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Cade Womack recalls that
in his hometown out west, he could practically “stand on a
coffee can and see for 100 miles.”
So when the east Texas native moved to Dalton right before his
junior year of high school, he had a little trouble getting used
to his new environs.
“I didn’t like the mountains at first because I preferred
flatlands. But now I really like watching the sun rise over the
mountains. It’s a real cool thing to see.”
Womack, a freshman at Dalton State, remembers experiencing
culture shock when he moved to Dalton. While he had heard that
Dalton was a “small town,” he was unprepared for its “not so
small” town feel – with an area population of around 100,000,
Dalton totally trumps the small town of Edgewood, Texas,
population 800, in terms of size.
His high school was small as well, with only about 300 students
attending from Edgewood and its outer limits. There, he played
football and ran track.
“When I came to Dalton High School, I was told that you almost
had to be born in Dalton to get along with folks there. I didn’t
find that to be the case,” he says, noting that he made many
friends readily and enjoyed his classes in English, history, and
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When it was time to go to college, the 2007 honor graduate made
the decision to come to Dalton State.
“My brother had gone here and he warned me that it would be a
hard school. Many people think that because Dalton State is
small and close by that it will be easy. Chase told me that you
really have to pay attention to do well here. He said Dalton
‘really is Harvard on the Highway.’”
Womack “paid attention,” and has done well, earning a 3.75
average after his first semester.
“I really like school,” he says, “and I think it has a great
atmosphere, with the small classes and professors who all know
my name. I really like hanging out in the Pope Student Center.
Everybody is friendly; it’s easy to go up and talk to some
random person.”
In addition to taking a full load of classes and making friends
around campus, Womack works around 16 hours each week in the
Fitness Center. He also makes time to study, read, watch movies,
play videogames, and strum the guitar for his church band.
“I consider myself to be an electronics kind of person,” admits
Womack, who says that his dream is to eventually study a design
field that would allow him to create video games or gaming
systems.
“I love math, and this field really depends a lot on
mathematical formulas you can use to design games and systems.”
For now, he’s majoring in general studies and is taking several
courses in Computer Assisted Drafting (CAD) to determine if he
really wants to pursue graphic design. This semester he’s also
studying English 1102, Sociology, and US History.
All in all, Womack feels that he has adapted well to life in the
Southeast, and has learned to appreciate the little things that
he didn’t expect. “I really like the way sweet tea is made here.
Whenever we go back to Texas to visit, I realize they don’t know
how to make it like they do in Georgia.”
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