 Welcome Chief Justice Beasley. Good evening. I am Carrie Dixon, Chancellor of Elizabeth City State University. On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students of ECSU, I would like to welcome you to this virtual HBCU Road to Justice event. I would like to offer a special thank you to Ms. Shanta Corner and the ECSU student ambassadors for helping us to pull this event together. We are living in unprecedented times where we continue to witness the enormity of our country's pain, anger, and demands for justice. Let us strengthen our resolve to be a part of the creation of a better world, a world in which reason and compassion prevail over ignorance and hatred. ECSU prides itself in creating a supportive, nurturing environment for all students and employees. We remain committed to having an inclusive environment while we honor and celebrate our diversity. There is a continued need for intentional conversations around racial and social injustices. As an institution of higher education, it is our responsibility to offer opportunities for our faculty, staff, and students to come together for an event like this one this evening and to participate in courageous conversations. So it is my pleasure to welcome Chief Justice Sherry Beasley of the Supreme Court in North Carolina and all guests to this evening's program. Welcome, Chief Justice. Thank you so much, Chancellor Dixon. I am delighted to be here today. We are delighted to have you here. So thank you for taking time out to spend with us for this very critical conversation. We greatly appreciate that. Well, I appreciate you being here. I'm really honored that the chancellor came for this. But I'm not at all surprised. I'm very, very thrilled. And I was very, very excited when you were selected to be the chancellor of the university. I'm thankful also to associate vice chancellor Wade, who was instrumental in helping us get here. Dr. Crawford, of course, Ms. Poiner and the student ambassadors and panelists and the ECSU community at large. So thanks so much for having me. Thank you. Thank you. We are honored. OK, I turn it over to Dr. Crawford. All right, wonderful. Good evening, everyone. My name is Dr. China Crawford. I am the chairperson of the Department of Social Sciences. We have criminal justice, home and security, interdisciplinary studies, and history within that department. At this time, I will go ahead and introduce Chief Justice Beasley. After that, I will do a quick introduction of our student panelists. And then they will begin asking their questions. Chief Justice Sherry Beasley has been more than 20 years dedicated to the rule of law. She began her judicial career as a district court judge in Cumberland County, where she served for a decade before being elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2008. She served as an associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court for seven years before being appointed by Governor Cooper to lead the North Carolina Supreme Court last year. She is the first African-American woman in the Supreme Court's 200-year history to serve as Chief Justice. Chief Justice Beasley has been her entire career advocating for courts that are independent, fair, and accessible, and that serve every person with dignity and respect. As Chief Justice, she is advocating for a court system that not only solves legal disputes, but also helps people better their lives. By engaging local judges, educators, and law enforcement, she is helping to reform discipline in our schools and keeping kids out of our courtrooms. She is committed to expanding specialized treatment courts that better serve the needs of North Carolina's children and families. She is also working to leverage the power of technology to make sure our courts are efficient and accessible. She has lectured extensively to remote the administration of justice, the importance of an independent judiciary and a fair judicial selection. She is also active in her community through leadership in her church, first Baptist of Raleigh, her support of hunger-relief efforts, and her mentoring of students from elementary school to law school. She is a graduate of Douglas College of Rutgers University, the University of Tennessee College of Law, and Duke University School of Law, where she obtained her LLM. She and her husband, Curtis Owens, are the proud parents of twin sons, Thomas and Matthew. So join me in welcoming Chief Justice Sherry Beasley. So at this time, we have four students, ambassadors. First, we have Nomar Proctor, Mr. Elizabeth City State University, who is an aviation science major. We also have Miss Makayla Stokely, who is Miss Elizabeth City State University, who is a social work major. In addition to Miss Stokely, we have Mr. Jimmy Chambers, SGA president, and a double major in criminal justice and homeland security. Finally, we have Miss Angel Oxendine, Attorney General, excuse me, and a double major in criminal justice and social work. Students, you may begin asking your questions. We'll start with Jimmy. You may ask your first question. My first question is, what topic for you is hard or sensitive for you to vote on? And let me say this first. So the Supreme Court of North Carolina, of course, is the highest court in the state. And of course, we have a federal court system and a state court system. So we have trial courts, district and superior courts. Those cases heard there can be appealed to the court of appeals. And then the cases from the court of appeals, some of them can be appealed to the Supreme Court of North Carolina. So at the Supreme Court, we don't hear evidence. We don't hear from witnesses, no testimony. The issues that come before the Supreme Court are really legal arguments to determine whether or not the court below or the trial court aired, made a legal error, not a factual error in the case. So, you know, the Supreme Court certainly hears some very difficult and frankly, very