Wake Forest University Schools of Business honor students at the Multicultural Graduation Celebration

The Wake Forest University Schools of Business Multicultural Graduation Celebration, held Friday, May 14, 2010, was a cultural event that acknowledged the achievements of students by allowing them an opportunity to celebrate amongst family, friends, faculty, staff and alumni.

The evening’s program included remarks from Erica Holloman, Student Diversity Services Program Manager; Charles Iacovou,Senior Associate Deam of Graduate Programs; and Emily Goodson, Assistant Director, Career Management Center. Graduating student Derensky Cooper (MA ’10) opened the evening with a song and, after dinner, Jasmine Smith (MD/MBA ’10) offered encouraging remarks to her fellow graduates. Following the remarks, RJ Johnson (MA ’10) read a poem he wrote for the occasion (see below).

Breath of Success
By Ryan B. Johnson

Take a deep breath and smell the fresh air,

Air that is filled with the aroma of anticipation,

Take a deep thought- Yes, a deep thought,

A thought that is not filled with the mire or altitude of your circumstances,

But consumed by the fire of life, and the joys of its every degree,

Take a step back and see that the wall, the obstacle, that you once believed filled the expanse of your very surroundings is only finite,

As you mix and mingle tonight—eat, drink, and be merry, but not only in good cheer and temperate measure,

For here lies the reason for your enrollment,

Here lies that which you have been searching for your entire life,

Here being the present, and the present being the gift,

Here and now you cement your future, our future,

Here and now we learn the discipline of faith in action,

Here and now we pursue vision through action,

Here and now we take step by step,

Not knowing exactly what comes next,

But trusting that as we stand and even as we fall,

Forward, forward will always be the call,

And forward is where we will go,

Sometimes on high, sometimes on low,

But always walking on the high road,

Sometimes fast, and at other times slow,

But traveling with purpose, honor, discipline, and faith,

Knowing that those along the way may try to shake,

The dream we hold so dear and clutch so tight,

The life we have won through grace and seen by light,

The corners at which we turn may be sharp,

We may lose our way at times,

We may only have nickels and dimes,

But true treasure lies in the spirit,

Some rich men and women talk about the money they have,

While others talk about the heart they have grown,

Brothers and sisters, this is a world of beauty,

The beauty of this world tells the secrets of its origin, sustenance, and of our redemption,

Redeem the time!

Fall forward instead of backward,

Participate instead of hate,

Appreciate instead of scorn,

And love instead of war,

Do not think, but rather know what true success is,

Search for what is true success,

Search for wisdom as for hidden treasure,

Water the seed of faith with action,

And seek the counsel of the wise,

Therein lays the proactive stance of the successful;

A breath of success,

May God bless you and smile upon you,

Amen.