could not afford, but Bayne said to give him a week. He came back with a better package that enabled Powell to attend NGU and be a part of the track team.
Powell got accepted to several other colleges but because of Bayne’s willingness to work with Powell and the effort he put forth to show Powell how much he was valued, NGU won out over all the other options.
Throughout his life, especially in track and field, Powell learned the importance of persistence.
“It’s not the big days that you go and put in the work that you see improvement. It’s keeping at it day after day,” said Powell.
Powell hopes to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in math and minor in computer science in December 2017. He then hopes to attend graduate school at Clemson or Georgia Tech to get his software engineer masters. He wants to stay in the United States in order to get a better job opportunity in his selected degree.
One take away Powell said that he would have from attending NGU was the friendly atmosphere the staff, faculty and teachers created on campus.
“They have that Christ-embedded servant-ship within them. They listen and really do their best to pursue the change needed or solve problems that arise,” stated Powell.
