Nikki Ferguson

1.  Where did you graduate from high school?

I graduated from Mooresville High School in Mooresville, North Carolina. 

2.  Where did you graduate from college?

Associate of Applied Science in Human Services Technologies
Mitchell Community College
Statesville, North Carolina, United States

Associate of Applied Science in Addiction & Recovery Studies
Central Piedmont Community College
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Bachelor of Social Work
UNC Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

3.  What are your current UNC Charlotte academic major/majors?

I am a graduate student in the Master of Social Work program.

4. Which GPSG goal are you most excited to help accomplish this year—and why?

I would like to help accomplish usage of Niner Engage among the 37 graduate student organizations by a minimum of 95%. I feel this is an important step in meeting the social needs of the student body and fostering connections among graduate students on campus!

5. What’s one thing in your bag/backpack right now that you probably shouldn’t admit to carrying around?

Nice try, feds.

6. If you had to write your thesis/dissertation as a Netflix show, what would it be called?

“Reading Between the (Red) Lines: How Environmental Justice was Manufactured in the United States”

7. What is one important thing that you believe every graduate student at UNC Charlotte should know?

Learn how to annotate a book. It is much easier to get the reading done if you are highlighting in flagging pages rather than writing notes manually.

8.  What's your go-to response when grad school gets overwhelming? (e.g., song, snack, strategy, or meme.)

I either take a nap or do housework and give my brain a break from thinking, it gives me time to get organized while feeling like I’m doing something productive.

9. What’s one thing you wish someone had told you before starting grad school at UNC Charlotte?

Make sure to look at the begin/end dates of classes, unlike undergraduate classes, many classes are short sessions!

10. If your personality were the result of two famous people combining their traits, who would they be—and briefly, why?

If you dropped a less-talented Aubrey Plaza in an atom collider with Erin Brokovitch, you’d get something that resembles my personality. I have a dry sense of humor but I care very deeply about people and the environment.

11. In one sentence, what does “leadership” mean to you as a grad student?

Running towards the opportunities, and not away from them.

12. Dream Job?

I want to be an environmental social worker and work to make society a more equitable, healthy, and green place to live.