Emotions Run High at Spelman’s 123rd Commencement
June 3, 2010 by spelmancollege
Filed under Featured, June 2010
Some cheered, some cried, and some stood in amazement as the Spelman College graduating class of 2010 entered Exhibit Hall C at the Georgia World Congress Center promptly at 3 p.m. It was May 16, 2010, and this was their moment.
The College celebrated more than 500 graduates at the 123rd Commencement ceremony. As Ariel Eckblad, valedictorian, and salutatorian Lauren Sprott led their class procession into the hall, many were impressed by the spectacle of African-American women continuing on their personal and professional paths to fulfill their dreams.
“It was amazing. I got chills as they walked in,” said Larissa Askew, a volunteer who arrived at 11 a.m. to assist with the logistics. “This is a rewarding experience. These are women, who stand with each other, by each other, and will make their mark in history.”
In her Commencement address to the students, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice advised the graduates how to prepare for the journey 
ahead. “Set high goals, show some hustle, stand up for yourself, prepare better than anyone else, learn from everyone else — and when you get knocked down, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the game,” she encouraged. “A Spelman woman should come to play. She should come to compete. And she should compete to win.”
President Tatum charged the class of 2010 with choosing to change the world as they embark upon the next steps in pursuing their goals. In her senior farewell, senior class President Topaz Sampson, reflected on her time at Spelman. “Before we made it to this day, we had to study all the textbooks, write all the papers, do all the research and survive life in our chosen majors to leave our legacy throughout the Spelman community,” said Sampson. “I could not have asked for a more satisfying college experience or a more phenomenal group of peers to experience it with.”
During Commencement, Ambassador Rice was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters. Marian Wright Edelman, C’60, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, received an honorary doctorate of laws and celebrated her 50th anniversary as an alumna of the College. – Nekeidra Taylor is a freelance writer and public speaking instructor at Georgia Perimeter College.
View the Commencement 2010 slide show.
