The Advocate sits down with Al Chike and gets to know the standout sophomore from Montgomery College.

Ben Holmes & Matt Sugawara Levy

Rockville, MD–As Montgomery college is often thought to be a transitional school with moving parts and students that come and go on almost a monthly basis, one would think it would be hard to create a stapled reputation on the Rockville campus—a face and voice that almost every class member would recognize—Al Chike doesn’t seem to see MC Rockville that way.

Chike, a sophomore, has much more to offer future schools than just his academics.  Emerging onto the athletic scene as the MC Raptors’ starting Point Guard, he makes his love for basketball no secret. “Even back in high school, when I got out of class, I came up to the MC gym and shot around.  The coaches would talk to me and help me with my game, even back then”, said Chike.

During his tenure with the Raptors, Alex developed that game through hard work, piling up 131 assists over just 29 games played, and that only includes what is recorded in the NJCAA’s archives.  Playing with an often limited squad due to injuries and ineligibility, Chike explains his work ethic with everything he takes on, including hip-hop at an early age.

“Even since I was eight or nine, my friends and I had a rap group called ‘the youngest ones’, and even earlier, since [the age of] five, I would make music, and my mom would even tape me…Just as far back as I can remember, it was me, before I even touched a basketball.”

D.A.N., Al Chike’s newest mix-tape of classic beats that compliment his distinctive lyrics, is his proudest of accomplishments in his early career, and it becomes quite clear that he loves watching the project grow, and appreciates the support around him.

The Hyattsville native has many accomplishments.  From an academic standpoint of handling courses at MC, to basketball practice on a daily basis, to studio practice into the night, the days get long, and the grind gets to be nothing more than routine.

However, the test in every field Al Chike touches, from academics, to basketball, to hip-hop, and the fashion game, the young MC star must only continue to sharpen his game.  From the Advocate’s point of view as we sat down with him, the future looks bright.

Moreover, Alex Chike is the perfect example of rewriting the junior college story of past decades.  In 2013, the larger scheme of portfolios, project compilations, and education as a whole cannot simply be defining one’s credibility  with a university’s name next to a student on a piece of paper.  There needs to be real work, real art, real experience, and the evidence of honing one’s craft.  Community colleges are not just a platform for such building blocks, but in many cases, just enough portability and accessibility to be the ideal platform for honing that craft, in whichever field it may be.