In her introduction of Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd, the guest speaker for the graduate and professional ceremony at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Chancellor Karrie G. Dixon warned, “If you have not heard her speak, hold on to your seats, graduates.”
Boyd served as the 14th president of Alabama State University, worked in the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, was the 22nd national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and is an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
In her speech, Boyd did not disappoint. She spoke fast, with the cadence of a preacher and the ideas of a historian. She started by acknowledging the challenges students overcame.
“You have done all the assignments, faced all the challenges; early morning, late night,” she said. “You have paid all your bills so that you could cross this stage today. Some are the first in your families to graduate from college. Some balanced work and family and completing your academic assignments with excellence. Some of you have conquered the doubts, your own and that of others, about whether you should be here.”
Boyd added, “And some of you arrived unsure if you should be here. But look at what the Lord has done!”
“You are getting ready to leave here, knowing without a shadow of doubt, that you are prepared for whatever life throws your way.”
Boyd moved on to what graduates could face next.
“This world you are entering is complex, challenging, chaotic, confusing and crazy,” she said. “It needs your intelligence and integrity. It needs your innovation and compassion.”
The class of 2026 is well prepared, Boyd said.
“The graduate programs are not just about the mastering of content. It’s about stewardship of knowledge. You have learned how to ask better questions. How to interrogate assumptions. How to test hypothesis. How to distinguish between data and noise.”
Boyd cited the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Jim Crow laws and mass incarceration.
“Through it all, we rose,” she said. “We built families, businesses, movements, cultures.”
She ended her talk with advice:
- “Pray every day.
- Choose your friends carefully.
- Stay focused on your future.
- Know your worth and don’t settle for anything less.
- Take reasonable risks.
- Dream big. If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.
- Trust God and hold onto hope.
- Finish strong and take a victory lap every day.”
Boyd left the stage to a standing ovation.
Eagles are No Ordinary Barnyard Fowls
During the baccalaureate ceremony for the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, Dena King ‘06 described what graduates could learn from NCCU’s Eagle mascot. King is the former U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, the first person of color to hold that position.
“Eagles are some of the largest birds,” King said. “They have broad wings that allow them to fly at great heights. Flying high is not always easy but it provides you with greater perspective. I challenge you to rise above the distractions in life and limitation others try to place upon you.”
Eagles are fearless.
“They don’t hide from storms but instead use the storm winds to rise higher,” she said. “Students, storms are going to come in your life. There will be setbacks. Doors are going to close. When those storms come, don’t run. Use that storm to rise higher and higher, because you are an eagle.”
Eagles are resilient.
“They are known for endurance and ability to thrive in harsh circumstances,” she said. “If you don’t know it by now, this world can be harsh. It’s the challenges that really define who we are. During those difficult moments when we have to dig deep inside just to keep going. Those are the moments that build our resilience, they strengthen our character and ultimately shape who we are.”
Eagles only eat fresh food.
“Eagles, choose what feeds your growth; emotional, mental, physical and spiritual growth. Don’t settle for what is stale or lifeless, don’t feed into bad influence and negativity. Surround yourself with the people, places and things that are going to move you forward rather than hold you back.”
Find your Identity
Ray Lewis is an author, motivational speaker and former defensive player for the Baltimore Ravens who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Lewis spoke about finding one’s identity.
“Once you decide who you are in life, everything in your life starts aligning with it,” Lewis said during the baccalaureate ceremony for graduates of the College of Health and Sciences, School of Education and School of Business. “Life doesn’t just give you what you want. It responds to who you are.”
Lewis suggested several ways to build identity. Those are:
- Train your mind. “Stop grabbing your phone and instead pick up a bible every morning.”
- Stop needing approval to move.
- Get comfortable being alone.
- Stop complaining about your life to other people.
- “The wrong people will break you. The right people will pray with you and build you.”
Life can be difficult, but that difficulty can be a benefit.
“Most people run from storms,” Lewis said. “Sometimes a storm isn’t there to break you, but it is there to shake you out of your comfort zone.”
He added, “What you align with comes from energy you carry which comes from the identity you live. If you move with discipline, you attract structure. If you move with focus, you attract opportunity.
If you move with excuses, you attract more of the same.”
During each commencement ceremony, Governor Josh Stein spoke in a video presentation.
He told graduates, “It’s OK not to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. You just have to take one next step.”
Chancellor Dixon got in the final words.
“Today, you are not simply earning a degree — you are embracing the responsibility to use your knowledge, your growth and your purpose to make a meaningful difference in the world,” she said. “Class of 2026, lead with integrity. Listen with compassion. Speak with conviction. Make room for others. And never forget the people and the university that helped shape this moment.
Honors
In a new commencement activity, three cadets were sworn in as new ROTC officers by Major Bill Burgdorf and Lt. Col. David Norwood of the Bull City Battalion. They are Second Lt. Nyree Bacchus, Taveon Pierce and Octavious Smith.
Rachele Gold, Ph.D., professor of English, received the UNC Board of Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Receiving the NCCU Award for Excellence in Teaching, were:
- Stephanie Freeman, Ph.D., director of the Arts and Humanities program.
- Jennifer Wiley, clinical instructor of criminal justice
- Yvette Bonaparte, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing
- Taheera Blount, Ph.D., assistant professor of counselor education
- Kellyn Hall, Ph.D., professor of communication disorders
- Alex Marshall, Ph.D., associate professor of biological and biomedical sciences
Also recognized were valedictorians Nicolas Geen and De’Shun Wood, both of whom earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
The following students earned the NCCU Student Service Impact Award: Sahniya Angelique Bilkerdyk, Siya Collins, Zariya Kay Cowan, Victoria Nicole Diggins, Tavia Lenise Ferebee, Tashiona Monet Holmes, Taylor Marie Stewart and Mark Quincy Stout.
Degrees awarded during 147th Commencement
An estimated 1,062 students earned degrees, including 579 bachelor’s degrees, 394 master’s degrees and 89 Juris Doctorates. The majority of graduates, 875, are from North Carolina. Maryland was the next most represented state with 36 graduates, followed by Virginia with 23 and Georgia and South Carolina with 19 graduates each.
There were four graduates from other countries; one each from Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic and Netherlands.
Graduates engaged in 30,805 hours of community service worth an estimated $1,031,659.
For select photos of NCCU’s 147th Commencement Exercises, view them here.