If you’ve been to a CNU football game, you know how great the marching captains are and can feel the spirit and energy they bring that hypes up the crowd. You’ve also had to have noticed one drum major in particular who is so charismatic and so in his zone that his energy and excitement are infectious, as well as very entertaining. It was my pleasure to get to know our very own Asa Townsend, someone who is truly one-of-a-kind and much more than just that crazy drum major. CNU is lucky to have such a guy in our community!
Name: Asa Townsend
Age: 21
Year: Junior
Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Major: Interdisciplinary Studies – Leadership with Psychology and Philosophy
On campus activities: Marching Captains – Drum Major, Bonner Service Scholar
Off Campus Involvement: Works at Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement
Favorite CNU memory?
“I think it would be meeting my best friend. Her name is Emma, and I remember the day that I met her and found out who she was. In the process of meeting one another, we learned that we actually knew each other for longer than we thought. I had a best friend when I was younger who moved, and when he did he moved next door to her. They would hang out together and we would play online games, and sometimes he would leave the room and let her play and talk with me. That has to be 10 years ago. There was an immediate freak out and we just couldn’t stop laughing.”
[Photo by Derrin Nelson]
Most embarassing CNU moment?
“I was first embarrassed when people started ‘yik-yakking’ about me during the football games. They were really explicit – first name, last name, and then whatever else they wanted to say. At first I was embarrassed, but what made it better was that other people in the band got on board with it and started posting yaks too, and they were all so ridiculous and so far off the mark that it became really funny and now it’s a running joke. Even my professor will call me out on it in practice sometimes.”
Favorite vacation spot?
“The only place my family would ever go when I was younger was Nags Head. I went there for a lot of summers then and even now since I have my own car, I just vacation there. The most fun when I was little was just having a beach house. I loved being in that house more than actually being at the beach!”
Desired superpower?
“I would probably say shape-shifting. And I say that because when people used to ask me that question, I would always say flight. But then I realized if I could transform into a bird, I could fly, and then I could transform into a ton of other things too. I want the best of both worlds.”
Hopes for the future/life After CNU?
“Above all else, I just really want to have a family. I don’t know how or when or with who it’s going to happen, but that’s a big thing for me. So that’s the big picture, but in terms of career, I’d like to take my undergraduate degree in Leadership and turn that into a Ph.D. If I could even come back here and teach Leadership, that would be the coolest thing.”
Best piece of advice received?
“This is a good question because I’m always trying to pick up bits of wisdom everywhere I go, so I have a lot of them. But the thing I think is standing out to me the most right now has to do with decision-making. My supervisor this summer told me I was going to do a lot of things that required me to make a decision on the spot, without being able to consult anybody or even think about it very long. And he said, ‘I don’t care if you make a bad decision, so long as you can tell me why you did it.’ So I’ve learned from that to make a decision, and back it up. And if you’re wrong, be able to admit that, but be able to say this is what I believe in, this is who I am.”
[Photo by Derrin Nelson]