Jonathan Marshall was a three-year student assistant for Lincoln Athletics, one of many of his endeavors at LU. On May 2, he graduated with a degree in mass communications and was the marshall for the class. Shortly after the ceremony, he received word that he had been accepted to the Newhouse School of Journalism at Syracuse University where he will enroll in a one year program to receive his master's in broadcast journalism. Before heading to central New York, he will intern at the Philadelphia Daily News.
After one week going by as a proud alumnus of Lincoln University, I have had ample time to reflect on my four years at the historical campus. No doubt I will miss the Lincoln experience in the classroom and a few select professors that will forever hold a place in my heart. When the old heads said that college is the best four years of your life, they were not lying. The relationships formed were so invaluable and I have met a few of my lifelong friends at this historical institution. For me to get where I need to be, matriculating through Lincoln was necessary. The lessons you learn not only in academia, but personally are what makes the LU experience worthwhile.
For those who have known me during these pas four years, a major aspect of my collegiate career was Lincoln athletics. I remember the day I introduced myself to former Sports Information Director Rob Knox. I told him of my desires to write (my only experience writing was one article in my high school's paper) and he threw me out to the sharks right away with a feature story on the women's soccer team. From then on, I grew and even got to be the voice of Lincoln basketball on BrandywineRado.com thanks to current SID Chris Weeden. I will surely miss being a part of the LU athletic family.
I would be remised if I did not end my last posting with my most memorable moments and athletes. One of my favorite memories in LU athletics has to be the mens basketball team putting up 201 points against Ohio State-Marion. That set a Division III record for points. Sami Wylie made an amazing 21 3-pointers to go along with his 69 points to set another record for most three pointers in a game. This 2006 squad also has to go down as my favorite team during my four years. With a roster that included Wylie, Dwight Dean, Thomas Hickson and Tyreek Byard among others, the squad went to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. Going to watch this squad play was an exciting experience.
Since the 201-point game was away, the most memorable first-hand account of LU athletics occurred on August of 2008. On this date, the football team hit the field for the first time since 1960. The icing on the cake was the 34-7 spanking they put on George Mason at Avon Grove High School. The crowd of Lincoln students past and present is the best showing of school pride that I have seen.
It would be hard to pinpoint my favorite athletes, so I will run down a few of them. They include Dante Blanton-Holcombe (Baltimore, MD/Dunbar), Wylie, Matthew Coston (Queens, N.Y./Dover HS), Trey Thomas (Canton, GA/Woodstock), Stephanie Anderson (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville), Jordean Matthews (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville), Channelle Harris and Donneisha Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Harold S. Vincent).
I will end this farewell with my most enjoyable moments in covering LU athletes. My feature on volleyball teammates Smith and Tasieka Cummings and their efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area. So many times, student-athletes can get bad press, but here were a group of Lincoln student-athletes in the news for something positive outside of their athletic world.
In what will go down as personally my best feature was on basketball player Aaron Lloyd (Cheltenham, PA/Cheltenham). Once again, the athletic aspect did not make this story special. It was the human side that will resonate in the mind of the reader. After suffering a nearly fatal accident with a group of his friends, Lloyd battled back in time to play his final season in the orange and blue.
It is the above mentioned athletes, games and memories that have made my four years at Lincoln so much more enjoyable. I never believed the older folks when they told me to savor the four years in college. Now as an alumnus, I am proud to say that these were the best four years of my life in and out of the classroom.
LU!! Lincoln Pride!! LU!! Lincoln Pride!! Tell them why. 1-8-5-4, first HBCU for sure!!
