Adopted from a speech at the University of the District of Columbia.
To President Mason, Executive Cabinet, Board of Trustees, Secretary Johnson, Deans, student leaders, faculty, friends of the university, family and last but certainly not least, the Graduating Class of 2016, Good Morning! It has been an adventure getting to this point in our lives. If I had to give this address a topic it would simply be “Respect the Process”…a thought that I want you to think about for a moment. As a student of the University of the District of Columbia, we have to respect the predecessors of the university--Myrtilla Miner, Federal City, Washington Technical Institute and DC Teachers College. In our lives, we have to go through some type of process to get us from one destination to another.
As a woman carries a child in her womb, we have to respect the process. As new love blossoms, we have to respect the process. Even when Beyoncé told everyone to get into formation, her Lemonade had to go through a process. As Firebirds, we have experienced a change in leadership at the university. We may not know the ends and outs of every move; however we have to respect the process. As we walk across the stage, receiving our degrees, our processes will change. Some of us will start new careers, others, in a few months will be married, and some of us may just be stuck. While we may be in limbo of this thing called life, if at any time you are confused on how to proceed in life, remember what FIREBIRDS stand for…
F is for the faith you are stepping out on
I stands for I am my brother’s keeper
R means to remember from whence you came from
To President Mason, Executive Cabinet, Board of Trustees, Secretary Johnson, Deans, student leaders, faculty, friends of the university, family and last but certainly not least, the Graduating Class of 2016, Good Morning! It has been an adventure getting to this point in our lives. If I had to give this address a topic it would simply be “Respect the Process”…a thought that I want you to think about for a moment. As a student of the University of the District of Columbia, we have to respect the predecessors of the university--Myrtilla Miner, Federal City, Washington Technical Institute and DC Teachers College. In our lives, we have to go through some type of process to get us from one destination to another.
As a woman carries a child in her womb, we have to respect the process. As new love blossoms, we have to respect the process. Even when Beyoncé told everyone to get into formation, her Lemonade had to go through a process. As Firebirds, we have experienced a change in leadership at the university. We may not know the ends and outs of every move; however we have to respect the process. As we walk across the stage, receiving our degrees, our processes will change. Some of us will start new careers, others, in a few months will be married, and some of us may just be stuck. While we may be in limbo of this thing called life, if at any time you are confused on how to proceed in life, remember what FIREBIRDS stand for…
F is for the faith you are stepping out on
I stands for I am my brother’s keeper
R means to remember from whence you came from
E stands for the embracing of who and who’s you are
B stands for the Band of brothers and sisters that we have made here at the University of the District of Columbia
I stands for igniting the passion
R stands for real recognizes real
D stands for disseminating the knowledge we have obtained from our faculty and sharing it with others
And my favorite S which illuminates this Stand still and let God, your higher power, and/or the Universe fight your battles.
In closing, the Class of 2016 would like to present the gift of a scholarship fund to future seniors. We know all too well how sometimes we are at the finish line and we don’t have the financial stability to complete our degree. A second gift that we would like to present is to our “fireflies”. We would like to enhance the daycare center on the Van Ness Campus. We are UDC, the University where Dreams Do Come True. God bless you and the University of the District of Columbia because our cause speeds on its WAY!!
E stands for the embracing of who and who’s you are
B stands for the Band of brothers and sisters that we have made here at the University of the District of Columbia
I stands for igniting the passion
R stands for real recognizes real
D stands for disseminating the knowledge we have obtained from our faculty and sharing it with others
And my favorite S which illuminates this Stand still and let God, your higher power, and/or the Universe fight your battles.
In closing, the Class of 2016 would like to present the gift of a scholarship fund to future seniors. We know all too well how sometimes we are at the finish line and we don’t have the financial stability to complete our degree. A second gift that we would like to present is to our “fireflies”. We would like to enhance the daycare center on the Van Ness Campus. We are UDC, the University where Dreams Do Come True. God bless you and the University of the District of Columbia because our cause speeds on its WAY!!