Albany State University graduates receive diplomas

ALBANY — The Albany Civic Center was filled with “pomp and circumstance” Saturday morning as more than 400 robed and mortar-boarded graduates of Albany State University marched for their long-awaited “sheepskins.”

“I feel great,” said Demetrious Curry, 25, a Criminal Justice major from Augusta. “It’s a good time to graduate and show my family what I’ve accomplished.”

Curry said he planned to “transition” into the work force, possibly going for a position with the FBI.

“I’m feeling grateful and excited,” said Myesha Bizzel from Bacon County, who received a degree in Early Childhood Education. “I’m 35 years old, but I’m here. Educators rock!”

Undergraduate and advanced degrees were awarded in areas ranging from accounting and marketing to criminal justice, public administration, nursing, computer science and music. Also on Saturday, ASU awarded its first, and so far only, bachelor’s degree in Fire Services Administration to a current assistant chief of the Albany Fire Department.

“This program has strengthened my knowledge,” said degree recipient Rubin Jordan. “I go back to the old days of the fire department where it was muscle more than mind. I’m an assistant chief right now, but with this additional preparation who knows what I can do? The sky’s the limit.”

Jordan said ASU is the first school in the state to offer an undergraduate degree in the new fire program.

Commencement speaker for the ceremony was Albany Democrat U.S. Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr., representative of the Georgia Second District, who urged the graduates to be faithful to their university by encouraging others to attend the school, continuing to support alumni groups with contributions, and by succeeding in their lives.

“Remember,” Bishop said, “as Albany State graduates, you have a future to fulfill.”

In addition, Bishop charged the former students to be faithful to their families, humanity, their personal faiths and to themselves.

“Education without character is a very dangerous combination,” Bishop said. “When other people trust you, they give you great leeway because they believe in you and hold you in high esteem. I want you to have integrity. A person with integrity acts according to his beliefs and his faith — not according to his conveniences.

“Be responsible for your choices. Your actions matter. If you choose a path of good character, you’ll succeed, even if you encounter obstacles along the way. People will help you if you have good character, and they’ll avoid you if you don’t.”

Speaking in an interview with The Aalbany Herald, Bishop commented on the importance of education to the well-being of the people of Georgia.

“Education is the escalator to upward mobility,” Bishop said. “It’s what builds the fiber of our country. We’re competing in a global marketplace and so must arm our citizens with the skills that are necessary in a 21st-century world. We’ve got to work for a better quality of education for more people — not just for the college-educated, but for the total population. Things are changing so rapidly, it takes a life-long education just to stay abreast.”

ASU interim President Arthur Dunning added that today’s university graduates would be well-served to remember that life is a process rather than an event.

“This is just the beginning of a life-long process of learning,” Dunning said. “When (graduates) do that, they will meet their challenges. I say to our graduates, ‘Really pay attention to the quality of your relationships at home, at work, in the schools and wherever you are. If you can be focused and future-oriented and have ambition, you’ll do well.’”