The sky is the limit for 642 students who will soon walk across the stage at PVAMU’s 26th Fall Commencement Convocation this Saturday, which features award-winning actress, playwright, and scholar Anna Deavere Smith as speaker. This number of graduating students includes seven doctoral, 113 master’s and 522 bachelor’s candidates, which will bring PVAMU’s total alumni count to 79,205 Proud and Productive Panthers.

“Prairie View A&M helped me achieve my goals by providing the necessary skills, resources, and tools to be successful upon graduation,” said graduating biology major Alexis VanZandt. “Prairie View sucks you in and treats you like one big family. I fell in love with the culture, the history, and Prairie View’s never-ending goal to Produce Productive People in the professional world.”

“Let’s just say that juggling motherhood, a full-time job, and an MBA program is not for the faint-hearted,” said graduate business student Felicitas Loske. “I was always amazed at the number of internships and job opportunities the university distributed. PVAMU provided an amazing opportunity to network and build relationships with other students. The instructors are engaged and really care about our success. I also feel that the pride and culture of PV, as an HBCU, transfers to all its students and graduates.”

In PVAMU’s robust 145-year history, you could say each graduating class is better than the last. But this statement fails to be true. Each graduating class is equally as great as classes in years past. And a part of each one is a select few traveling down a road they nor have their family members traveled. These are first-generation students. And they make up 36.2% of this semester’s graduating class.

“Being a first-generation college student to me means being the first to start the legacy and the first to ensure that it continues,” VanZandt said. “I have always been told two things that I never forgot growing up. ‘When there is no room for you at the table, you build your own,’ and ‘one thing no one can ever take from you is your intelligence.’ Therefore, being the first generation is so important to me.”

“[As a first-generation student,] I have done something many could not,” said agriculture major Asia Henderson. “So, now I hope this encourages my children, as well as others, to further their education.”

PVAMU will also pay tribute to a fallen Panther during Saturday’s morning ceremony. The family of Johnitha Charles will receive a posthumous degree on her behalf. Charles, who died in July, met all of the requirements to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. The last posthumous degree was awarded in 2018 for Zane Mendoza.

“Miss Charles began matriculation at the university knowing that due to an underlying condition, longevity may not be on her side,” said Department Head and Associate Professor of Biology Harriette Howard-Lee Block. “This was her strength and motivation to move forward with her degree in spite of the odds. Knowing that she did not have the ‘luxury of time’ as a friend, she worked hard to excel in her studies.”

It is this kind of spirit that has been found in many students who have walked across “The Hill” for centuries and its other campuses, including the fairly new RELLIS campus in which PVAMU is a part.

“I had been handed a pamphlet detailing the Criminalistics Program offered through PVAMU at the RELLIS campus. [In the end,] I was awarded an exciting and fulfilling education,” said Preston Dreitz, one of two students who are receiving the first degrees this semester from this program in Bryan, Texas. “I had the honor of being taught by the most compassionate and knowledgeable professors, making great connections and finding great mentors every step of the way.”

One thing is for sure, especially for this group of students who are graduating during a pandemic that began in the midst of their college careers: they are resilient.

“All of the resources you need are here; you just have to make sure you’re doing your part,” senior criminal justice major Cheyenne Marie Harp advised current students in her perspective piece. “Don’t get discouraged because you are here for a reason. Finish with that same mindset and always remember to keep God first. Become that change you want to see in the world. PEEEEEEVEEEE!”

Visit www.pvamu.edu/academicaffairs/commencement/graduates to view this semester’s notable graduates and read their stories.

Visit www.pvamu.edu/commencement to learn more information about PVAMU’s upcoming fall graduation.

PVAMU Commencement Statistics (Fall 2021)

Number of degrees (by college/school)

College of Agriculture and Human Sciences: 24

School of Architecture: 27

Marvin D. and June Samuel Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences: 103

College of Business: 117

Whitlowe R. Green College of Education: 139

Roy G. Perry College of Engineering: 53

College of Juvenile Justice: 100

College of Nursing: 77

Undergraduate Studies: 2

Number of degrees (by in-state, out-of-state, international)

In-state: 560

Out-of-state: 51

International: 31

Percentage of degrees awarded to first-generation students (undergraduate):

36.2%

*Graduation numbers as of 11/30/21 and are subject to change.