A former honors student at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) continues to excel three years after graduation.
By any measure, Derrick Stanfield ’22, had a stellar undergraduate career. An incomplete list of his accomplishments while earning bachelor’s degrees in both history and political science include:
- Student representative on the NCCU Board of Trustees
- Ronald E. McNair Scholar
- Student Government Association president
- Marian Drane Graham Scholar by the University of North Carolina System
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Senior vice president and NCCU campus liaison for the University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments
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Recipient of the Chancellor’s Truth and Service Award
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Member of the Gamma Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
With another student, Stanfield also started a petition which led to changing the name of Angus W. McLean Residence Hall (named after a segregationist governor from 1925-1929) to Debra Saunders-White Residence Hall.
Almost three years after graduation, Stanfield hasn’t slowed down. He worked in Washington, D.C., for a lobbying firm, specializing in legislative research and analysis in healthcare and education policy.
He next found employment as a special assistant to the mayor of Durham, North Carolina, Leonardo Williams ‘05, ‘15. Stanfield advised him on policy and helped run operations.
He joined Mayor Williams during a visit to the Democratic National Convention in August 2024 as an operations volunteer. Stanfield also joined the mayor and the city’s assistant budget director in the Bloomberg-Harvard Leadership Initiative, a one-week program that allows senior government leaders from around the world to collaborate on a project. The Durham contingent sought to identify solutions to blight and underutilized spaces.
This summer he is interning at Checkmate Government Relations, a lobbying firm in Raleigh. In the fall, however, Stanfield will return to New England to start at Harvard Law School.
“My original interests were primarily in the public policy sphere,” Stanfield said. “With a law degree, I’ll be able to have a bigger impact and do some of that good work in the board room and the court room.”
Harvard Law School ranks No. 7 among the nation’s 197 law schools, according to the 2025 U.S. News & World Report. While Stanfield was pleased to be admitted, “I wasn’t banking on it.”
He notes that from a wardrobe perspective, he is prepared.
“Maroon and crimson make it easy to transition from NCCU to Harvard,” he said.
For current honors students at NCCU, Stanfield suggests they apply to top schools they are interested in.
“I’d prioritize effectively telling your story in your personal statement, how you will add to the academic environment and the impact you might have as an alum,” Stanfield said.