Clark Atlanta graduation highlights HBCU excellence

Clark Atlanta University held its annual spring graduation ceremonies at Panther Field on May 18. Nestled in the HBCU shelter where Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, Spellman and Morris Brown share some Atlanta real estate, thousands gathered in rain-threatening conditions to attend the spring graduation ceremony . graduation ceremony marking the successful completion of one of the nation’s most highly regarded HBCUs.

Clark Atlanta University pulls out all the stops for graduation

The CAU graduation ceremony was as elaborate as any ceremony in America, HBCU or otherwise. Panther Stadium has been transformed with a full stage, sound, lighting and hundreds of feet of red carpet for all ceremony attendees to walk on. The full-fledged media production included multiple cameras, two large LED screens, a giant boom camera and a drone injected into the video elements.

The arrival of administration, faculty, alumni and graduates was as prestigious a ceremony as possible. Marching behind the banners of the various CAU colleges and schools, the entry of all the participants was fit for royalty. The weather forecast showed a strong chance of rain, but the event was lucky not to see a single drop.

Kyle Anderson was the first college graduate on both sides of his family. May 18^th, he received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Clark Atlanta University. In the same class was Nyeja Warner, who earned her second HBCU degree while taking the stage to accept her master’s degree in business administration. As both walked across the same stage within minutes of each other, their journeys couldn’t have been more different.

Anderson’s tenure was revolutionary in its history

Anderson is originally from Trenton, New Jersey. His mother, Kellie Baker, said he was destined to migrate to CAU. “He was always conscious of who he was and although he didn’t come from a family of college graduates, he focused early on on the idea of ​​going to an HBCU. He wanted this culture. He only applied to HBCUs and chose Clark Atlanta. said Boulanger.

Anderson’s uncanny understanding of what his degree means was on full display at a graduation party reminiscent of a family reunion. Nearly one hundred family members and friends from New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, Florida and other areas converged to celebrate this milestone graduation.

The importance of his diploma was not lost on him. “I understand the magnitude. Seeing my family and friends come together just to celebrate me and what I’ve accomplished over the last 22 years has been incredible. These last two days have been incredible,” Anderson said.

Family members honored Anderson during the celebration, including his estranged father. His grandmother, Linda Baker, spoke of the family pride the graduation brought. “You are the first member of our family to graduate from college. You have indeed broken a generational curse,” she said.

Warner was expected to attend college from birth

Warner is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. However, when it came time to go to college, she chose to go south to Florida A&M University. At FAMU, she earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations in 2017. With two parents having attended Howard University, she was expected to carry on the family tradition.

Warner is thrilled to be able to claim two HBCUs as her alma mater. “My parents went to Howard University and I was planning on going there. I was accepted to Howard and the finances just weren’t adding up. My father encouraged me to apply to FAMU. I was accepted immediately and before I knew it, I was in orientation. I had a great opportunity at FAMU,” Warner said.

In college, she would broaden her horizons. She was a member of the FAMU cheerleading team. Warner was part of the FAMU team that won the MEAC Cheerleading Conference final championship in 2016. While in school, she also participated in an on-campus dance team called the Diamond Dancers. She also interned at FAMU Athletics and was a featured intern. She would move up to one of the department’s student leaders and often manage other interns for the sports information department.

After graduating from HBCU Florida A&M University, Warner interned with the National Football League Players Association, the NFL’s union. It was a 10-month internship in Washington, DC. This broadened his desire to work in the sports field. This internship is highly coveted and one of the most difficult to obtain in the country.

“When I was selecting a graduate school, I looked at schools that offered sports and entertainment as part of their MBA programs. The CAU program was a perfect fit for what I was looking for and I am very happy that I chose to become a Panther,” Warner said.

Her pension for her involvement led her to intern in the CAU sports department. She was drawn to sports information and when she arrived, CAU did not have a director for the department. Warner would assume the role of graduate assistant for athletics and serve in numerous sports information director roles until CAU was able to fill that role. His experience in the region proved to be a perfect fit for the situation and bridged the gap for the CAU.

Two different paths achieve the same results

Two graduates who walked across the stage on the same day have stories as different as the ends of the galaxy. The common thread is their desire to be among people who look like them and who understand their struggles. While raising their intelligence. This is the very essence of why HBCUs matter, even if those without an understanding question this very notion.

“I’ve always said I wanted to do all of my high school at HBCUs because they’re schools designed specifically for us. They shape and prepare us differently. We don’t need to feel out of place to prepare ourselves to be in the real world,” Warner concluded.

“It was amazing to be with your class of young black people and inspire each other that we can do anything. We can create change in this world and we can conquer it,” Anderson said.

Black delivers stellar keynote speech

Very often, at the start of the academic year, the audience is ready to move past the address and move on to graduation. This was not the case on Saturday. Daniel Noir, Ph.D. lit up the arena with an offering that was part sermon, part motivational speech, part affirmation, part hip-hop recognition, but a complete HBCU.

From the moment Clark Atlanta President Dr. George French introduced Black as speaker, in Drake’s words, the score went “from 0 to 100 very quickly.”

“Here they are, they’re all coming, here they are!” Here they are, they are all coming, here they are! Here they are, they are all coming, here they are! Doctors, lawyers, writers, business leaders, teachers, healers, rappers, preachers…Here they all come!

Black’s opening drew thunderous applause as he continued to name areas of possibility for the new CAU graduates. There was not a dull moment in his speech. Standing ovations, shouts of joy, cries for the Lord, and shouts of affirmation littered the speech. It was as electric a delivery of a keynote as possible.

The purpose of a commencement speech is to give graduates some advice and encouragement as they move forward. Black knocked it out of the park. He’s done everything from injecting their degree’s ancestral relevance to comparing them to being better thanks to Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud to injecting a bit of Bossman Dlow in his vernacular language. He even worked on the country’s #1 song’s most popular rap lyric, saying, “There’s other schools around here, but they don’t like us.”

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Clark Atlanta graduation highlights HBCU excellence