Meeting: Aletha Green

Aletha, the reader.

Her lowdown: She's a freshman volleyball player from San Diego, Calif.

Oh, but she does need you to know one thing: "There's more to my life than volleyball."

So let us catch up with Ms. Green. Because we snag her fresh perspective toward the end of her second semester there is a lot to cover: Nintendo games, N.C. life, the military (past and future), support for athletes and why she does not crack a book on the weekends.

But first, life in North Carolina.

This 18-year-old freshman, who was born in Charleston, S.C., spent the last six years in California before she came to Chapel Hill for college. Being just one of a small crowd heading to the East Coast for college, Green said her preconceived notions about North Carolina teetered from good to bad before her arrival. Between reading "Confederates in the Attic" -- the required reading for freshmen -- and visiting the campus September of her senior year of high school, Green said she was not really sure what to expect.

"The people are different. I don't know how to explain it," she said. "But it wasn't that big of a difference."

Green said the atmosphere here is "more conservative" than in California.

She recalled a banquet she attended at which audience members joined together in a prayer before their meal. Although the prayer itself did not bother her, Green said she was used to the political correctness that came with living in California, where she said the prayer might not happen. "This would never fly," she remembered thinking. "I was like, 'What's going on here? You guys are going to get sued.'"

And although Green said, "Ever since I've been here, I can say I feel pretty comfortable here," that does not mean that she is picking up any of the speech habits of the South, "y'all" especially. "I'm not even about to hear it," she said about the flak she would receive if the expression came out of her mouth when she returned home.

The reason Green went to school across the country to the land of "y'alls" has to do with a sport called volleyball, one she started playing her freshman year of high school. And the impetus behind hitting the court was not a great love of the game. "The only way I could get out the house was to play sports," Green said. And she is 6-foot-1.

When it became time to select a university to attend, playing volleyball for UNC did not seem like such a bad idea. "I know that I'm not that great an athlete where people are going to want to pay me to advertise or keep playing volleyball," she said. "I need to go to a school where I can get a good education, get a job and make money."

Green can easily sum up the life of a freshman volleyball player: "I've never had more volleyball in my life." In the preseason, the team practiced twice a day. And then there is a lot of weight room training as well. "You sleep and eat to play volleyball," she said about the first few weeks of practice. "That was definitely hard for me."

Being on the volleyball team required Green and her teammates to be on campus before most students this fall. And that was not very conducive to meeting new people, Green said. So she rode the elevator a couple times in Carmichael Residence Hall. "It was fun for me. It gave me something to do," she said, noting that once classes started, finding new faces was no problem.

"I just like hanging out with people, especially if they're funny," she said. "Then you can just sit back and watch them."

After a semester of meeting, greeting and hanging at UNC, Green said there are valuable lessons to be learned about people in general. "You just have to know who's looking out for your best interest." That's the main theme of last semester, she said. "There are people who just don't care; they're just along for the ride. When crunch time comes, they won't be there because they just don't care."

With a semester of college academia under her belt, Green said she has realized that getting to know professors is key. "Academically, I learned to meet your teachers. Not to suck up, but to know what to expect," she said.

And once she knows the expectations, Green said she is disciplined enough to follow through.

Growing up in a military household, she is used to motivating herself to get things done. "It was very disciplined. You'd swear my parents had done it before," she said. "We had a set of rules that didn't have to be communicated, but you knew they were there."

With Spanish, English, math, anthropology and African-American studies classes last semester and more Spanish, English, jazz and African studies classes this semester, Green has a schedule that is all about getting schoolwork done during the week so Saturday and Sunday are free and clear. "I'm going out on the weekend. I'm not going to lie," she said. "During the week, I can't handle it."

But the weekend isn't only for hitting house parties. It's just about not doing work. "It's my policy. I do all my work during the week," she said. The weekend is reserved for Aletha time. "I just want to make sure weekends are time for me to relax."

Or play Super Nintendo. Super Mario Brothers 3 or Street Fighter, to be exact. "I'm not very good," she said, but recalls beating a trash-talking classmate as a highlight. "I suck at Street Fighter, but I did beat Lee."

But whether it's a game vs. Street Fighter's Ryu or Maryland's women's volleyball team, Green is all about working on her skills.

"I like going on the court. I like working hard," she said. And as far as her contributions to the team: "I'm building up to a playing role," Green said. "I'm getting there."

Green said fans make her playing that much more intense. "If you're in a gym and no one's there you just feel like there's no support -- like you're just left out there to fend for yourself."

Green also believes that the idea of athletes supporting other athletes is just as vital. She catches baseball games, tennis matches and even a bit of gymnastics when she can. "It's important to support other teams," she said. "It's kind of like a community. You just don't put them out there. You've got to support them. They're representing North Carolina just like you are."

Because the athlete role has its perks (like the room in Parker Residence Hall), Green said she gets the "Oh, you're an athlete" phrase from students every once in a while. "I hope they're not serious," she said. "They don't care."

Because like Green said, it's not all about athletics all the time -- she's here to get that education. Just don't count on her finalizing that major any time soon.

"After last semester, I decided I didn't want to be a business major -- after Math 22," she said. But Spanish is a consistent academic interest of hers.

As far as after UNC, Green is playing with the possibility of joining the military before going to graduate school.

But until then, Green is enjoying her time playing volleyball, hanging out with friends, keeping her weekends open, brushing up on Mario Brothers and introducing people to Aletha Green.

"I feel comfortable when I'm surrounded by familiar people," she said.

Consider yourself introduced.

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.