When Olivia Lubak graduated from high school, she thought her marching band days were over.
Lubak was passionate about music, saying that it was her life, but she had a choice to make: follow her love of music or attend a school that supported her academic goals.
Shortly before the end of her senior year of high school, Lubak, now a rising junior at William Peace University, found out she could do both.
Through Cooperating Raleigh Colleges (CRC), Lubak participates in the band at NC State University as part of the course cross-registration program.
“I could get the best of both worlds,” Lubak said. “I could still do the fun thing and get the degree I wanted.”
Luback is a criminal justice and political science major at Peace and plays baritone as part of NC State’s 300-member marching band, also known as the Power Sound of the South. Students from Peace have also recently participated in ROTC at NC State. Recent graduate Mary Langer was commissioned as a second lieutenant after participating in NC State’s Air Force ROTC program.
CRC consists of Peace, NC State, Shaw University, Saint Augustine’s University, Meredith College, and Wake Technical Community College.
Students at these CRC member institutions can take any class at another CRC institution and add those credits to their transcript at their home institution.
Rahul Bhat is the Student Records Specialist at NC State and serves as a liaison between the member schools. Bhat said his office gets about 100 requests each semester from students who want to take classes at other local institutions.
“CRC is quite popular,” Bhat said. “It has a pretty substantial participation rate. The cross-registration program is not catalog restricted.”
SMALL COLLEGE, BIG EXPERIENCES
During the fall semester, Lubak makes the seven-minute drive to NC State’s campus three times a week for band class and practice. During the spring semester, when she participates in the pep band, she attends NC State once a week for class and practice, and up to three times a week for games.
As part of the marching band, Lubak has performed at home football games in front of 60,000 fans. She also traveled to the Military Bowl game in Annapolis, Maryland, in December, the ACC tournament in Greensboro, and the NCAA tournament in Spokane, Washington, in March.
The balance has been perfect.
“You can get that big school experience and that specialized class that you want,” Lubak said, “while still getting a good education and getting to know your classmates and your professors.”
Bhat hears stories all the time about students getting multiple experiences, whether they be taking an unavailable class on their campus, participating in an extracurricular activity like marching band, or making new friends at a different campus.
“That is truly one of the core philosophies of what the program is supposed to be about,” Bhat said. “A lot of people have friends at these other colleges; they like taking classes together, and CRC enables that.”
APPRECIATION FOR PEACE
The band at NC State is bigger than Lubak’s freshman class at Peace, and she says several of her bandmates don’t realize she isn’t a full-time student at NC State.
She’s carved out a friendly little group within the band, but sharing experiences with them has made her “grateful” for the personal touch she gets at William Peace University.
“I gained a deeper appreciation for those smaller class sizes,” Lubak said. “When I first got to Peace, I was like, ‘Oh, this is so small.’ Going to practice at NC State helped me discover that a big school wasn’t for me. I know my professors, and I have classes with the same people more than once. I have such an appreciation for the smaller groups that I get to know at Peace.”
While she bounces between the two worlds, Lubak realizes that not everyone gets to experience the viewpoint of two different college experiences. She blends in nicely on both sides, serving as an ambassador for the small school touch, while sharing with her Peace peers what it’s like to experience the big school feel.
“I’m an admissions ambassador, and it’s my favorite thing to tell people on tours,” Lubak said. “I get to do my fun little thing, my extracurricular that I’m interested in, while I get the degree I want from a school that has more of a focus on me.”
