126 First Generation Graduates Highlight Spring 2024 AAMU Class

Alabama A&M University awarded 570 degrees during its Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremonies on Friday, May 3 at the Event Center. Two commencement celebrations were highlighted by both achievements and generosity. The University conferred 162 graduate degrees, including two doctoral candidates and 16 Thesis candidates. Of the graduate degree recipients, 84 previously received baccalaureate degrees from AAMU as well.

The undergraduate Class of 2024 included 126 first-generation college graduates. The class - 53% female and 47% male - also boasted 269 honors graduates. Over 45 percent of the new alumni have already secured employment, 28 percent plan to continue their education, and 5 percent will enter the military. During the undergraduate ceremony, 11 ROTC Cadets were also commissioned.

NFL Hall of Famer and AAMU Alumnus John Stallworth delivered an inspiring address during the undergraduate ceremony at 5:00 p.m. Stallworth told the class life, like football, is more than just highlights. 

“Class of 2024, all the events of your life determine the person you will grow to be, the highlights and the lowlights, we’re shaped by them both,” he said. “If we’re truly honest with ourselves, whether looking back over the last four years or the last 50, I think we can agree that those lowlight events - those times we prayed would never happen again, those days that we were thankful we just made it through - coupled with the highlights, give us a deeper understanding of ourselves.”

The 1974 AAMU grad has had his share of highlights. In an NFL career that included over 8,700 receiving yars and 63 touchdown receptions, Stallworth won 4 Super Bowl rings. He was First-team All-Pro in 1979 and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1984. He appeared in 3 Pro Bowl games (1979, 1982, and 1984) and is part of the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor.  

“Playing football was never the end goal,” he says. “My goal was to own my own business. Football was the vehicle I chose to get there. I left A&M with a bachelor’s degree in business and returned in the off season to receive my MBA all in preparation for realizing my dream of having my own business.”

Following his commencement address, Stallworth presented a generous donation of over $1.2 million to his alma mater in support of student scholarships.

The Honorable Rodger Smitherman, now serving his sixth term as Senator for District 18, delivered the address at the graduate candidates ceremony at 9:00 a.m. First elected to the Alabama Senate in 1994 on a pledge to improve education in the state, the longtime attorney and Constitutional Law Professor told students to remain steadfast.

“You’re at a wonderful place here at Alabama A&M and you’re here because it’s an incubator, an incubator of life,” said Smitherman. “You all have been blessed to have this opportunity. Once you leave here, don’t exhale. You’ve got to stay focused, you’ve got to stay locked in to what you’re trying to develop. You’re going to face so many different obstacles, but you’re prepared. You wouldn’t be sitting out here if you weren’t prepared.”   

He also told graduates to stay motivated by the generation that moved us from segregation to integration, and passed on the advice he got from his mother.

“There are three A’s of success,” he said. “The first is attitude. You’ve got to be able to get along with people. If you do that, people will be willing to help you. The second is appearance. If you look nice, they’ll look twice. The next thing is ability, and that’s what you all are out here with.”

Kaleb William Jackson (Food Science) graduated with the highest grade point average (4.0) in the class. Pamela Denise Bolden, a 54-year-old criminal justice major, was the oldest graduate in the class.  Several students continued AAMU legacies as 15 graduates became second-generation Alabama A&M University alumni. Three were third-generation AAMU graduates.

“It’s actually bittersweet,” says Aniya Reed. “This is like my family, I really don’t want to leave. The people I’ve met here will be part of me for the rest of my life.”