The initial freshman registration process was, at first, a bit overwhelming. Even though I was excited, getting my classes, accessing my cafeteria card, and getting my dorm room was a lot to digest for an 18-year-old leaving home for the first time. Despite all of that, the first thing that struck me after leaving the registration process at the multiplex was the campus architecture, especially when I later learned some of the buildings have award-winning histories.
I am extremely fortunate to attend Wilberforce during what is considered its renaissance, as the university steps into a new age of excellence. I, too, have grown in ways that I couldn’t imagine. The newly reviewed curriculum sparked changes in many of the current academic programs, creating the promise of moving Wilberforce closer to academic prowess. I look forward to seeing Wilberforce have another year to further establish itself as a premier university and continue to improve as it has been doing the past three years that I have attended.
I look forward to my last year here as president of the Student Government Association. Being a reliable, capable student leader means I have to set the tone of excellence and high achievement by maintaining and polishing the support system of students and the administration. I also look forward to our Convocations that nurture the WU culture of kindness, excellence, and innovation.
Our Homecoming Week is filled with celebrations with my class, underclassmen and alums, and it gets better every year. It takes a hidden gem like Wilberforce to open its doors to students who did not always have an open door. And that’s because Wilberforce is the physical embodiment of home. The words, “We are family” are heard often and those words ring true. Our school colors are green and gold and as we reflect on that camaraderie we often say, “We come in green (as freshmen) and we leave gold (as graduates).”
As my last year approaches, I look forward to being able to walk that sacred campus that has stood and withstood for 167 years — and by the grace of God it will stand another 167 years. I look forward to sitting at the historic fountain that has, for scores of decades, served as a hallowed gathering place. I look forward to seeing the basketball games that are so important to our culture as a university and as a student body. What you learn on this small, rural campus is, big is not always better and that sometimes more can be done with less.
Innovation is a skill that is taught and cultivated at Wilberforce University where you learn to think outside of the box and to come up with creative solutions to solve complex issues. It is a university for the rough diamonds whose worth has been undervalued, but by graduation they become many-faceted gems because of the potential that has been transformed.
Our motto is “The First, The Future, The Force.” Wilberforce University is The First private HBCU, The Future because of our innovative renaissance, and The Force – because we are to be reckoned with.
Alexander Murphy is the president of the Student Government Association at Wilberforce University.
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