 God of our Silent we invoke your presence this morning upon this institution upon the faculty and the staff upon the students That are graduating here today. We pray holy God That you will strengthen these graduates Purify their intentions and Grant them strength to use the knowledge and skills That they have acquired here Allow them to use it with confidence but without arrogance With both serious determination and good humor With a strong moral demand upon their lives But without judging others With both rigorous intellect and loving hearts For all these graduates Let them lead the way To a better society Let them use the resources that they have acquired to bless others We pray holy God that they would remember the good times We pray father That they would remember the times of challenge Because times of challenge will come in their future Teach them how to make it over Remember the song God of our weary years God of our silent tears Who has brought us thus far on the way? By your might holy father These students in this institution Will continue to bring forth love justice wisdom and understanding for all people May your blessings remain upon each of them Both the students the faculty the staff and the institution Now and forever more Amen. Good morning and Welcome to the 164th commencement exercise at Elizabeth City State University This is a celebration of a milestone for these graduates that are about to embark upon their next set of life's journeys We believe that Due to the work of the faculty and the staff that has poured into them over the course of the last few years that they will be Well-prepared to meet the challenges that will they will face as they move into the future I'm going to warn those of you are alert those of you that want to video That are videoing that you may want to catch this next part on your your cameras because my graduates know that I'm I'm like to ask them to do almost anything at any time and I'm going to ask you all to stand up All of the graduates, please stand. I want you to turn and Salute the faculty and staff that has worked to prepare you over the course of the last few years I can tell I could tell from the the Level of emotion when I walked into the room that they are parents and friends that have come here to celebrate with you I want you to turn to them and celebrate them and because because you know what tomorrow is I want you to pick your spot in the audience and wish them a happy Mother's Day Now I want you I want you to just think Briefly over the last few years think of all that you've been through. I want you to go ahead and let it out now celebrate yourselves Congratulations on your accomplishment. I have to wear them out a little bit before that turn them a loose way Please be seated. Thank you so much distinguished platform guests Staff faculty Again, we are we are gathered here today for it's a solemn occasion But I think it not inappropriate to celebrate the human element of this and the excitement that comes along with it I'm going to in order bring to the podium now The chairman of the board of trustees for Elizabeth City State University Bishop Kim Brown Who will extend a welcome from the university? He will be followed by greetings from Ms. Anne Maxwell member of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Followed by Mayor Joe Peele mayor of Elizabeth City State Mayor of Joe, I'm going to bring you into Viking lair mayor of Elizabeth City, North Carolina and finally Miss Ajane Willis president of The Elizabeth City State University student body. Thank you to our distinguished Guest congressman Butterfield Chancellor and First Lady Conway platform participants esteemed faculty family and friends and especially the Elizabeth City State University class of 2017 Good morning On behalf of the board of trustees, I'm proud to welcome you To historic River City and the hallowed grounds of Hugh Kale's dream 126 years ago The carriage and conviction of representative Kale Burpton institution of academic preparation That is still leaving a mark That will never be erased today the class of 2017 picks up the pen and And they continue to write and live the legacy and record her story To the class of 2017 as my friend dr. Jasmine Skirlock reminds us We should plan in decades Think in years work in months live in days and celebrate in moments Today is your moment Celebrated by reflecting and remembering Reflect on the years of matriculation that you have been blessed to participate But remember to give back to the institution that has poured its heart into your destiny Preparing you for the future Finally, I remind each of us today that life has three C's choices chances and changes You must make a choice to take a chance or Life will never change I'm proud to welcome you today and celebrate this tremendous accomplishment of academic preparation and it is my pleasure to lead you in declaring our great statement of our conscious Viking pride Viking pride Viking pride Good morning It's my great pleasure to bring greetings on behalf of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors the UNC president Margaret Spellings To our distinguished faculty staff and alumni of this great university to the Board of Trustees Chancellor Conway Congressman Butterfield and members of the platform party But most of all to the proud graduates and their families Welcome and big congratulations Graduates this is Chancellor Conway's first commencement ceremony since being officially installed as the leader of Elizabeth State Elizabeth City State University So I hope you're ready to celebrate in style You are all setting the tone for what will be the first of many proud days in Chancellor's long tenure here at Elizabeth City It has been my true pleasure and privilege to work with and to get to know Chancellor Conway Elizabeth City is very fortunate to have such a wonderful and dedicated leader. Thank you Graduates today, we're here to celebrate your accomplishments To honor the devotion of the many friends and family who have carried you to this day And we look ahead to the challenges and opportunities that await You've earned a moment to reflect and bask in the achievement of a college diploma Diploma and I hope you will relish that But I also hope you know that we are counting on you in a big way we're looking to you for energy and leadership to tackle the biggest problems we face To meet the world head-on and leave it in a better place and better shape than you found it That's what your time here at Elizabeth City State University has prepared you for And we're behind you all the way Whatever comes next in your future Remember that