Today, I feel like “fussing” while standing on my soapbox. I feel compelled to remind everyone that Grambling State University is a serious place, where learning and scholarship is and always should be everyone’s top priority. Yet, we have a number of students who directly and indirectly impact other students by not taking the enterprise of scholarship seriously. In this treatise, I want to appeal to our students to think with honor and integrity.

In a previous speech, I reluctantly identified three types of people in the world. My reference to the various personalities and people in the world was done to encourage our students to consider what’s happening in the world around us.

First, there are losers who will never do what is required to be successful in life. Their modus operandi, or “method of operation,” is to lie, cheat, steal and participate in any number of unscrupulous activities to get what they want. They simply will not do what is right. I trust we do not have any of those people at Grambling. If we do, please know that you are in the wrong place. Your way of life is not the Grambling way.

Second, there are the average people who have talent and ability, but do not fully utilize these skills. They are followers and are constantly waiting to be told what to do. Further, they do just enough to keep the status quo. They want acceptance, at almost any cost. The truly sad thing is that these people have all of the tools necessary to be extremely successful, but they continue to operate on the edge of mediocrity, complacency and acceptance of marginality.

Third, there are the winners who will not only do what is right, but go above and beyond. They get up earlier than others and stay up later than others to get the job done. In other words, you can always count on winners to help you advance and become the best you can be. They are creative and innovative and constantly looking for ways to improve themselves and others. I am confident that Grambling is ripe with these types of students and employees.

My goal is to always be as positive as I can. However, I recently learned that many of our students are not attending classes and completing their class assignments. In addition, few students are taking advantage of the university’s many career and professional-development activities. We have many talented alumni and industry leaders who take the time to share their valuable experiences with Grambling students, yet few students are seizing these opportunities. Going to college is a wonderful thing; it is a privilege that is not available to everyone. There is a world of unique opportunities for personal and professional growth at Grambling, the place where everybody is somebody, and everybody can become great. The opportunity for greatness is yours. Remember our history, our legacy and those who fought and died to give everyone in this great nation, state and institution a right to the best education. Your acceptance into Grambling proves that you have skills and ability.

It saddens me to no end to learn that some students are not fully utilizing their intellectual gifts. The real questions become: Why not use these gifts? Why have you come so far just to give up and do nothing? Where is the personal pride and respect for yourselves, your families and your position as a student of Grambling?

Never, ever lose hope. As Winston Churchill once said, “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up.” Too many brave and courageous people have worked too long and hard, fought and died, and made other tremendous sacrifices, including your families, for you to attend college at Grambling State University. So take advantage of all the opportunities that are available to you and pay back the people who sacrificed for you by becoming successful.

Finally, you and your families have invested a lot of time, money and energy on getting into college. Do not take that lightly. If you have borrowed money, you must pay it back. If you do not, it will damage your credit and make it more difficult to buy a house, car or other important purchases that you will need later on in life. And, if you’ve made bad grades and fail school, your poor academic records will make it difficult for you to be accepted into another university.

This is what you should do to be successful in your everyday life. Get up out of bed every single day, get dressed, go to class, pay attention, take notes, study, meet with your teachers, ask questions, get in study groups, go to the library and allow learning to consume you. Let it become part of you. If you do, I can almost guarantee that each and every student will pass their classes with little or no problems.

Keep in mind that life is hard. Do not help it become harder by not doing what you are supposed to do and what is expected of you. Let’s flip the script and make going to college a successful and positive experience. I dare you to change your life and become a SERIOUS student and make learning and obtaining a quality education a top priority.

With Great Enthusiasm,

Willie D. Larkin, President