GRAMBLING, LA – Henry “Hank” Aaron encouraged Grambling State University’s Class of 2015 to pay it forward by helping those who cannot help themselves during the Spring Commencement on May 8.
“I’m proud to stand here this evening before you because you graduating students are our future,” Aaron told the class of 505 graduates. “I have tried, in my lifetime and in the 23 years I played baseball, to have what we call the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation. My wife and I started it many years ago, and you too can do things like that.”
GSU Interim President Cynthia Warrick presented Aaron, who is currently the senior vice president in the Atlanta Braves front office, the honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, for his distinguished career in professional baseball and his vast humanitarian efforts for the youth. Aaron’s Chasing the Dream Foundation was established in 2007 to help children between the ages of nine and 12 realize their dreams.
“We have tried to help, and that’s why you are graduating. You are here to graduate and be able to help those students or those people who can’t help themselves. Please, whatever you do, remember that. Remember that you are here because someone on stage or some teacher or instructor helped you prepare yourself to help prepare other kids that can’t help themselves. I beg all of you today, remember that you too can do the same thing,” Aaron said.
Grambling awarded a second honorary degree, Doctor of Business, to Charles Guidry for his accomplishments in business and success in the sugar industry. Guidry, the eldest son of a sharecropper, has grown his small family farm in Erath, La., to become one of the top producers of sugar cane in the state of Louisiana. He also serves as the only African American member of the Cajun Sugar Co-Op, Inc. Board of Directors.
“Grambling State University is the most wonderful university to receive such an honor from. My message to you today is to dream big. Dreams do come true. I am living proof as I stand before you today,” Guidry said.
Congressman Ralph Abraham, who represents Grambling, Lincoln Parish and 23 other parishes in north, central and southeastern Louisiana, advised students that now is the time to explore all the opportunities earning a college degree grants them during his commencement address.
“I’ve had somewhat of an unconventional life,” Abraham said, referring to his multiple careers as a veterinarian, medical doctor, business owner, pilot and now congressman. “I just want to tell you that you don’t have to have it all figured out right now. You’ve got time. In a minute, you graduates are going to be handed a piece of paper. It will also be the greatest piece of paper that can ever shape your life. You’ve earned the respect and the recognition that diploma gives you.”
Next, Karlin Gray was honored as the valedictorian of the Class of 2015. Gray is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, and a 2011 graduate of White Station High School. She is a senior in the Department of Kinesiology, Sport and Leisure Studies (KSLS) with a concentration in Sport Management who is graduating with a 4.0 GPA.
“I will miss student life the most. From the very first day I stepped on campus, it was very inclusive. There was always a lot of love, and I will miss that,” she said.
Gray began working her first full-time job at Results Physiotherapy Women’s Specialty Clinic in Memphis, Tenn. After she gets married in August, Gray and her husband will move to Jackson, Miss., where she plans on studying physical therapy and undertaking ministry work at local colleges.
Grambling also bestowed five doctoral candidates with a Doctor of Education degree in Developmental Education: Sandie Crawford of Macedonia, Ohio; Gerald Iacullo of Jersey City, New Jersey; Susan Louise Prather of Waldorf, Maryland; Elise Hester Reed of Grambling; and Xanthe Yvette Seals of Homer, La.
Lt. Col. Denise Moultrie, a professor of military science, awarded commissions to eight Army ROTC officers: Michael Blackshire, Lance Bradford, Cendra Doni, Paris McMurray, Gregory Oshotse, Omseti Smart, Michaela Sneed, and A’Miracle Wesley.
“They are now part of the elite, of the one percent that serves in the uniformed services. I am so proud of them, and they will do awesome as leaders,” Moultrie said.
Golden Reunion Certificates were also presented to 18 members of the Class of 1965 to celebrate their 50th reunion at Grambling: James Bradford, Jonesboro, La.; Birdex Copeland, Grambling, La.; Mary Casson Davenport, Shreveport, La.; Alfred Dawson, Houston, Texas; Lille Doyer Dawson, Houston, Texas; Florence Durell, New Orleans; Donald Francis, Jennings, La.; Delia Monroe Hamilton, Shreveport, La.; Clarence Hawkins, Bastrop, La.; Betty Webb Jackson, Grambling, La.; Ida Thomas James, Covington, La.; Hazel Jefferson, Opelousas, La.; Netria Anne Joe, Mandelville, La.; Alice Naylor, Country Club Hills, Ill., William Ruffin, Many, La.; Herbert Simmons, Jr., Jonesboro, La.; Gilbert Stampley, Beaumont, Texas; and Bobbie Scott Williams, Beaumont, Texas.
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