you always have a home here People who are committed to your success The Vikings are a tight-knit bunch So don't be a stranger in the years to come You're always welcome back Congratulations Good morning Platform guests faculty Graduates and guests it's a pleasure and honor for me to be here to represent our city council and Be a part of this 164th commencement program as Has already been stated Chancellor Conway had you stand up and celebrate the folks That you have here in the audience that have supported you graduates one of the things that I would ask that you do as well is As one of my friends always tells me there's nothing like a hug So when this is over this is one major accomplishment in your lives And you didn't get here without the help and support of a lot of folks And so when this is over don't just wave to them grab them and give them a big hug and say thank you and Remember as you move forward, I'm always reminded at times like this and one of my favorite philosophers dr. Seuss Wrote a book called oh the places will go You have your life before you this is an accomplishment that not many people are able to obtain So you need to make sure that you take advantage of your hard work as you move forward You're just beginning doors will open and you need to be ready to take And grab those opportunities as they present themselves The guests that are here like to welcome you to Elizabeth City We're glad to have you and we hope that you have a good time in our town Graduates on behalf of city council in our citizens. We wish you Godspeed and don't forget us. Please come back often Greetings to Chancellor and First Lady Conway to our distinguished Board of Trustees To our esteemed faculty and our very diligent staff to the visionary Congressman GK Butterfield to our supportive alumni family and friends and more importantly greetings to the crusading class of 2017 So a few weeks ago I began to ponder about whether this is a beginning or whether this is an end and I was led to think of the story of Moses You see in the book of Exodus the Pharaoh had oppressed the Israelites because he feared that they would become too powerful In order to suppress them They were made to feel like it was something more that they needed in order to break out of the chains of oppression They thought that they lacked something But all they truly lacked was the knowledge that they were not being oppressed because they were inadequate They were being oppressed because they possessed the ability to do all things divine Through the trials and tribulations Moses learned to obey God through the things that he suffered and just as Moses had class of 2017 during our tenure we have learned to obey God through our social spiritual academic and financial trials But just as God had led Moses to the Pharaoh to demand him to let his children go to let them be free from oppression with today's Accomplishment graduates. He has blessed us with the knowledge that will equip us to deliver our people from the issues that plague them Just as God gave Moses a staff to part the sea today friends. He has given us the key of knowledge He knew that our grandparents would fight to get their two feet on the ground So that our parents could begin to put one foot in front of the other so that we could arrive at the door Dig deep in our pockets pull out the key of knowledge and unlock the chains around our mind and open the door and get Our people to the other side The key that you now possess is a master key graduates turn to your neighbor and say neighbor. I Have the master key And it opens all doors Yes, folks, it opens the doors of opportunity. You see I answered my own question It was revealed to me that this is both a beginning and the end This is the end of us sitting down and not knowing who we are whose we are and what we are capable of This is the commencement of scholars who are the gladiators who are setting out to get our people to the other side So to the prison systems today with this class, you can't have our men in this audience to the hospitals You can't have us you can't have our bodies due to senseless violence And to the reality TV shows that attempt to over sexualize our women You can't have the bodies of these scholars in this audience Welfare system today you don't and to all of the oppressive systems in the world today with this commencement You have over you. I am here today to declare that the class of 2017 is coming to dismount these oppressive systems We're coming due to destroy all the things that plague our people in this world We have come to get our people to the other side So I leave each of you with this that somewhere out there is a young man or a young woman That looks exactly like us and the world has told this child that they are not capable They have told them that they should not will not and that they cannot but I dare you to love them Like you've never felt pain before I dare you to invest in them everything you can give them And when you have no more I dare you to find more Are you to believe in them? I dare you to give them everything that God has commanded you to give them I dare you to stand and be righteous in the face of darkness. I dare you to reach down in your pocket Key, I dare you to open that door and I dare you to get them to the other side Jenae Willis guys It has been such an honor and a pleasure to serve you guys as a student body president I will see each of you on the other side. I Turned to I Turned to governor Maxwell during me that that Presentation and said that's why this is the job I want I Was tempted though River Maxwell and Bishop Brown to get up here and say and the ushers will now pass among you Thank You Arjun a and and thank you to each of the the welcomeers that has Presented to this audience We will now be favored with the selection victory tied by the university choir under the direction of dr. Walter smart to introduce you to Elizabeth City State University's 164th commencement ceremony keynote speaker Congressman GK Butterfield, I would add a friend to Elizabeth City State University Congressman GK Butterfield is a lifelong resident of eastern North Carolina Raised in Wilson, North Carolina Congressman but if Butterfield Spent his formative years attending Charles H. Darden high school and Worked in the civil rights movement in his young adult during his young adulthood His parents were doctor and Mrs. GK Butterfield senior his father practiced Dentistry for 50 years and served as one of North Carolina's first black elected officials since reconstruction His mother was a classroom teacher for over 48 years Congressman Butterfield Graduated from