2020 Commencement Booklet
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OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY 2020 COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY Von Braun Center Propst Arena Huntsville, Alabama OAKWOOD MISSION: The mission of Oakwood University, a historically black, Seventh-day Adventist institution, is to transform students through biblically-based education for service to God and humanity. OAKWOOD VISION: Oakwood University graduates leaders in service to God and humanity. OAKWOOD VALUES: RESPECT: Oakwood esteems others as worthy of human dignity, regard, and service. COMPASSION: Oakwood manifests sympathy, empathy, care and concern in our dealings with others. INTEGRITY: Oakwood demonstrates honesty, uprightness, moral virtue, and ethical rectitude in every relationship. EXCELLENCE: Oakwood makes the personal and collective decision to perform at our highest capacity and to continually improve in our work and service. SERVICE: Oakwood chooses to provide assistance, aid, help, caring, outreach and ministry in response to human need. INNOVATION: Oakwood will break with precedent in advancement of institutional mission by embracing new methods and introducing major changes. COLLABORATION: Oakwood commits to integrated planning, internal and external partnering, and collegial action designed to build community and advance our mission. 2 OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES SPRING 2020 EVENT DAY/TIME LOCATION SPEAKER Education Teacher Thursday,July 30 Virtual C. Garland Dulan Dedication Ceremony 10:00 a.m. Social Work Pinning Thursday, July 30 Virtual Sibyl Beaulieu Ceremony 11:30 a.m. Tree Planting/Senior Class TBD Unity Pond/Virtual Nursing Pinning Ceremony Thursday, July 30 Virtual Deleise Wilson 3:00 p.m. Nutrition and Dietetics Thursday, July 30 Virtual Sherine Brown-Fraser Pinning Ceremony 5:00 p.m. LEAP Senior Ceremony Thursday, July 30 Virtual Joel Kibble 6:00 p.m. Religion Dedication Service Thursday, July 30 Virtual Hyveth Williams 7:00 p.m. Consecration Friday, July 31 Virtual Kimberly Bulgin 8:00 p.m. Sabbath School Saturday, August 1 Virtual 9:00 a.m. Baccalaureate Saturday, August 1 Virtual Roger Hernandez 10:00 a.m. Commencement Saturday, August 1 Propst Arena Eric Thomas 8:00 p.m. Von Braun Center Colwick M. Wilson, Ph.D. Eurydice Osterman, D.M.A. GRAND MARSHAL ORGANIST Jason Max Ferdinand, D.M.A. Wayne Bucknor, D.M.A. CHORAL DIRECTOR ACCOMPANIST 3 4 CLASS OF 2020 AIM “Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow is only a vision, but today well-lived makes yesterday a dream of happiness and tomorrow a vision of hope.” - Kālidāsa MOTTO “Dare to live a life of God’s vision and purpose, instead of the expectations and opinions of others.” - Monte Newbill, Sr. SCRIPTURE “The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.” - Habakkuk 2:2-3 HCSB COLORS Burgundy and Gold OFFICERS President: Xavier Lynum Vice President: Maya Rawls Treasurer: Zoie McIntosh Secretary: Nirvana Walton Chaplain: Monte Newbill, Sr. Social Coordinator: Arion McCullough Public Relations Coordinator: Ashley Brandon Sergeant-at-Arms: Starr Davis Parliamentarian: Taylor Nettleford SPONSORS Marcya Burden, J.D. Audley C. Chambers, Ph.D. 5 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT LESLIE N. POLLARD, PH.D., D.MIN., M.B.A. To the Graduates of 2020, One of my favorite proverbs, that I learned last year in Uganda, says: “If you think that you are too small to make a difference, it’s because you haven’t spent the night in a hotel room with a mosquito.“ Your class motto expresses the same truth: “Dare to live a life of God’s vision and purpose, instead of the expectations and opinions of others.” Yours is a class that is graduating at a crossroads in American history. The murder of George Floyd and the rise of massive national and international protest against systemic and institutional racism, has made your class unique. You have had to face mountains that appeared insurmountable, fires that seemed unquenchable, and obstacles that appeared unconquerable. But by embracing God’s vision and purpose, you have over- come rather than simply survive because we were in His will. Congratulations on this latest accomplishment in your path of service. Tonight, from the Rocket City of Huntsville, you are lifting off into the next stage of your journey. I can assure you that it will not always be easy, but God’s purpose will carry you through every challenge, just as He has done during your years here at Oakwood. God is faithful! Earl Bakken, a businessman speaking at the commencement services at the University of Hawaii in 2004, shared this observation about fulfilling one’s purpose: “By all reckoning, the bumblebee is aerodynamically unsound and shouldn’t be able