Reprinted from here: http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/grambling-state-university-president-speaks-to-jefferson-parish-students/38320832
Grambling State University’s president spent some time with Jefferson Parish students on Thursday at a special assembly.
A spirited speech from Dr. Willie Larkin kicked off Thursday for students from several Jefferson Parish middle and high schools.
Larkin spoke of his journey from being a sharecropper’s son to a university administrator. He said the message to take away from this assembly: Don’t let your current situation define you!
Larkin told the group if they learn to work hard now, there is no limit to how successful they can be.
He says this advice could be useful to state lawmakers, too.
“If we don’t address the issue of higher education, we’re going to put ourselves in a predicament that we’re not going to rebound from,” said Larkin. “We’re trying to convince the legislature to look favorably on education, because that’s the thing that’s really going to improve the state. You cannot cut your way to prosperity. So we’re encouraging our legislators to look at the future of the state and invest in education.”
Larkin says right now, Grambling, just like the rest of the public colleges and universities in the state, are facing some serious financial challenges.
To survive the nearly $3 million in cuts from the state, he says they have a team considering several scenarios to ensure they’re prepared to keep functioning, regardless of what happens in the legislature.
(Video included in original source here: http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/grambling-state-university-president-speaks-to-jefferson-parish-students/38320832)