college from the College of Law at North Carolina's got his undergraduate and graduate degree His law degree from North Carolina Central in Durham, North Carolina After after earning the law degree Congressman Butterfield entered the law practice in Wilson and served the community in that capacity for 13 years He is best known for his successful litigation of voting rights Cases that resulted in the election of African-American elected officials throughout eastern North Carolina in 1988 Congressman Butterfield was elected as Resident Superior Court judge in this role He presided over civil and criminal court cases in 46 counties in North Carolina For for two years. He served on the North Carolina Supreme Court by appointment of the governor Congressman Butterfield retired from the judiciary after 15 years of service and Successfully ran for congressman He was elected to serve the first district of North Carolina in the US House of Representatives And in a special election on July 20th 2004 where he now he continues to serve to this day in Congress Congressman Butterfield is a champion of affordable health care education improvements in rural communities veterans affairs Renewable energies and federal programs that support low-income and middle-class Americans Butterfield has served in the democratic leadership as chief deputy whip and Is the immediate past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus? He sits on the influential committee on energy and commerce and as the is the fourth most senior Democrat on the health subcommittee in addition, he serves as a member of subcommittees on communications and communications and technology and energy Congressman Butterfield is a lifelong member of Jackson Chapel Missionary Baptist Church He is a veteran of the US Army and a proud father and grandfather Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome to the podium Congressman GK Butterfield. Thank you Chancellor To the Chancellor of this great University my friend Thomas EH Conway, Jr Thank you for the invitation and thank you for those very kind and generous words of introduction And to Bishop Kim Brown who serves as a chair The Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees and to the other trustees who are here a symbol who give of their time and resources To support this great institution To the Honorable Anne Maxwell with whom I'm sitting here on the deus who is here today representing the UNC system on behalf of Lou Biscuit who is the chair of the UNC Board of Governors and Market Spellings who is the president of the UNC system I want and to take a good report back to Chapel Hill when she returns I want her to tell them that Elizabeth State Elizabeth City State University is alive and well and needs to be preserved To the administrators and to the faculty members and the staff who all together Work together to drive this great institution every day To the mayor of this great city my good friend Mayor Peel and to my other good friend Mayor Fred Yates from Down the road in Windfall, North Carolina and to the other elected officials in the audience and I see quite a few But most of all today to the families to the families I see you and to the honor graduates and to the graduates of this great class ladies and gentlemen and Let me also mention a name that I omitted a moment ago to the student body president as Janae Willis she She has represented you well. I Am grateful today for the opportunity to share this Significant day in your life This significant day in the life of this great institution. There is no greater honor Than to be a commencement speaker and I've had this honor many times over the years But this is a special honor for me today to come to this institution on this day When the honor comes from an institution that has the rich history and the legacy The legacy of Elizabeth City State University. It's a great honor Now I realize that we've gathered here today to honor these beautiful graduates However, there are other heroes and she rose here today who should be recognized and with whom the graduates share their success and I refer of course to the parents Who possessed the brains that you were lucky enough to inherit and secondly? They probably provided at least some of the money that you needed to sustain yourselves while you were here I Congratulate the parents and the grandparents and the extended families of these graduates As the immediate past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Chancellor mentioned that a moment ago I bring greetings to you and best wishes from our 49 members the Congressional Black Caucus is fighting every day To strengthen to strengthen to strengthen historically by colleges and universities All across this land all 105 of them to make college affordable and accessible for the next generation of leaders Continue to pray for us in our work as we fight the headwinds in Washington that you see play out every day This is a wonderful occasion. I'm delighted to be with you. Just just look at you I've been sitting here for the last 25 or 30 minutes just looking at these graduates Just the other day some of you were in elementary school. You remember that? Just the other day you were in elementary school Unsure of your future now you are a college graduate and I know and I know and you know that some of you defied the odds God bless you because you are here and you're graduating today And I am thrilled I Am absolutely thrilled for your families who sit here today just beaming with pride and with joy I Recall as a student one of my greatest joys was to make my parents proud of me Graduates you make your parents and your grandparents and your families proud of you This morning in the hotel that I stayed last night I saw the families that stayed there last night and and they didn't know who I was but I was watching them and they Were up early this morning They were getting dressed they were making sure that the other family members down the hall who in other rooms Making sure that they were up and ready to come out here today and to celebrate this great day in your life And whether you know it or not graduates. They've had some sleepless nights They've had some uncertain days, but they had faith in you They had faith in Almighty God that you would succeed and complete your education and You have and the fact that this is mother's day weekend. How special does that get? This is mother's day weekend and This graduation in parts and even greater importance Because you have mothers and you have grandmothers and you have aunties and you have cousins and even big mom Who stayed in your case and demanded that you