Not Your Average Caretaker
Although Alycia Wendt has lived in many places, it seems like she has made North Carolina her true home. Alycia grew up in Pennsylvania and then moved to New Jersey. Although her extended family still lives in Pennsylvania, Alycia tells me they do not make it up North very often anymore. Her family now lives in Wake Forest, NC and she says she plans on staying in the Raleigh area after graduation. Alycia’s fiancé Thompson, who proposed on November 11, 2007, works in the Raleigh area so she spends most weekends home visiting him and her family. 
In high school Alycia played women’s basketball and worked for the school newspaper. When school was out over the summer, she worked as a basketball camp counselor at the YMCA. Alycia enjoyed working for her high school newspaper, so she decided to stick with what she knew. She is a sophomore in the school of Communication here at East Carolina University, and her concentration is Public Relations with a focus in Print Journalism and Media Studies. Alycia also spent two semesters working for the East Carolinian but has decided to take a semester off. Alycia currently lives at the Exchange with her roommates Olivia and Megan.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Olivia for this paper. Olivia remembers meeting Alycia during their very first semester of college freshman year. Her first impression of Alycia was that she was a really fun girl and someone that she wanted to get to know right away. When I asked her if she felt that still held true, She replied “definitely”. They are always having fun no matter the circumstance, Olivia said. I asked Olivia if her and Alycia had always been close. As they realized that they lived in the same dorm last year “we’ve been close ever since,” Olivia said. They have a lot of things in common, and they got along very well, so it wasn’t long before they decided they wanted to live together at the Exchange this year, and for years to come! 
Olivia describes Alycia as a very caring person. Olivia enjoys knowing that she can always count on Alycia to be there for her. She also described Alycia as being very outgoing, “because she is always fun to be around” Olivia said. I asked Olivia what role she thought Alycia played in their house, using myself as an example. I told Olivia that my roommates are always referring to me as the “Mom” of our house, because I’m always picking up after everyone and making sure things get taken care of. Olivia told me that she would probably put Alycia in this position as well. Alycia is always there for us and she’s always making sure we get our work done, Olivia said. Olivia also used the word “Caretaker” and as far as I can tell that seems to be a good summary!
I asked Olivia what her favorite memory that had Alycia in it was, and I got quite a good laugh when I read it. Olivia told me about a trip that her and Alycia took to Wilmington. They somehow ended up traveling in the wrong direction and ended up in Virginia, far north from Wilmington. I can see where this may have frustrated many people, but Olivia said that was not the case here. She actually said quite the opposite! “We spent so much time together in the car that we actually learned a lot about each other by the time we actually made it to Wilmington” Olivia said.
I also asked Olivia a question to have her think outside the box on her friendship with Alycia. I asked her “If Alycia was a color, what color would she be, and why?” and I really enjoyed the response I got! Olivia told me pink is definitely all three of the girls favorite color, and it is all over their apartment, so she could definitely see Alycia as being pink! She also said yellow, because Alycia is always “smiling and bright and cheery like the sun.” I thought this was really sweet of her, and ironic, because her brother also picked yellow!
I also had the pleasure of interviewing Keaton Wendt, 17, who is Alycia’s younger brother. Keaton picked the color yellow to answer this question because it is “bright, random, and spontaneous.” I think the “bright” part of this is evident to anyone who meets Alycia, as I cannot recall a time that I have seen her that she did not have a smile on her face. I asked Keaton to describe Alycia in one word, and he picked amazing. He said Alycia has always given him the best advice and she knows exactly what to say to him. I thought that was really special, especially at their age, it seems like a lot of college students with siblings, myself included, have a harder time getting along with the siblings that are closer to us in age until we are older.
When I asked Keaton what his favorite memory with Alycia was in it, he gave me one that wasn’t just a one-time shot! He said he really enjoyed when Alycia was home and they would just sit at the house all day and watch movies while eating everything in the kitchen and talking about their lives. Keaton said at times it was hard with Alycia, because he felt like there was a lot of pressure to be as good as her. Even with that in mind, he said that it was still really good to have her there. 
I asked Keaton what he thought that the average person might overlook when they first meet her. “They might overlook the fact that she is a very good advice giver,” he said. He laughed when he said that he felt like he was repeating himself, but he said there have been a lot of problems of his that Alycia has definitely helped to fix or solve. When I interviewed Alycia, she told me that Keaton was planning on attending ECU when he graduated from high school. I took this opportunity to ask him what he thought it might be like to go to college with Alycia. I guess part of me was expecting an answer that thought it might be a drag to have someone watching over you, but Keaton seemed thrilled about the opportunity to come to ECU with Alycia. “I would love to go to college with her” he said. They had even talked about moving in together when he gets to Greenville. Keaton said he misses having Alycia at the house, and thinks living with her would “really keep me on track” he said. He thought it would be good to have someone keeping him on top of all of his school work. I guess the “caretaker” role Olivia implied was not just here in Greenville but at home as well.
Filed under: Classmate Profiles, Spring 2008