moving cases. But I'll tell you, you know, when I was a trial court judge in Fayetteville, I was a family court judge, juvenile court, civil, criminal and traffic. And often hearing from witnesses and hearing the passion of their testimony and the cases involving children, some of those children have had to endure some real trauma. Probably at that level were some of the most difficult cases for me to think through. And whether they were on the criminal side where something either happened to a child or the child in some way committed some kind of a criminal offense or the child that were custody issues or something like that or abuse or neglect or dependency. At the Supreme Court, all the issues are tough, frankly. You know, the cases don't make it to the Supreme Court unless they are indeed tough. And this year we have dealt with some very tough issues around the Racial Justice Act and around race being engaged in jury selection and a host of other issues. And sometimes it's just bad things happen to folks and it's just, you know, it's just tough to know that people are experiencing those kinds of things even when my role really is to follow the law. And then my next question for you is what advice would you give someone who aspires to work in local, state or federal government? You know, my advice to young people, frankly, regardless of whatever it is you wanna do is to find somebody who is doing something that you might be interested in. And by the way, I don't think you have to know what you wanna do. When I was your age, I really had no idea what my path might look like. I had no idea. I knew I would go to graduate school but I really didn't know in what area. I mean, I applied to law programs, social work, public health, business, public administration, hospital administration and law. And so I thought about a lot of things. So it really is okay not to know but I do think it's important to be in touch with people who I don't think you have to know but I think it's always great to know more about the things that you just would like to explore. And so I can say the following in a room of 2000 and maybe two people might do what I'm about to say. You should pick up the phone and call Joe Smith who is an aviation scientist and say I'm really interested in what you are doing. I'd like to know more, I'd like to have coffee or a Zoom meeting or something. And the reason Joe Smith will take your call is because number one, I can say it in a room of 2000. Nobody's gonna do it, right? Because nobody wants to pick up the phone, right? But people my age who mentor and hire still pick up the phone, right? So picking up the phone is really important. And when you pick up the phone, you distinguish yourself because nobody else is gonna pick up the phone. Nobody else is going to do what I just suggested that you do. And so knowing more about what people do and knowing more outside of our own universes, you know, a university to provide a wealth of experiences and a wealth of opportunity around scholarship and certainly ETSU does that. But also speaking with people outside of that universe is really important and knowing about their experiences and engaging in, and I'll just give you a sort of an offhand example, but I was on a vacation with my family one year and trust me, it wasn't a great vacation, we were just away. And we met a family from London. And the dad said, you know, next summer, we're going to send our kids to South Africa for sports camp. And I thought, people do that, right? Emma does at the time, by the way. Wow, people do that. Now, I never thought about sending my kids to sports camp and trust me, they didn't go, but to be thinking about the fact that people do that, that was an experience completely outside of myself. And if I had not been speaking with this family, I never would have known that people send their kids to sports camp. So that's what I mean. I think it's important to be exposed to it. And even though I experienced it vicariously, it's great to have those kinds of experiences and you can kind of pick and choose what of those experiences work for you. Getting my kids to the Y at that time was about as far as we were gonna be able to do that, but it is important. It was very important. I never forgot that I had the exchange with the gentleman, the family from London. So it's important to have those conversations with people who think differently, who have different experiences than you, and you can determine for yourself how much of that you want to embrace. Yes, ma'am. And then my next question for you is, in life, everyone has a Y. So what was your motivation or simply what was your Y to want to run for Chief Justice? You know, in North Carolina, all judges are elected. And so I have now been a judge for 21 years and I had served on the District Court. I had served on the Court of Appeals and on the Supreme Court. And so I had good experience. And as soon as my predecessor retired, I started getting these calls from peers saying you really ought to think about doing this. So the encouragement was really helpful. And certainly I talked with my family about yet another run. This is my fifth election this year. And so, you know, my sons, that's all they know is the life of elections. But, and so that piece was very important to me. But the other thing too, and this is the piece that I really want you to be thinking about is, I think often when we hear about these things, then certainly when I was your age, 2021, I could not have conceptualized that I would be here. But I think often along the way, we find ourselves in situations and we find that there's an opportunity. And we think of all these people around us who might be better suited for the opportunity, right? And we think about somebody who might be, you know, better, well-connected. We think about somebody who might be smarter, more creative, in a better position. She's involved in this