make the family proud and you have congratulations Now Let's get serious for a minute. I got that behind me. I just want you to celebrate The your relationship with your family, but let's talk about something else I want to talk with you for a few minutes, and it will be only a few minutes graduation speeches are not Usually long usually 15 minutes is the limit and and I'll be obedient But I want to talk to you on the subject of being faithful Faithful faithful is defined as being true and constant and affection or Allegiance to a person or to an idea or an institution. I Want you to be faithful first to your faith Many of you no doubt embrace various faiths, but regardless of your faith. You must practice your faith In all that you do put God first God has been blessing you God has been blessing each one of you Has been blessing your community has been blessing your family for a long time. Don't lose sight on your faith Number two sounds like you're in a classroom, right? number two Look at the teachers back there laughing Be faithful to your family If you haven't figured it out and most of you have your family must be the center of your life You would not be sitting in those seats were it not for your family and their sacrifice Your families have been your rock They have your best interests at heart and guess what sometimes they did stuff for you that you don't even know about They cleaned up your stuff right parents They didn't even know it sometimes They paid that bill they did stuff they cleaned up your stuff and didn't even tell you about it Why? Because they wanted you to stay focused They wanted you to stay focused on this day be faithful to your family Be faithful to humanity He Elizabeth City State University is about serving humanity You must understand that there are more than seven billion peoples in the world 40% of them live on less than two dollars per day That's a fact 25,000 children under the age of five die each day for malnutrition and disease You got to serve humanity in this country 50 nearly 50 million people live in poverty One out of three children black white and brown Lives below the poverty line in this country Some people continue to judge other people by their race or their religion or their sexual orientation You cannot ignore these issues. You cannot ignore humanity I challenge you therefore to be faithful to others Regardless of their circumstance, they need your attention Be faithful to your university Viking pride be faithful to this university You must understand the rich history of Elizabeth City State University I know you've heard it over and over it's in your program today, but have you really stopped to think about the thousands of Men and women who have walked across this stage after receiving a higher education men and women who went into the world and made a difference Without Elizabeth City State University many of them would never have had the privilege of an education This university has a rich Rich history and you cannot talk about the history of Elizabeth City State University Without going all the way back to 1865 the year slavery Came to an end You might say well my professor said slavery ended in 1863 Well, it depends on your point of view. That was the Emancipation Proclamation, but the 13th amendment Legally into slavery in America December of 1865 and that's when reconstruction began. There were four million slaves in the south 330,000 slaves in North Carolina 100,000 slaves within 75 miles of Elizabeth City and those slaves had nothing they had nothing but Faith in God faith in family and a faith that their children would one day succeed and Become productive citizens and African-Americans became registered voters And they started electing African-Americans to the North Carolina General Assembly and Finally a man named Hugh Kale became the state representative The state representative for Pasquotank County. He served four terms and doing his last term Kale was a staunch advocate for higher education and he insisted he insisted that a Teaching school a normal school. It was called be established in northeastern North Carolina And so he used his position in the General Assembly to pass a bill and gave birth to this institution in 1891 and so even though there have been numerous 126 years y'all that's a long time and Even though there have been numerous attempts to close this school or to merge your alma mater It has withstood the test of time and now You are 126 years old and you've got to make sure that this institution continues to thrive be faithful to this university and Finally be faithful to yourself Be faithful to yourself. I see the brother down there got a hat on it said be proud I could read it on top be proud be faithful to yourself education without character Is a dangerous combination? Whoa, let me repeat that again education Grandma likes this It ain't enough to have education but education without character is Very dangerous. I Charge you to be trustworthy When other people trust you they give you leeway because they they know you don't need monitoring to assure that you're Obligations are met when people trust you graduates. They believe in you They respect you if you were to be trusted you must refrain from even small untruths or self-serving behavior that can destroy a relationship Remember to always be honest and trustworthy in all of your relationships people know when you're being fair with them Oh, they know it and they can quickly figure out when you are not telling the whole truth I'm almost finished. I want you to have integrity Integrity a person with integrity acts according to his beliefs or her beliefs and Training not according to expediency a person with integrity is consistent There's no difference in the way he or she makes decisions from situation to situation Principles don't vary whether you at work or whether you're at home whether you're in public or alone The person of integrity takes time for self-reflection She stays in control. He stays in control people without integrity It's what grandma used to call a hypocrite have integrity Graduates be reliable When you make promises to other people on which they rely You undertake a moral duty when you make a promise you are expected To fulfill your promise and so I charge you to be respectful People and our things Everyone has a right to be treated with dignity We certainly have no duty to hold all people in high esteem, but we should treat everyone Regardless of who they are and regardless of what they have done with some degree of respect We have the responsibility to be the best we can be in all situations Be responsible life is full of