The nationally known chorus at Florida Memorial University, the Ambassador Chorale, performs during the spring commencement ceremony in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023.
Pedro Portal
pportal@miamiherald.com
About 150 students donned royal blue gowns and caps early Saturday morning to join the ranks of the thousands who have graduated from Florida Memorial University, the only historically Black college or university in South Florida.
The lively ceremony, featuring a performance from the Ambassador Chorale, took place in the Clock Tower Pavilion on the Miami Gardens campus of the private university.
Check out some photos of the occasion:
‘Life-changing’ experience
FMU faculty members greet student Perontay Cecil Antonio Fawkes, business graduate, during the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Jonell Fox (left), and Rudaria Higgs, both international students from Bahamas, smile during the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Fox, 23, and Higgs, 21, both majored in psychology and both decorated their caps. Fox’s read “I trust the next chapter because I know the author,” and Higg’s read “Finally done with the BS.” Higgs described the past four years as “life-changing.” “These have been the best four years of my life,” she said. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Proud parents
Gina Moorman (center) stood up proudly with both of her hands raised when Florida Memorial University President Jaffus Hardrick asked the graduates’ relatives to stand up during the spring commencement ceremony in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Moorman, from Detroit, said her only son, Adonis Lockett, 22, got a degree in criminal justice and wants to launch a career in crime scene investigations. “I already cried. I’m so emotional,” she said. “He worked a lot to get here.” Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Jerald and Alexia Lee cheers up for their son Jalil Lee, who is graduating in Aviation Management during the spring 2023 commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday, May 6, 2022. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Jalil Lee, a graduate in aviation management, celebrates during the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Words of wisdom
President Jaffus Hardrick speaks during the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Hardrick, officially inaugurated in March, shared seven pieces of advice with graduates during the ceremony: (1) Keep God at the center of life. (2) Maintain a positive attitude about life. (3) Surround yourself with people who will add value to your life instead of subtracting it. (4) Dream big dreams and strategies to make them a reality. (5) Fail forward. (6) Embrace the law of reciprocity — “What you sow in life you reap,” he told them. “So sow kindness.” (7) Don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy life. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
President Jaffus Hardrick poses for a photo shaking the hand of aviation graduate Mathew Brown during the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
During the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023, journalist April Ryan cited Queen Ramonda in Wakanda when she told her son, “Show him who you are!” Ryan told graduates: “Show them who you are!” Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
April Ryan, a seasoned reporter, author and White House correspondent, served as the keynote speaker of the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Ryan told FMU graduates that alumni from predominantly-white insitutions, especially Ivy League universities, used to dominate the country. “But guess what?” she said. “That was yesterday. Who’s running the space now? HBCUers!” She mentioned Stacey Abrams, the Georgia politician who graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, and Kamala Harris, the vice president who went to Howard University in Washington D.C., as two examples. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Da Vinci-level caps
“Thank you for watching over me,” reads a bedazzled graduate’s cap, along with two photos of women, at the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
A student displays a cap decorated with blood, caution tape and other crime scene details at the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
A student who got a healthcare degree wears a decorated mortarboard with shots, a band-aid and books at the spring commencement ceremony at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, on Saturday May 6, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published May 6, 2023 at 2:08 PM.
Jimena Tavel covers higher education for the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald. She’s a bilingual reporter with triple nationality: Honduran, Cuban and Costa Rican. Born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, she moved to Florida at age 17. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2018, and joined the Herald soon after.
