The previous two versions of the “Pickens Playbook” 7 College Readiness Moves to Make for Student Success and Year One at Tennessee State University (TSU) covered the journey of George Pickens during his last year at Miami Northwestern Senior High School and first year at Tennessee State University (TSU). Pickens is now in his third year at the institution and is on a pace to finish his undergraduate studies at the conclusion of the Spring 2024 semester. During his second year, he faced the task of taking higher-level courses in his major during his second year at TSU. He found himself fully immersed in subjects like physics and organic chemistry. 
Dr. Marcus A. Bright
During the Fall of 2022, he embraced the challenge head-on, immersing himself in these complex subjects. However, as the Spring semester arrived, he encountered an unexpected hurdle. He found himself enrolled in a difficult course that was taught by a professor with a strong accent that made it difficult for him to understand the lectures.
Now, Pickens had a choice: he could have chosen to complain about the professor's teaching style, hoping for change. But he made a calculated decision - he realized that engaging in a battle of that nature against a long-standing professor would not yield fruitful results.
Instead, George chose a different path. He decided to take matters into his own hands and get ahead of the challenges. He committed himself to teaching himself the lessons and sought external resources for further instruction. By doing this, he stayed multiple classes ahead of where the professor was. In essence, the class became a review for him, reinforcing concepts he had already mastered.
George's refusal to let this class impede his progress became his driving force. He understood that there would be other classes in the future where independent learning and supplementing class instruction would be necessary for mastery. George's success is a testament to the power of self-study and the determination to go above and beyond what is expected.
