We Commence

Thu, 20 May 2021 07:49:58 -0400

“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” – George Washington Carver

In 1920, my great grandmother, Viola T. Bishop, graduated from Howard University. She would go on to teach mathematics and serve as a librarian for almost 50 years, start and run businesses, and raise a family in Rich Square, NC. 101 years later, her great great granddaughter graduated from Howard University with highest honors. I had the blessing of Granny living with us for a lot of my formative years. I didn’t fully understand the wisdom she was trying to lay down at the time; I was a kid. What I have come to understand is that for generations education has been the north star for my family. My daughter is a fifth-generation college graduate. As she contemplates how she will make her mark; I can’t help but to think about what faces you all as you leave the sanctity of certainty embedded in UMBC and embodied by being in college.

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” – Kofi Annan

"Activate the abilities you already have and achieve your mission." – Dr. Ingryd Lorenzana

CONGRATULATIONS! You have accomplished something real and tangible and hard. YOU should be proud of yourself. I don’t care if you graduated summa cum laude or thank the good lordy; if it took you 2 years or 10, if you come from a family where college degrees are expected, or from a family where you are the first to even try to go to college, let alone complete it. You. Have. Graduated! Take a breath, crack a smile, bathe in this moment of revelry, make time to celebrate what you’ve earned. When you’re a college student, lots of answers are easy, even if the living is hard. You know what you’re doing with your days and nights, really with your life. Graduation is the completion of that step in your journey. Everyone talks about how proud they are of you. Family and friends get to brag about you. People from your past suddenly never doubted that you had it in you and that you were going to be something. But no one really tells you what that something is… We ask little kids what they want to be when they grow up and smile at the answers. We ask college graduates to be grown up and expect that what you’re going to do is no longer a question. For some of you it isn’t. You are on the path that has been laid out and are making progress towards your goals. Some of you know what you’re doing next but are doing it reflexively or aren’t quite sure how it’s going to turn out. Some of you have no idea what to do next. It is all OK. You don’t have to know right now. You don’t have to know next week, or month, or year. But you do have to think about it and maybe work on it. You don’t have to have THE plan, but you do have to have A plan. Your commencement will be strange, and the times are even stranger. As you embark on your next phase, be it in graduate or professional school, a postbacc program, a gap year to figure some things out, the start of your career, or a job to pay your bills, go forth knowing that you are already your ancestors’ wildest dreams. Don’t just think about what you want to do for a living, think about what you want to live to do. Shift from what you want to be to who you want to become. You are enough and know enough and have enough, whether you know it or not. You belong where you want to go, don’t let anyone or anything tell you any different.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." — Arthur Ashe

“Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” – Kerry Washington

Nine years ago, I lost a friend and mentor, and our campus lost a pillar. More importantly four sons lost their father, and a wonderful wife and mother lost her husband. LaMont Toliver was a giant. His legacy is imprinted on the very fabric of UMBC. I think about him often. And I smile when in my mind’s eye I still hear him say "BLACK MAN" with his booming voice and trademark smile every time I walked into his office. There are countless Toliverisms, my personal favorite is the one I want to share with you. "Every day you have to fight the urge to be average." The urge is a daunting foe because average is easy, especially for you with all your gifts. It's hard because the urge is strong, and your fight is yours alone. But you can win. You win by doing something every day to be your best. You win by setting goals and working hard to achieve them. You win by staring your fear dead in its eyes, your fear of failing, of succeeding, of working, of sacrificing, of growing up, of growing old, of what's next, of where you were, of where you’re going, of the unknown. Whatever you fear, you win by deciding to press on anyway. The way you work may be good enough for where you are now but may not be for where you want to go. So, get better, constantly, consistently, and intentionally.

"There is no passion to be found in playing small — in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." — Nelson Mandela

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” ― Bruce Lee

As you post your pictures in your cap and gown, celebrate with loved ones, watch the commencement ceremony, and wish each other well, remember that you did this. You had help, you had support, you had haters and motivators, you worked hard. You did this. Whatever life has in store, rest assured, that you can do that too.

Laugh a LOT

Love freely

Take some chances

Fight to change something

Thank those who’ve helped you

Find community for yourself

Be community for someone else

Stretch yourself

Live fully

You get one shot at life, make the most of it.

We are so proud of you! We cannot wait to see the amazing things that you will do.

Now go be great!

“Don’t ever think that just because you do things differently, you’re wrong.”― Gail Tsukiyama

"Go make your big, beautiful dent, and as you do so come down on the side of boldness. If you err, may it be for too much audacity, and not too little. For you really are enough. You have untold strengths and resources inside. You have your glorious self."— Sue Monk Kidd