choices being responsible means being in charge of your choices It means being accountable for what you do and who you are It means recognizing that what you do every day your actions matter Be responsible Possess good character. This is the last one Possess good character if you choose a path of good character You will succeed even if you have some bumps along the way People will help you they will help you. I served as a judge for 15 years I know what I'm talking about even when you face difficulty if you have good character People will help you along the way and guess what if you don't have good character They will run from you as fast as they can And so graduates I have come today and I have said what I have intended to say it is now in Your hands and I will leave you with this very simple thought a basketball brother chancellor in my hands is worth about 30 dollars a Basketball in LeBron James's hands is worth about 30 million dollars You see it depends on whose hands it's in right coach right coach a golf club in my hands is worth about 60 dollars a Golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods is worth about 60 million dollars and a grand slam of tournaments It depends on whose hands it's in a tennis racket a tennis racket is useless in my hands a Tennis racket in Venus Williams's hands is a Wimbledon Championship it depends on whose hands it's in a rod a Rod I wish I had a stick up your rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal a Rod and Moses's hand will part the mightest seed it depends on whose hands it's in to fish five loaves of bread in my hands preacher Bishop to fish and Five loaves of bread in my hands is a fish sandwich To fish and five loaves of bread in God's hands will feed thousands it depends on whose hands it's in nails Nails in my hand are just a bad wound Nails in the hands of Jesus will produce salvation for the entire world It depends on whose hands it's in graduates put your concerns your worries Your fears your hopes your dreams your families your relationships and God's hands Because it depends on whose hands it's in congratulations a job. Well done Butterfield let me you're gonna hear that sermon again congressman butterfield Let me on behalf of the Viking family. I want to present you with a token of Our appreciation and a remembrance of today Because as when when we have special events, we want to celebrate with the special people. Let's give them a great Viking pride Viking pride graduates we know that this is your day But we're also here to celebrate and recognize the people who have helped carry you to the finish line The faculty and staff of Elizabeth City State are the heart and soul of this institution and Is my privilege to honor them by presenting this year's Board of Governors Award for excellence in teaching This award was first established in 1994 to underscore the value of teaching and To reward great instructors across the university system the awards are given annually to a tenured faculty member from each of our 17 universities After nomination by his peers and careful review by the Board of Governors It is my pleasure to present this year's award To Dr. Glenn Bowman Jr Dr. Bowman, would you come forward? Chancellor Conway a professor of history. Dr. Bowman joined Elizabeth State Elizabeth City State University in 1999 and began teaching courses in method research methods European history and world history He has also served as the director of International programs and as department chair of the department of history and political science Professor Bowman recognizes that there are complex and interconnected world demands as a global perspective We need citizens who can work write and communicate across cultures Discipline thinkers with the potential to lead in the workplace to lead in the classroom to lead in the community He emphasizes critical thinking and clear Crisp writing in his courses, and that's very important and necessary in today's world But that means he's probably editing my speech right now Dr. Bowman wants students to question what they hear Even what they hear if it's from him Anybody experience that in his class? He's known to stop class and demand evidence before letting a discussion proceed as he likes to say If you don't do your own thinking someone else will do it for you after writing the Razor's Edge a textbook that addresses a few tiny issues in world history such as What is goodness? That's tiny or How will the world in? Wow Dr. Bowman donated the royalties to honor Leonard Ballew a long-time University Archivist money from the Ballew Fund have helped monies from the Ballew Fund have helped sponsor student research and train history throughout the region Dr. Bowman was also instrumental in preparing a history of Elizabeth City State University in celebration of Founders Day 2016 your institutions 125th anniversary he discovered documents that were previously overlooked Including the untold story about a 1903 vote by the State Board of Education that nearly ended Elizabeth City State That story along with many other tales of Elizabeth City's resilience through the years Can be found in dr. Bowman's recent book on University history He continues to celebrate this institution in a column for the daily advance Highlighting his commitment to educating not just his students, but the public at large Dr. Bowman For your devotion to Elizabeth City State University to its students and its proud place in North Carolina history We honor you with the 2017 Board of Governors Award for excellence in teaching in Celebrating dr. Bowman. We also give thanks to the more than 14,000 dedicated faculty who teach throughout the University of North Carolina Dr. Bowman, thank you Congratulations dr. Bowman I'm gonna ask Colonel Gaelic to come to the podium to do the oath of Induction for our second lieutenants that have chosen to go into service to their country in this in this Institution through this institutions ROTC program Colonel Gaelic. Thank you Chancellor Conway Honorable Congressman Butterfield Honorable Mayor Peele Honorable Miss Ann Maxwell Distinguished Board of Trustees distinguished faculty outstanding Viking alumni Did you know this month besides being National Barbecue Month is also National Military Appreciation Month Congress that is designated May as National Military Appreciation Month in 1999 to ensure the nation was given the opportunity To public dig publicly demonstrate their appreciation for the 1% of our nation that volunteered and still volunteered today to support and defend our way of life a Month to appreciate their sacrifices and successes Both past members and