activity over here and I'm not. She's prettier, he's more handsome. He's certainly got a better opportunity because he's got this, this, and this, and this. And it's not that the people around you don't because you surround yourself with people who are also very talented. But often we decide, we think about all these reasons why we're not the person for the opportunity. And so I would encourage us to think differently about that, that it is important for us all, all of us to surround ourselves with people who will encourage us. And not to be, for us not to be blinded when people around us cannot embrace the vision that we might have for ourselves. Because sometimes it just doesn't happen that way. That's okay. People can support you in the way that they can. But it's okay to think outside of that box and to think about what happens if I explore this opportunity for myself. And not to stop ourselves if we don't know how to get there. Because we can always figure out the way to get there, right? We can always figure that. We don't have to know the answers for ourselves. That's why it's important to surround yourself with people who know more and who know things differently. And that's not more, it's not that they're smarter. It's just that they know, they've had different experiences. Okay. And then my final question for you is what do you want your legacy to be once you decided to retire? And so, Jimmy, let me also say this. And so I knew I was qualified, okay? I wanna say that because often we're afraid to say that I knew I was qualified to be Chief Justice. And I also knew that I had nothing to lose. And that I hoped that I could be of service to people in North Carolina. So we ought to also be comfortable in saying, I know I'm qualified. And I don't know everything about this musician. I'm not walking in it saying I know everything to do. I also continue to surround myself around people who would know a whole lot of stuff and a lot of staff and a lot of people who understand a lot of this stuff. And so we don't have to know it all in order to be able to go for it. So, you know, Jimmy, I'm so busy doing all the work. I really haven't thought about my legacy. I really haven't. But what I do hope is along the way. It's been really important to me to open doors for young people. And that this journey, you know, I do want to win this election and I do want to hold this seat. But it's only a temporary, it's not my seat. It's not my seat. It is for me to hold to make things a little bit better so that when one of you is interested in doing this very same kind of work, the journey will be a little easier. I'm the first African-American woman. The Supreme Court of North Carolina is 200 years old. And there is something frankly, a little disheartening about the fact that I'm the first in 200 years. It's something disheartening about the fact that there are only two African-American women in the whole country serving as Chief Justices and Chief Justice Burnett Johnson in Louisiana will retire in December. So as you all decide that you're gonna go to law school and professional schools, we wanna be telling a different kind of story. I wanna be supporting you all differently as you go forward. And by the time you're ready to do this, I want you to have been more of us in places where we have yet to be in service, where we have yet to have the opportunity to be in service. So I am hopeful that my generation will offer that gift to you. Just a minute. And thank you. And once COVID is all over, Chancellor Dixon, I hope we can get her on campus. Well, I would love to come to campus, but I would also love to have you all come to the Supreme Court. It is a beautiful courtroom and there's obviously a lot of history there, but it's also your Supreme Court. And so I would love for you to be able to see it. But you have a beautiful campus. I've been there many times. This is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, ma'am. All right, who will be asking questions after me? All right, we'll go ahead. Mr. Proctor, you can ask your question. Okay, good evening, everyone. And I just wanna give a special thanks to Chief Justice Beasley for even being here with us tonight. I appreciate your presence. My first question for you is, what were the biggest adversities you faced while progressing through your career and did those adversities ever make reconsider your position? I'm gonna answer the second part first. No, they did not make my adversities never made me reconsider. And remember, this is all hindsight. I'm a little older than y'all. And so I never reconsidered. I always thought if I can't go in this direction I mean, y'all know the good stuff about my resume but you've not heard about the tonsils and I've been told no. And for whatever reason, when I was told no, I just always sort of figured out another way to do it. And certainly there have been adversities. I mean, there is a reason that there has, I'm the first African-American woman to service Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. There's only been one other African-American Chief Justice Henry Fry who's still alive and well and wonderful. And so certainly race and gender have been, have offered its own set of challenges along the way. But I will tell you this, I've not been in anything else other than an African-American woman. And so I have been comfortable navigating in my skin. And it's never been my problem. You know, sometimes it means that there are folks around who just hadn't seen it before and that's fine. But we got to work through it and move on. And it should never race nor gender or the other isms should never be a barrier to do what it is you wanna do. Which is another reason why you have to surround yourself with people. And that's why it's important to make the phone call to people who you don't know, who don't look like you, who've had diverse experiences to be building, this is really about