to fly. Yet, the little bee gets those wings going like a turbojet and flies to every plant its chubby little body can land on, to collect all the nectar it can hold. Bumblebees are the most persistent creatures. They don’t know they can’t fly, so they just keep buzzing around. Like eth lowly bumblebee, honored graduates, never give in to pessimism. [When you] don’t know that you can’t fly, you will soar like an eagle.” Today, the successful completion of your journey to graduation validates the fact that your heavenly Pilot mapped out your flight plan. Tonight is simply one more stop on your educational journey that began here and will take you into eternity. Each of us who have contributed in some small way to your success is very pleased to congratulate you on this the biggest day of your academic career. Your hard work has been rewarded and Oakwood University is proud of your persistence, tenacity, and focus. As we bid you adieu, know that the experience and education that you have earned at Oakwood will fit you for life’s great opportunities. With each passing year, your “Oakwood experience” will grow more and more meaningful. You entered to learn, and tonight, you depart to serve! As we have deposited into numerous classes, so we leave you with the inspirational words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “The heights by great men [and women] reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their compan- ions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” Congratulations, Oakwoodites of 2020. Each of you has made your God, your family, your friends, and your Alma Mater proud. Fly far and fast toward your purpose! Leslie N. Pollard, Ph.D., D.Min., M.B.A. President 6 MESSAGE FROM THE PROVOST AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT COLWICK M. WILSON, PH.D. Congratulations to the Historic Graduating Class of 2020! This was not the way you planned your graduation weekend! It was scheduled for a specific time; the consecration and baccalaureate services were predicted to be two unforgettable face-to-face engagements with friends and family. Pinning ceremo- nies and graduation parties were simply appetizers to the main course that included over ten thousand friends, family, faculty, staff, and dignitaries in attendance at your commencement ceremony. You worked hard, and your grades demonstrated that you completed all the stipulated requirements for your degree. Yes, you were ready to celebrate your well-deserved accomplishments during the week of May 3rd, 2020. Instead, you were thrust squarely into a once-in-a-lifetime moment of utter disruptions. Namely, the Novel Corona Virus/ COVID 19 and the call for civil justice for African Americans and people everywhere. These disruptions rea present, consequential, deadly, and apparently unrelentless. There is an acute awareness of the far-reaching impact of these events on your lives as you mourned the loss of loved ones, spent endless hours in seemingly idle quarantine, and exhausted binge offers from Netflix, Disney, Hulu, and YouTube. But wait, is that all that is distilled from this unprecedented moment in your lifetime? Previous generations that survived world-wide catastrophes, pandemics and even war had one thing in common. They were resilient! The ability to overcome is rooted in hope and is captured in your text. “The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.” Habakkuk 2: 2-3 HCSB. The vision of your lives will certainly come and not be late. Disruptions may come but be steadfast, for there is a Divine certainty that accompa- nies your future and the fulfillment of your dreams. Your response to the current realities in your lives will in retrospect be considered historic. So engage these challenging times with a dogged commitment to the vision that God is co-creat- ing with you for His glory and the benefit of His people everywhere. Be strong, “Dare to love a life of God’s vision and purpose, instead of the expectations and opinions of others.” Instead of being swayed into despair by the current events, seize God’s purposes for your lives. May you not only be resilient like previous generations that endured world-wide catastrophes but be the beacon to help lead others through this period of unprecedented uncertainty. Take this time to thrive and remember that “yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow is only a vision, but today well-lived makes yesterday a dream of happiness and tomorrow a vision of hope.” The word commencement implies a season of hope and new beginnings that are often juxtaposed between the mplexco experiences of the immediate past and exciting possibilities of the future. This year more than ever before, your com- mencement exercises hold in its grasp feelings of accomplishment and promise.