Mississippi Valley State University’s 65th commencement exercises Saturday brought back memories to the ceremony’s speaker.
“It’s great to be home,” said Dr. Claude Perkins, a 1964 graduate of Valley. “It’s very humbling for me to be with you today.”
Perkins, a native of Moorhead, serves as the 12th president of Virginia Union University in Richmond. He is currently on sabbatical from the historically black university.
“I would not be where I am today, I would not have accomplished all the things that I’ve done in my life, I would not be in this position had it not been for a serious, devoted faculty that saw more in me than I saw in myself,” he told the packed crowd that came out to the 8 a.m. ceremonies.
It was one of two events the university held on campus to bestow 450 degrees to undergraduate and graduate students.
Perkins said he never dreamed that his journey in life “would go so far and so fast.”
African-American students have faced enormous challenges in the past.
“We came up on the rough side of the mountain. There were many rivers that we had to cross — that because of our nurturing and support at this institute, we were able to do some extremely important things,” he said.
Perkins said the pursuit of a liberal arts education leads to seeking the truth in a rapidly changing world of work.
“The new work environment is going to require you to think well. To solve problems. To work with others as a team. That humility will be your ability to effectively communicate in a transformative technological society.”
Perkins said the successful integration of knowledge with technological application “will take you far.”
Throughout its history, Valley has had to overcome obstacles, Perkins said.
“This institution was supposed to be located somewhere else. The site for this institution was supposed to be in a place where people refused to sell the land.
“This institution had to take its place where there were cotton patches and flooding. When I came here, we would flood every spring. We’d roll our jeans up and walk through the water to get to our classes,” Perkins said.
He talked about how the late rapper Tupac Shakur evoked the image of a rose coming up through cement. “Now a rose is not supposed to grow up through cement. I thought about what he was saying — God is everywhere,” Perkins said.
Like the rose about which Shakur rapped, Valley’s miracle arose from nothing, Perkins said.
“When Tupac talked about the rose growing up in the cement, I think about the miracle that happened on Highway 82. That miracle provided an opportunity for me and for you, and for many generations after,” he said.
Timesha Henson of Bolivar County received her master’s degree in social work Saturday.
“I’m proud. When it comes down to this, it takes hard work and dedication. ... It was worth it in the end,” she said.
Tamara O’Banner of Itta Bena, who received her bachelor’s degree in English, agreed. “It was all worth it.”
Keynon Tunstall of Byhalia received his bachelor’s degree in English.
“I couldn’t have picked a better place to go. I thought coming to college would be hard, but here, they make the transition real easy,” he said.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
