This post was originally published on The Washington Informer
By Bousaina Ibrahim | The Washington Informer | Word In Black
(WIB) – A rainy Saturday morning turned bright and sunny as more than 20,000 supportive friends, parents, and alumni filled Capital One Arena to celebrate the largest graduating class in Howard University history for the institution’s 156th commencement convocation.
While commencement exercises started earlier in the week, during the Saturday, May 11 ceremony, 2,839 graduating students were recognized for their resilience, growth, and determination.
Thasunda Brown Duckett, president and CEO at the Teacher Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), a leading provider of financial retirement services, served as commencement speaker. Duckett congratulated the graduating class on their successful milestone and reminded them that courage is woven into Howard’s history.
“Students before you navigated wars and sit-ins and unrest and kept moving forward. So don’t get discouraged. You’re here in your beautiful regalia and your courage is shining through,” Duckett said.
Duckett, who became the first Black woman to hold her CEO position at TIAA in 2021, urged the graduates to begin their careers after college with a smart financial outlook. She recommended that students save at least 10% of their income to generate more wealth throughout their life.
“Today is the time to think about the power of investing, the power of saving, and the power of compounding interest. I need all of you to start saving early because a dollar saved today is worth more than a dollar saved tomorrow, ” Duckett said.
Howard President Ben Vinson III said he was honored to celebrate his first commencement ceremony as president. Vinson recognized the resilience of the Bison graduates before him, particularly the undergraduates, whose high school graduation was abruptly taken away when the pandemic hit.
“Your journey from then to now has been unlike any other graduating class before. And yet, it is precisely what makes each of you prototypical Howard students. You exemplify the Bison spirit,” Vinson said.
Like most of her classmates, Africana studies major Ariel Gordon started her Howard experience in 2020 virtually, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A St. Louis, Missouri native, Gordon said she saw the connection between what she was learning in her online classes with Dr. Greg Carr and others, and the violence she was working to prevent in her own community. `
“I think us 2024 graduates have a different perspective on learning at Howard,” Gordon told The Informer. “For us, our education is within the world and not just in the confinement of an institution. We’re maneuvering our own hoods, our own cities, and using our knowledge and curiosity to get us through and think differently.”
Gordon said some of her favorite Howard memories include her first Homecoming tailgate sophomore year, the Different World campus visit last month, and her study abroad experiences in Costa Rica, Jamaica, Tanzania, and Columbia.
Overcoming Odds Even Graduation Week
President Vinson gave a special shoutout to students at Howard’s College of Nursing and Allied Sciences, who experienced an abrupt cancellation of their Thursday, May 9 graduation.
That Thursday, chaos erupted when visitors were prohibited from entering the ceremony after the auditorium was at capacity. Frustrated loved ones took to shouting and banging on the glass, demanding to be let in, eventually shattering the glass.
However, Howard held a special ceremony for the nursing students following the commencement.
“We apologize for the events that you endured this week, but we stand here to salute you,” Vinson said.
Nursing major Patience Wise was one of 15% of the graduates, who were the first to earn a college degree in their family. Wise told The Informer graduating felt like a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, after her experience was full of highs and lows.
After overcoming so many challenges individually and collectively, Wise said her graduation shutdown greatly disappointed her and her nursing classmates– the largest group of graduates this year.
“We were all devastated. We had worked so hard, and no one will ever really understand that unless they go through nursing school, especially at Howard,” Wise said.
Wisdom Baker said her time at Howard was the ultimate practice of Kujichagulia, the Kiswahili word for self-determination. Having finished her Howard matriculation last December majoring in public relations, Baker explained how the university helped her gain confidence overall.
“I have no excuse not to achieve everything God has put on my heart to do because I have everything I need within me of course, but most thankfully around me,” Baker said.
Her grandmother, Judy Baker, flew on an airplane for the first time from South Carolina to witness Baker’s big moment. Her pride and joy in her oldest granddaughter helped ease the nerves of traveling to D.C.
“I’m so proud of her. I’ve been proud of her all her life. She’s lived up to her name, and she’s going to take it farther. I know it,” the gratified grandmother said.
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