building relationships. It's not just about making a phone call, having coffee, being done. It's amazing the folks I can look back over the years who in some way test my life, not just through a phone call but that we established a relationship and that they took an interest. And these are non-lawyers. These are not necessarily people who knew how to encourage me in the way through my career but people who planted something in me along the way. All of those relationships are hugely important. And when you face the challenges that really take you off, it's important to have people around you. When you know that something has happened to you because of your race or your gender, it's important to have people around you who keep you encouraged but also who can see things differently and who can be a sounding board. And it's important to have people around you, especially when you become the Chief Justice because all your jokes are funny at this point, right? And there are very few people who just want to kind of tell you the truth but it's important to have people around you in your circle who will say, Sherry, you really must think about this this way or yeah, yeah, this is wrong over here. So it's important to be grounded like that. And certainly having sons does that but professionally it's important to have that as well. And by the way, my sons are 19, so they are your peers. All right, my next question for you is from your experience as a leader, what do you consider effective methods to get community members motivated and engaged to make a collective difference? Well, I hope these kinds of events really for all of us and still how much coming together is important. And I really do hope. I mean, your Chancellor Dixon has talked about and wonderfully outlined the really difficult challenges that we in North Carolina and in this nation have faced around race. And we know that the death of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and Brianna Taylor really pushed the conversation. It's not like we didn't know that these problems existed before, but really pushed the conversation and really helped a diverse group of people to see that these issues really do exist. This is not a figment of our imaginations and that we really have to address these issues. And so I'm really hoping that we'll continue to build on those really important conversations and be moved by them, not just talking, but really move the action by them. But I also hope that most of you are old enough to vote. And I think often we think voting is something that we should do for the sake of voting and it really is so much more. And let me just give you an example. You have a wonderful small community that is being strengthened by a wonderful history and legacy of scholars and people who really believed in educating African-Americans. You have a wonderful leadership in your Chancellor Dixon and so many others and people who are important to the university really care about the work of the university. But I think often we don't associate. So I think, two things, I think protest is great. I think it's important and it's an important expression of anger, fear, hurt, rejection and all of that of systems around us. But I also think that if you're protesting, you've not finished the act unless you have in fact voted. That the protest really means nothing unless you take the responsibility to also make sure that the people who you choose to be in service for you are in service for you. But so I think I'm sure you all think that as well. And if anybody wants to know about our history it's not too late, I know we heard October 9th but it's not too late, you can still do that. We can talk about that. But the other piece that I think we often don't realize is if every student and faculty person and administrator and cafeteria staff and ground staff vote, we never make the association between those kinds of things and research dollars. But what does it say about your university when you take that kind of a stand? I mean, all kinds of folks start to take notice about not just your voting strength but your strength period and a whole host of areas. So voting is not just, I don't vote just for me. I certainly don't run just for me. And I hope you know that you're not just voting for yourself, that really you are voting for your universities, you're voting for your community, you're voting for your the children and the children's children you don't even know. And all of that is really important. And that's really what service is. It's doing things that really make a difference outside of ourselves. And that's really important for all of us. That all of you are scholars and that piece is very important too. But all of us really must have, I think, a service component to our lives. And your service component doesn't have to look like mine. You choose what that looks like for yourself. But I think all of us really do have an obligation to give back in some way. Okay, thank you for your response, Chief Justice Beasley. Now I can recall that we did a march to the polls recently. And I definitely feel like what you said about like influence the community regardless of the cafeteria worker, student staff that it definitely can make a difference in our future based on getting everyone to vote and exercise their right. So that's the last of my questions. I will now turn it over to Ms. Elizabeth City State University, Makayla Stokely. Hi, Chief Justice Beasley, thank you for being here with us today. My question is, what inspired you to become a public defender and did you ever see yourself becoming Chief Justice? You know, actually before I was an assistant public defender I was actually in the district attorney's office. And most people feel very strongly about one side or the other. I really could have done either one. I really enjoyed being in the district attorney's office. I could easily see good being done from that