Newswise — Dr. Dennis P. Kimbro, the author of Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice and Daily Motivations for African-American Success, told North Carolina Central University's (NCCU) 780 graduates that they must hustle to be successful.
"Hustling means burning the midnight oil, missing lunch, and believing in yourself when others do not," said Kimbro. "This is the only way you will reach your goals and objectives."
Kimbro remembered when he graduated he did not want to follow the paths of his colleagues who decided to work on Wall Street or for federal agencies. He stated those paths were fine, but it was not for him. He wanted to know why one person succeeds while another fails and why one individual may be rich while another person lives in poverty. He wanted to know what makes the great great. Kimbro shared with the graduates what he learned when he interviewed some of America's great African Americans on what it takes be successful.
"The Reverend Jesse Jackson told me that a person may not be responsible for being knock down but they are responsible for getting back up," said Kimbro. "Reverend T. D. Jakes said family and friends may run out on you, but God will never run out on you."
Kimbro further stated that sometimes you have to do what you have to and not care about what others may think of you.
"Write him off as another fatherless child, he becomes Ben Carson; tell a blind man he can't do music, he comes Stevie Wonder; tell a woman in a wheelchair, she can't run for Congress, she becomes Barbara Jordan; tell a woman she can't write, she becomes Toni Morrison," said Kimbro. "People once told a man how are you going to start a school, and that man became James E. Shepard. Walk tall Class of 2006."
For the graduates and family members, commencement was a time of reflection and celebration.
"Today, is the closing of one chapter and the opening of a new chapter," said Darrell Coleman, who received his bachelor's degree in political science and psychology. He will work in the production management department with MTV networks in New York in June.
"I feel joyous and happy," said Lee Esther Johnson, grandmother of Cecilllia L. Patterson, a summa cum laude graduate who received her bachelor's degree in family and consumer sciences. "Cecillia and the whole family had hills and mountains to climb to get to this day."
"It was hard, but I made it," said April Fleming McKinney, who received her bachelor's degree in psychology. "I'm the mother of a one year daughter, I work a part time job, and sometimes things were a little rough. I am very thankful that I had a lot of people supporting me because I would not be able to do this without them."
Some of NCCU's graduates are all ready walking tall.
Iris Jackson, a single parent, helped her daughters financially and emotionally in receiving their undergraduate degrees from NCCU. Stacia Jackson Marcellin is a 1999 graduate; Kara Jackson Holness, a 2000 graduate; and Stephanie Jackson, a 2002 graduate. In return, her daughters inspired, motivated, and supported Iris to get her degree in social work.
"I am so very proud of her," said Stephanie. "She has achieved her goals despite all of the odds." In January, 2002, Stephanie and Iris both lived on campus.
How did Iris feel knowing that it is her time to walk across the stage?
"I have been waiting to exhale," said Jackson. "I am blessed and excited. It has been hard work but well worth it."
Melissa Davis, who lives in Georgia, drove approximately 48,000 miles to receive her master's degree in elementary education.
When asked why she traveled to NCCU to get a master's degree when other universities were closer, Davis, with a smile, stated that NCCU has the best School of Education.
"There are universities that are within five miles of my home," said Davis. "However, those universities as well as universities that I researched that offer online classes I felt those universities didn't or wouldn't provide me with the skills I felt I needed to be the best teacher I could be. I knew NCCU could. For example, I could leave class on Thursday and could immediately implement what I learned with my students in class on Friday."
Davis is a fifth grade teacher at Green Acres Elementary School in Smyrna, Georgia.
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