Dear Southernites:
It's why we all attended Southern University: graduation. The last seven days have been filled with graduation and graduation activities throughout the
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| | Past Alumni Director Robyn Merrick receives doctorate today |
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| | Jags enjoying great food, fun and music at Home Chapter Crawfish Boil and Music Festival |
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| | Human Jukebox Entertains the Crowd at Home Chapter Crawfish Boil and Music Festival |
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| | Home Chapter President Cortny Jarrell hosts Federation officers at Crawfish Boil and Music Festival |
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Southern University System. Last Saturday, Governor John Bel Edwards served as the keynote speaker at both the SU Law Center and the SU New Orleans graduation. Today, Congressman Cedric Richmond will serve as our keynote speaker at SU Baton Rouge. There is nothing more transformative in the life of our students than graduation. It is the culmination of years of hard work and discipline. It marks milestones that ultimately define our lives in so many ways. It is also the beginning of a new journey in life, now armed with a new academic degree that will likely shape the future of not only an individual life, but also the families and communities our graduates touch.
These new graduates throughout the Southern University System will now become alumni of this great institution. They will join the ranks of so many dedicated and loyal alums all across the country and the globe. They will get jobs, start businesses, run companies and lead governments. They will start families, have children and become leaders of their households. They will pay taxes and contribute to the economic health of this state and this country. They are what make Louisiana a great state and America a great nation.
Our brand new alumni will then begin to reach back to Southern and the students that follow them. They will recognize that it is not enough to have simply graduated from Southern, but rather the pipeline of successful graduates must continue. They will contribute their time and their money. They will join the Alumni Federation and a local chapter in their community and recognize that our organization is that link that keeps us connected to our alma mater, and ensures its well-being for the benefit of so many more students to come. Before long, they will be recruiting new students to attend Southern. They will begin attending and hosting events to raise scholarship money for our students to help them make it to graduation. They will become the new LaQuitta Thomas (Dallas Chapter President), the new Vincent Brown (Washington, DC Chapter President), the new Cortny Jarrell (Home Chapter President), and the new Tracey Taylor-Jarrell (Houston Chapter President). They will begin organizing Crawfish Boils and Fish Fries to fund new scholarships and strengthen the bond of our alumni. They will become the new James "JB" Brown (Past National President and Foundation Board member). Like him, they will develop ideas like the Million Dollar March, and host receptions at their homes to raise thousands of dollars for Southern. Our new alumni will ensure Southern remains a great institution!
Last weekend, I witnessed greatness. The Home Chapter's Crawfish Boil and Music Festival represented the best of who we are as alumni. Chapter President Cortny Jarrell and the members of that chapter organized an amazing event. The best part for me was the incredible collaborative effort of so many chapter members who were involved to help make this event successful. It was not just one person, but it was the work of lots of members working together, with great leadership, to pull off a spectacular production. What a treat!
I'm off tomorrow morning to Washington, DC to attend that chapter's Crawfish and Crab Boil to support our alums as they continue to raise scholarship funds, nurture the relationships of our DC area members, and recruit more students to attend Southern. As I often say, I have the best job in the Jaguar Nation!!
Wheels up, Jags and Knights!
Gwendolyn Perry Honore