perspective. And it just so happened frankly that I landed a permanent position in the public defender's office. And in the very next week I got an offer from the district attorney. If I had gotten the offer honestly from the district attorney first that's the job I would have taken. But I'm so thankful. I don't believe in coincidence. So there's a reason that it happened that way. I'm so thankful that I went to the public defender's office. I learned so much. And obviously I had great trial experience and all that piece was really important. But more than that, I learned just so much about people and about hopes and dreams and whether I was talking with victims or defendants or the parents of victims or defendants or other community folks who were engaged in the cases before the court in some kind of way. It just really solidified for me that it really is important that however we come before the court and people don't come before the court when great things are happening in their lives. They've come to the court where there's some very difficult things happening in their lives. But all of us regardless of who we are have the same hopes and dreams and fears and cares and concerns for our families and our community. And that really does offer us a humanity for all of us. It doesn't, I mean, whether we are highly educated or not educated, whether we have a conviction or don't have a conviction. I mean, we all really do. The essence of who we are really is the same. And we don't, there are people who don't really know how to get there and don't need to know how to find a peace in their lives. And there are a host of reasons that that might be. But I think it's important to always consider the backstory because all of us have one. And my backstory doesn't trump the person. I may wish I could use that word, but it's not a bigger or better story than the person who comes before the court. And so I just think it's always really important to be mindful of that. And I'm not sure I would have left the public defender's office with that really important lesson embedded in my mind for the rest of my life. And I think because of that, it made me a better lawyer. It made me a better judge. It made me a better wife, mother, community person, all of that. And I think that's really important. Did I ever see myself becoming Chief Justice now? I didn't see anybody looking like me who was Chief Justice, obviously, because I mean, they were only before in the nation's history, African-American women. So no, I did not. And I often talk about the fact that, and I was a lawyer by the time I saw an African-American woman serving as a judge. I was. And I remember looking up in the courtroom one day. In fact, I was in the District Attorney's office in Wake County at the time. And I looked up and I thought, oh my God, look at this beautiful African-American woman who is presiding in this courtroom. She's got great command of the court. And I mean, I was just, I was in awe. I was in awe. And little did I know. And so when I went to Cumberland to become, a Cumberland County to become assistant public defender, little did I know that I wouldn't end up practicing before that. I didn't know she was from Cumberland County. I didn't know that. I ended up practicing law in front of her. And literally she was a district court judge at the time that I became a district court judge. And she went to the Court of Appeals. And then I went to the Court of Appeals. And then she was the Supreme Court. So when you see it, you see it so much easier to think about yourself in that way. And so that's why, I mean, it's never lost on me why my service is important. The work of the court is obviously very important. And it's really awesome to lead all the courts across the state of North Carolina. And there's a great opportunity to really make some changes and create impact. But the other piece of the importance of my service is that so you all can see somebody who looks like you in service in this way. And one of the most wonderful things when I became the Chief Justice, I literally heard from people all over the world from as far away as Australia, who in some small way saw my appointment as Chief Justice as a victory for themselves. How awesome is that, right? So this is, it's never lost on me how important my service is. And often frankly, when I think about the outcome of this election, and thank you Jesus, there are only 13 more days. But those are the kinds of things I often think about is, what more work do I have to do it? And what more do I need to be doing in service to make sure that young people are brought along and cultivated so that they're ready to become a judge or to become a construction lawyer or whatever it is you wanna be in your life. Thank you for answering that question. I have one more. Are there any cases in your career that you believe had a significant impact on your personal life? Geez, a lot of them. A lot of them because I mean, these cases are about people's lives. And I never had a case where I thought that it was only about the case file. A lot of these cases I've taken home with me in my heart and in my mind and lost sleep over and really toiled not just about the situation, even there were times when the decision was clear but that the situations were just so difficult and so dire that even with a clear decision in the case it was just people who come to court are suffering. And so yes, I take a lot of these cases home with me at night. Thank you for answering those questions. I will turn it over to Angel Oksadar. Good evening, Chief Justice Basley. My name's Angel. I'm the Attorney General of ACSU. I just have a quick question. If you could go back and change anything differently, would you and what would it be? You know what Angel, we all have challenges and obstacles and good days and bad days and successes and times that don't work out just right. And you know, all of us often