presently serving members of our own forces Will the veterans and attendance please stand or if possible raise your hand so that we can thank you for your service the Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Coast Guard as you notice Some of them are uniform some are not in uniform. They're just in a different uniform now You do your service to your country and you continue your service You had several faculty out here That have served their country now serve and you the customer Soon-to-be graduates of ECSU And as I learned from Howard and Hampton those HUs we are known as the ECSU Today is a special memorial occasion for 2nd Lieutenant's Ryan Ferguson 2nd Lieutenant Courtney Hicks Ryan is from Elizabeth City The Elizabeth City, they're about to join the distinguished 1% That group that I mentioned earlier and then chancellor mentioned as well That group that includes congressman Butterfield Tenor to the officer corps. They took an oath. This oath is not comprised of mere ceremonial words The oath embodies what they strive to uphold throughout their military career and afterwards into civilian ranks These soon-to-be Viking graduates will be officials for our government and ambassadors for our nation and our states They are obligated both morally and physically to do their utmost to uphold and defend our way of life So that you know what they've committed themselves to they will restate their oath for you Raise your right hand repeat after me Hi state your name Do solemnly swear there are support and defend the Constitution United States Against all enemies Foreign and domestic There bear true faith and Allegiance to the same That I take this obligation freely Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion And that I will well and faithfully Discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter So help me God about face officers from Elizabeth City State University Viking loud Viking proud Chancellor Conway We now recommend candidates for graduate degrees Chancellor Conway It is my privilege to report to report to you that the candidates here assembled have qualified in all aspects For the degrees by successfully completing the curricula offered in the graduate programs in the school in school administration science and biology at Elizabeth City State University Would the candidates for the masters of school administration and the masters of science in biology, please stand Chancellor Conway It is with pleasure That I present to you these candidates who have completed all of the requirements for graduation They've been certified by the registrar and have received an affirmative vote by the faculty To be awarded the respective master's degrees in school administration science and biology Mathematics and elementary education and I recommend to you for conferral of their degrees By virtue of the authority vested in me by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and The Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees I do hereby confer upon you the degree for which you have qualified with all of the honors privileges responsibilities Appertaining there unto appertaining will the candidates for masters of school administration Masters of science and biology Masters of elementary ed and master master of mathematics, please proceed to the platform to receive your diplomas Malcolm Eatman Wenslow Bernard Baysmore Vincent Congratulations, please be seated Baccalaureate degrees will now be conferred Chancellor Conway, it is my privilege to report to you that the candidates here assembled have qualified in all respects For their degrees by successfully completing curriculum offered by the academic departments at Elizabeth City State University They have been recommended by the departmental chairs Approved by honors council where appropriate Certified by the registrar and have received an affirmative vote of the faculty To be awarded the degrees the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics The Bachelor of Science in Education The Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Social Work At this time I am pleased to begin The conferment of undergraduate degrees by presenting the bearer of the mace Chancellor Conway, it is my pleasure most distinct indeed To inform you that the official bearer of the mace is Ms. Anisa Marlena Lynch from Hollister, North Carolina She has the highest non-transferred GPA of 3.91 Will Ms. Elisa Lynch, please come forward for the conferment of your diploma Chancellor Conway, I'm pleased to present the bearer of the mace Bearer of the mace Anisa Lynch By virtue of the authority vested in me by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees I do hereby confer upon you the degree for which you have qualified with all the honors privileges and responsibilities there to appertaining Anisa, congratulations Chancellor Conway Before we proceed with the conferral of degrees I'm honored to have the opportunity to recognize those seniors who are graduating with highest honors summa cum laude Having achieved by their diligence a cumulative GPA of 3.8 to a 4.0 Those students with those GPAs would I ask you I'll ask you now to stand Let's give them a big hand You may be seated Magnum cum laude with a grade point average of three point six to three point seven nine Would you please stand you may be seated and Seniors graduating cum laude with a grade point average of three point two five to three point five nine Would you stand you may be seated now wish to recognize seniors Who have completed four years in the university's honors program? Many of whom have just stood for other honors Please stand so that we may now congratulate you if you're in the honors program You may be seated. I am pleased to acknowledge all of the summa cum laude magna cum laude and cum laude graduates and the graduates of the university honors program to the honors program Graduates especially I would like to commend you on having Having Apologize on having achieved the excellence required by a highly demanding and even more rigorous curriculum I Salute all of you for your diligence and perseverance and encourage you to continue to excel Thank you Please be seated Give them a round of Chancellor Conway now is the time that I think we've all been waiting for I'm pleased now to present the candidates for their respective diplomas Chancellor Conway on the recommendation of the department chairs Certified by the university registrar and by the affirmative vote of the faculty It is my pleasure to present the candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics the Bachelor of Science in Education the Bachelor of Science