University Awards 615 Degrees, Recognizes 172 First-Generation Scholars

Alabama A&M University celebrated the accomplishments, resilience and future promise of the Spring Class of 2026 during commencement ceremonies Friday, May 8, at the AAMU Event Center. The graduate ceremony, held at 10 a.m., featured keynote speaker Dr. Harry L. Williams, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, who centered his address on the power of motivation, discipline and perseverance.

“What you have achieved requires a great deal of motivation,” said Williams. “Something’s got to drive you to get up every day, to focus on your classroom, to achieve not only your undergraduate degree, but achieve your Ph.D. and your master’s degree,” he said. “Motivation is key to it all.”

Williams shared that he realized at age 10 there was “a better way of living” after his grandmother instructed him to catch a ride to work long days in the tobacco fields of eastern North Carolina for $5 an hour. He said the experience motivated him to listen to his mother, stay focused on school and pursue education as a pathway to opportunity and success. “Focus on the main thing,” Williams said. “When you stay focused on the main thing, great things will happen.”

The undergraduate ceremony, held at 3 p.m., featured commencement speaker State Rep. Anthony Daniels, a distinguished Alabama A&M University alumnus and Alabama House Minority Leader who reflected on his family’s journey from sharecropping to higher education and public service. Daniels told graduates he was “one generation removed from being born on a plantation” in Midway, Alabama, and shared that his grandfather attended school in a one-room schoolhouse and achieved only a fourth-grade education, while his grandmother completed sixth grade. He said their sacrifices and belief in education created opportunities for future generations and ultimately led him to Alabama A&M.

“This institution didn’t just educate me, it shaped me, it strengthened me, it challenged me,” Daniels said. “Today is not just the ending, it’s the beginning — the beginning of responsibility, the beginning of service, the beginning of legacy.” Daniels also highlighted several student accomplishments during his address, praising the discipline, sacrifice and perseverance demonstrated by members of the Class of 2026.

University President Daniel K. Wims and SGA President Onyebuchi Jessica Egwu also highlighted the achievements and diversity of the Spring Class of 2026. President Wims noted that Alabama A&M University “continues to be the institution of choice,” with 172 graduates becoming the first in their families to earn college degrees. He emphasized the graduating class is composed of 53% women and 47% men, with 329 students graduating with honors. Egwu announced the class includes 20 international undergraduate students representing 12 countries, eight second-generation Alabama A&M graduates, two third-generation graduates and two sets of twins.

The University awarded 469 undergraduate degrees and 146 graduate degrees, including doctoral and thesis candidates, while six ROTC cadets prepare to enter military service. Wims shared that 36% of graduates have secured employment and 37% will continue their education, with 19% reporting salary offers of $70,000 or more and the highest reported offer reaching $137,700. Electrical engineering major Elton Mawire earned the highest GPA in the graduating class with a perfect 4.0 average, while April Verneatta Laster, 44, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management, cum laude, as the oldest graduate in the class.

Before receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Alabama A&M University in recognition of his leadership and service to Alabama and the nation, Daniels offered graduates one final charge.

“The world needs you now more than ever before,” he said. “It needs your talent, your voice, your discipline, your courage and your ideas. Today is not just the ending, it’s the beginning — the beginning of responsibility, the beginning of service and the beginning of legacy. The question is no longer what you are going to do. The question is who you are going to become? Will you chase success only for yourself, or will you become someone who lifts as you climb?”

“Celebrate today. You deserve it. Then carry on our University's legacy with excellence, integrity and purpose. Congratulations, Class of 2026, and Go Bulldogs!”