feel this sense of the need to like control every aspect of our lives, right? As the good master above is laughing at us as we think we can do that. And I certainly believe that it's important to make plans. But if I would go back and change something, I would have messed it up, right? I'm gonna mess it up. I mean, this is my journey. And for every single challenge, you don't really get to the other side of the challenge unless it was a challenge, right? I mean, you have had challenges in your life and once you got to the other side of them, you felt a sense of whether it was victory, healing, triumph, success, whatever that thing is. But you don't feel any of that unless you have the challenges. So the challenges are hugely important to our journey. And that's where the growth comes from. That's where the exploration, that's how we determine, we tried it this way, but we're gonna, that didn't work out, so we gotta try it this way. But you don't have to push yourself like that if you're never challenged. So I would have changed the thing. Okay, I just have one more question. As the first female African-American Chief Justice, were there any, what were your challenges of your journey? Like what was your challenges with your journey? Like did you have anyone down you? I know you have people that put down you, but personally, did you have anyone down you or something? Tell you that I have. Now there are people who have not, not to my face. And there have been people who have certainly been uncomfortable and not known how to interact. And I had one person to tell me that. And it was somebody who actually, a big staff of folks who, and commissions and all this stuff. And so it was somebody who ended up working for me. And, but ultimately we really have worked it out. And I think the world of him, I know he thinks the world of me. I'm also in a position where voters have the ultimate say. And so if they really don't like me, they don't have to be right. But I just, I haven't had that. And it's not that I don't know that it exists, but I also don't have the bandwidth to entertain that. I got work to do, I have a lot to do. And my service is really important and it is so much bigger than myself. We have changes that we must make in our court system. We know that we have, I think the death of George Floyd and the others really helped to change the conversation and the realization around the understanding that in our courts, we have had disparate outcomes and we have to acknowledge that. We have to acknowledge the very difficult history of race in our courts and in North Carolina before we can go forward. So I'm excited about the fact that even before George Floyd died, but I think the fact that George Floyd died, he didn't die in vain because I think he's moved us all forward in a way that we really would not have moved but for this tragedy. And so there are challenges. There are supposed to be challenges. We will address race, but it won't be easy. I mean, the courts are 200 years old and this didn't just start yesterday. So we're talking about the systemic issues that we really must address. And so I would much rather focus on those kinds of things and the outcomes of cases and deciding the cases at the Supreme Court and all of that than to be engrossed in my feelings about how somebody feels about my service. I just choose to channel my entities differently. Everybody's not supposed to like you, by the way. Everybody, so you're not doing something right if everybody likes you because all of us really must push and pushing means that some folks will be uncomfortable and that's okay. Thank you so much and I hope to meet you in person one day. As do I, thank you. That concludes our student portion of the event. Chief Justice, do you have any final statements or final topics you would like to address? Well, these questions were just absolutely wonderful and I'm really delighted that we've had a chance to engage with each other. But I really do hope that you will, and I've heard about your majors, I really do hope that you will think deeply. And I think often when we make phone calls to people to find out more about their careers or their lives or whatever that we feel like we must have to have some kind of an end, we've got to know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody to make that happen. And I would just urge you to take down all of that stuff. Is it a little scary to pick up the phone and call somebody and I'm like, mm-hmm, it is, it is. But what do you have to lose, right? You have anything to lose in everything you gain, right? You're right really, so just do it. Please do it, please do that for yourself. And I really do hope that you will feel this sense of empowerment. And I know that ECSU has been engaged and cares deeply around racial disparities. And I hope gender disparities as well. And that piece is so important, not just from a social justice piece, but I think that piece also develops who we are as professionals, as family members, as community members, as students, scholars, and all of that. I think all that's really hugely important. But I also hope that you too as leaders will feel that sense of empowerment around voting and around being engaged in civic engagement and whatever capacity is important to you. And I do hope that you know that even though you're young and you are leaders on your campus, that you really do set an example for those around you. And so this pandemic is tough, right? I mean, school doesn't feel like it's supposed to feel right now. It's really challenging. We all wanna make sure that we're safe and not sick and everybody's not back on campus and homecoming is messed up. I know I try to go to the down east game, which is always a lot of fun, but ECSU and we'll have any of that this time around, right? And so, but we have to think about the fact that in the very same way that that coming together really keeps us uplifted