the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Social Work Would you all please stand? By virtue of the authority vested in me by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and The Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees I do hereby confer upon you the degree for which you have Qualified with all the honors privileges and the responsibilities there unto appertaining Chancellor Conway I'm pleased to present to you the candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Education Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work Now candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, would you please come forward to receive your diplomas candidates? for the Bachelor of Science in Education, please stand I'm pleased to present The candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Education, would you please come forward to receive your diplomas? Michelle Lashonda relations, please be seated will the candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree please stand Chancellor Conway, I'm pleased to present the candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree Please come forward to receive your diploma Alexander Demetria Lanisha Banks Ramon Maya Danisha Bowser Casey Cartwright Cartwright Caldwell Sifuentes Shaquasia Cooper Deshawn Cowan Cumberland Naquisha Daniels L. Jr. Tashiana Gallup Joshua Hollowell Naima James Charlene Jones Stephanie Lightfoot Im Lumsden Tatiana Matthews Joshua McCoy Natifa Powell Jamika Richardson Jefferson Ridgway IV Satchel Khadija Smith Chancellor Conway And please to present candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree Please come forward to receive your diploma Patience please be seated For Bachelor of Social work please stand Chancellor Conway I'm pleased to present the candidates for the Bachelor of Social work degree Please come forward to receive your diploma Chancellor Conway this concludes the conferral of degrees for the candidates comprising the spring graduating class of 2017. Now candidates for baccalaureate degrees please stand. Please symbolize the attainment of your diploma by turning your tassels from the right to the left. Congratulations please be seated. To the spring 2017 graduates I congratulate you on the attainment of this milestone in your careers. At this time I would like to recognize our honor marshals. Honor marshals are the highest ranking students academically from the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. The students were invited to participate today as honor marshals. Will the honor marshals please stand and be recognized. Thank you. Be seated. Also at this time I would like to recognize and thank the ECSU Commencement Committee and by applause the ECSU and to applaud the ECSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of professor Juliet Borkins. ECSU choir under the direction of Dr. Walter Swann. Thank you for helping make this a memorable occasion. At this time I welcome to the podium Ms. Bethany Ealy, president of the senior class to deliver the farewell remarks. Good morning. First and foremost to my graduating class of 2017 Chancellor Conway platform participants, faculty, staff, friends, and family. My name is Bethany Ealy and I served as the 2016-17 senior class president. First I would like to congratulate my fellow classmates and thank you all for allowing me to serve as your senior class president. There is a saying that has meant a lot to me and it is a saying I believe applies to all of us and is important as we look forward to our future. The saying goes something like this, the answer is never no. It is either yes, not yet or there is something better in store for us. You may have not received the job you wanted, your test scores may have been too low to get accepted to the grad school of your dreams or to be quite honest, Elizabeth City State University may have not been your first choice institution. As I've learned through talking to some of you all over the past four years, for me personally, this school was not even an option, just somewhere I met the requirements. But for my very first day on June 22nd, 2013, as a model scholar, I realized this was my quote-unquote something better. It may not have been where I wanted to be, but where I needed to be to turn out who I was meant to be. Looking back out of all nine of the colleges and universities I was accepted to, there is not a different institution I would choose to go back and redo my college career. Remember, the answer is never no, it's always yes, not yet or there is something better in store for you. So for now, just sit back, trust the process, follow the journey, believe all the pieces will fall into place and know everything happens for a reason. Class of 2017, stay positive in everything you do and know everything and anything that happens to us is what we need to be done to mold us into who we are destined to be. Again, congratulations to the class of 2017. And now for our first time as official alum of Elizabeth City State University, Viking Pride, Viking Pride, Viking Pride. Thank you. At this time, it's my pleasure to bring to the podium Mr. Abdul Rashid, president of the National Alumni Association, who will administer the oath of allegiance to the university. Good morning. Protocol having been established. I would like to first also congratulate the newest members of our National Alumni Association and congratulate all the parents that have supported these young people and these new emerging leaders as they embark upon their next step in life. Before I move to the oath of office, I'm sorry, of allegiance, I would like to thank and welcome our congressman for his great delivery. It's great to see him. I would also like to ask Ms. Arjun A. Willis to please stand again and for us to absolutely, we absolutely want to encourage you and your leadership and ask you to keep speaking that truth. It is this chancellor who taught me that alma mater in some definition or interpreted means mother. Is that right, chancellor? Dear mother. Well, ECSU has acted as your dear mother for the last four, five, six, however many years it took for you to get to this point. ECU, ECSU has guided you. ECSU has instructed you. ECSU has fed you. ECSU has disciplined you. Elizabeth City State University has provided you with unconditional love. And like your mother at home, you should be forever grateful. So please stand and repeat after me. State your name, solemnly pledge unbroken allegiance to my alma mater and appreciation for the opportunities for development afforded me as a student at Elizabeth City State University. State your name, pledge active