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Fall 2017 Convocation · Bowie State Universityall 2017 Convocation · Bowie State University

Early on in your academic experience, students, you will be

asked to declare an area of study, and while you will choose

your discipline—education, psychology, biology, chemistry

etc., I challenge you to go a step beyond and ask yourself

and challenge yourself: “to what end will I use my knowledge,

unique talents and abilities? What is the purpose for the

education and learning I will acquire here at BSU?" For all

that you will learn and take from BSU, to what end will you

use that knowledge?

Nelson Mandela once said that “What counts in life is not the

mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have

made to the lives of others that will determine the significance

of the life we lead.”

Students, the bar has been set high for you, but I know you

can reach it. You see you are walking in the footsteps of

students who have left indelible marks and remarkable

examples for you to use as a guide … individuals such as

Christa McAuliffe, for whom we have named one of our

residence halls. She set her sights high and became an

outstanding teacher. In 1985, she was selected from more

than 11,000 applicants to participate in the NASA Teacher in

Space Project and was scheduled to become the first

teacher in space to conduct experiments from Space Shuttle

Challenger.

Fall 2017 Convocation · Bowie State Universityall 2017 Convocation · Bowie State University
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