and keeps us grounded about who we are and what's important and that sense of community. We have to think about different ways to develop that even though we can't always be in person, but that connectedness is really important. And one of the things we don't talk about, we're still not comfortable talking about is mental health. And the reality is all of us, but I think it's, I won't even say especially students, since I'm talking to students, I'll talk about this, but I talk with lawyers about the very same thing because you know we're lawyers, right? We don't talk and we don't have mental health issues, but we do, but we as African-American students have to think differently about mental health. And that coming together, that's the piece that we all miss, right? I mean, we feed off of each other and when we go to the party or to the calf and we can see everybody and that coming together and when we can't do that, we have to understand that that feels like a real loss for ourselves. And so please make the, because now it's a greater effort to stay connected, right? But when you connect with somebody, you feel that sense of goodness in your heart, right? You know, you say I saw Jiminy Day and I talked with him and he told me this joke and all this stuff. And certainly that's easier when we can do that in person. But I think sometimes we think we're the only ones struggling, right? Because we're afraid to talk about it. And the reality is all of us are feeling the same thing. But coming together is so important for all of us. I was actually out last night and I'll tell y'all what I was doing. Roland Martin came to Raleigh and so I was interviewed and I was on a show. Y'all know who that is? Okay, so I was on a show. So, but there were people out there and there weren't a ton of people out there. But when I saw, because you know he's an alpha and so the alphas were out there. But it was just so great to be with Roland Martin. But it was so great to be with alpha men who I know and who I respect. But it was just the coming together and to be physically in the same place. So we really do need each other. And when we're not able to come together, which is how most of us are navigating these days. It is important to keep those connections. And it's really okay to say, I'm kind of suffering right now and I'm feeling a little down, a little blue. And those are the things we're often not comfortable saying. But it's important to say it. And it's also important to say, I might need a little help with this. And to be able to allow our peers, because you all are the leaders, right? To be able to come to you to say, I'm struggling right now a little bit. And so just keep that in mind. It's really important. But I do want you all to know that I'm very proud of you. I'm excited about the work that you are doing. I'm excited about the fact that ECSU is really on solid ground and leading the way in some really cool ways. I'd love the whole cybersecurity piece and all of that. And so in all the ways that you are excited and curious about whether it's your career path or something else, I just would encourage you all to reach out. And to really know that you at this time in your life, you're not supposed to see the end goal. You just are really not supposed to see the end goal. I mean, I was, I'm sure doing, y'all are far more focused, I'm sure, than I was at your age. But stay the course and be curious and don't be afraid to act on your curiosity. And you're not supposed to know what's around the bend, but you are supposed to be active in seeking opportunities and serving the community around you, whether it's the university community or outside the community. So I'm excited about all you do. I'm excited about the ways in which you are already engaged. I'm excited about your potential. And I'm excited about the opportunity for us to win this pandemic thing, cools itself down for us to come together and continue our dialogue. Well, I would like to thank you so very much, Chief Justice, for joining us tonight. I'd like to thank the students for all of their questions. And Dr. Dixon, I will go ahead and turn it over to you for closing remarks. So Chief Justice, we want to thank you on behalf of Elizabeth City State University for spending time with us this evening to have these critical conversations that I know our students will learn so much from in their development as they think about their future. And I appreciate the fact that you acknowledged that you did not know that you were gonna be Chief Justice at their age. That was just the path that you were on and you were obedient to that path. And so I greatly appreciate your acknowledgement of that because it's okay not to know at this age what you're destined for, but I know that we have great students at ECSU. I'm excited about the great things that they're gonna do in this world, the great impact they're gonna have to fill the seats for when we retire. They're gonna be ready to step in those seats. And so I'm grateful to lead such a wonderful university who's making a great impact in Northeastern North Carolina, the state of North Carolina and beyond North Carolina. And we are thriving and we are building a foundation to sustain for the future so that we continue to produce great leaders who are gonna be prepared to take on these great roles that they have in their path and their life as far as their journey. So we do thank you for all that you do. And we thank you. We're so privileged and honored to have you the first African-American female Chief Justice. We're so proud to have you join us this evening and thank you, Dr. Crawford. Thank you, Dr. Wade for helping us, for pulling all of this together and thank you to our student leaders and everyone who joined us this evening for this very important conversation with our Chief Justice, Sherry Beasley. So thank you all for joining us. Thank you all so much for having me. This was great.