membership in the National Alumni Association, wherever I may be through association with my fellow alumni, I shall forever do my best to uphold the ideals and traditions of my alma mater. I state your name, pledge as a person to exemplify high ideals by rendering positive and dignified service to the community, to the state, nation and world, thus living to bring honor and respect to my alma mater. So in closing, no, I'm sorry, you're through. Thank you. You may be seated. I was going to say in my closing, please leave this place in the spirit of your mother and please step into our state and our nation and help us be more nurturing and concerned for each other. Help us protect the human rights of all people. Help us discipline ourselves when we need discipline. When we need to be in timeout, put us in timeout. When we need our privileges removed, remove our privileges. When we need our butts whooped, when we deserve that strong medicine, administer it. When we should be locked up from ourselves, when that discipline is appropriate, lock us up. In the spirit of mama, help give unconditional love to all people and our planet. Viking pride, Viking pride, Viking pride. Okay, so this is it. This is the last part. Let me say to our graduates, if I could leave, if I could ask you to leave here with an idea in mind, I would ask you, or the ideas in mind because the congressman has given you a lot to think on. Your student body president has given you a lot to think on. There's a lot in those charges that you should take seriously. As I have said to you on a couple of other occasions, you are a special class. This is a special class for Elizabeth City State University and you will carry this with you for the rest of your lives. You are the class that started off over your last few years here at Elizabeth City. You've seen four different chancellors. You've seen an awful lot of change in the institution, but through the efforts of committed faculty and staff and through your own diligence and persistence, you persevere. Dr. Bowman's book carries a theme about the message that the story of Elizabeth City State University being one of excellence and resilience. That's who you are. That's what life has given you as a test. That's what you carry for from this place. That's what you start from on your commencement day. You know, this has been a great week for a chancellor. I started out this week on Tuesday. I think it was. I had lunch with six alumni, all of whom the youngest in the group was, I think, 76 years old. The oldest in the group was 102 years old. These were Vikings that attended this university when the institution was only 24 years old. Now it's 126 years old. That's a legacy of excellence and resilience, or it's part of the legacy of excellence and resilience. If I had the time today, what I would do is go through the real story that is behind each and every diploma that we passed out today. This week has been one where as chancellor, I got to graduate a new set of kindergartners from our child care center from kindergarten into the first grade. There was a lot of excitement there. And if you think about from kindergarten to 102, the kind of legacy that is part of the Viking story. And now we're here with you. We're talking about graduating another class of Vikings, challenging you to go out and take your place among the Viking family and to uphold the Viking story because the Viking story, our story is now your story. I had the opportunity this week as I was walking across campus. I bumped into some people and I'm just going to take the privilege of the microphone just to call a few names and I wish I could call everybody's name, but I can't. But there were some people, some of them, when I met them, they were excited. Some of them, when I met them, they were in pain. But we're all here today in celebration. I called the name of Melanie Poole. Melanie Poole. Melanie Poole is a study in resistance. Melanie Poole started her Viking journey 14 years ago and said, I will not stop until I get that degree from Elizabeth City State University. You know, like the world is small and it's getting smaller all the time. I call the name of Darius Witherspoon. Darius Witherspoon actually was taught by my son in Warren County and now I get to hand him a diploma today from Elizabeth City State University. The world is small and getting smaller. I call the name of Michelle DeWise. Michelle DeWise is the Elizabeth City State University student teacher of the year and going on to the state competition for student teacher of the year. Education is our root school and we're still turning out excellent teachers. I call the name of Ashley Cartwright. You talk about maybe this wasn't your first choice. Ashley Cartwright started at Howard University and decided she wanted to be a Viking and today Ashley Cartwright graduates from Elizabeth City State University. And just because I got to go back home at some point, I got to call the name of Carla Evans who graduated from a school in Lewisburg, North Carolina and Franklin County, North Carolina is where I hail from. So Carla, congratulations. To each and every Viking here today and to each and every Viking family by extension that's here today, I want to say this has been a grand celebration but as has been stated over and over again, this is a beginning to Congressman Butterfield, to Governor Maxwell, I want to thank you and to say this is how we do it at Elizabeth City State University and to all of you and I know Joe Peele knows I'm not going to let him off the stage without saying this. Anytime that you all decide to come back to Elizabeth City situated in the beautiful inner banks of North Carolina, the harbor of hospitality, please come back and see us. Have a great day. Congratulations. Would you please stand for the singing of the Alma Mater. This has been wonderful. It's felt like a church service and a blessing. May you be blessed in the city and blessed in the field. May you be blessed when you go out and bless when you come in. May your future careers and jobs be blessed. May your homes be blessed. May your personal style be blessed and the level of your integrity be blessed. May you be blessed when you rise up and bless when you lay down. May you be blessed with the meditations of your heart and the thoughts of your mind. May your bank accounts be blessed. May your new relationships be blessed. May your old relationships remain blessed. May you be blessed through the journey of your life and may you journey with God always. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. And for all of this in agreement, we say amen. Amen. Amen.