Convocation 2011
Convocation Address
"Many Cultures – One Community"
Soladé E. Rowe ’94
Partner at Wesley, Brown & Bartle Company, Inc., Executive Search FirmFounder of CareerAspiration
August 29, 2011
Good morning! It is indeed a good morning and a privilege for me to address you, the class of 2015, and transfer students today; as an alumnus of Utica College, and as a veteran of the Board of Trustees. Not even Mother Nature’s “red headed stepchild,” Irene, was going to get in my way.
I would like to thank Mark Kovacs, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations for personally inviting me to speak, offering me no other choice other than to just do it. Actually, when I asked Mark why I was selected to deliver the convocation address…he paused and said…“well you still have your hairline and it’s still its original color…so the students should relate to you just fine.”
Well, I appeared on this earth almost 40 years ago, in midtown Manhattan; the second of two boys, born to parents from Sierra Leone, a small country on the coast of West Africa, not only known for its precious diamonds commodity, but also for its capital city Freetown, which was the port of entry, for freed slaves from the western world. For over a decade, Sierra Leone has held the unfortunate distinction, as one of the poorest countries in the world.
My father, Sylvester Rowe, a political scientist and journalist by trade, has most notably contributed toward the peacekeeping efforts in war torn Sierra Leone, during the late 90s into the early 2000s. Actually the cool thing about my dad is that he even has a Hollywood credit – having offered his expertise to the featured film, “Lord of War” starring Nicholas Cage. My father’s early days, however, were far from glamorous. As a young boy, he sold kerosene barefoot, on the scorching streets of Freetown. For a period of time, he didn’t have money to cover his school fees. Rather than staying at home, he would congregate with his classmates and proceed to school, only to make a detour, towards the outhouse, where he would stay for the entire day. Several hours later, he rejoined the procession with his fellow classmates on their way home. Humble beginnings for “self-made man” who at the age of 67, I had the privilege of publically referring to him, for the first time as, “Dr. Sylvester Rowe,” during my commencement address as Senior Class President, a week before he received his PhD in political science, a degree he worked on for decades, putting it on hold to support his family. Needless to say education was extremely important in my household.
My parents sent my brother and I to the United Nations International School, located near the lower east side of Manhattan. From kindergarten through 12th grade, I had classmates who represented just about every country in the world. My best friends had unique first and last names, like Kuzbari, Rwambuya, Devaraj, DaCosta and Cousteau. During my senior year, my father came home with a Utica College guidebook, which by-the-way, he took upon himself to request, unbeknownst to me. My first reaction was, “I wasn’t going to apply to a school, located on a weird sounding street like Burrstone Road.” I came up with other excuses, which placed six other schools over Utica College. As I evaluated my choices, I discovered Utica College had a distinct characteristic, compared to the others. Other than offering me a great financial aid package, it was actually the only small school I applied to; a “must have” quality for my learning style, that would provide me with greater accesses to the faculty, and administration, much earlier than if I had attended a larger school.
Binoculars not needed, to render an enhanced image of my professors, since the average class size at that time was about 18. Not ever having had the opportunity to visit the campus, I took a leap of faith and sent in my deposit.
As a somewhat confident 18 year-old, who had grown up in a big city, as a first generation American, educated at an international school, I felt that there was nothing that I could possibly learn about cultures, at Utica College, that I hadn’t learned already. Well…it only took a few weeks into freshman year, for my short sighted perception to be dispelled. My roommate Josh, was from a small town in Western New York called Gowanda, population about 3000. We traded stories about growing up in our respective environments; but there one anecdote he shared, that stands-out, till this day. He asked me if I knew what “Cow Tipping” was? “Cow tipping…what the heck is cow tipping?” He responded with a grin that could easily have illuminated this room by saying, “it’s when you and a bunch of friends late at night, go roaming in the pastures to find a lone cow, standing asleep. After sneaking up on it, but far enough to get a good running start; with a burst speed and with all your might, you push the cow on its side, then running in the opposite direction for dear life hoping that you’re not a casualty from the running of the bulls.” Amazed, bewildered, and somewhat disturbed, I was convinced that “Cow Tipping” was a diverse sub-cultural expression of amusement, that transcended this city boy’s wildest imagination!
This year’s campus theme is “Many Cultures, One Community,” a consistent notion that has been exemplified throughout my 21 year affiliation with the college;
as a student leader who benefited from the “diversity of thought,” from students whether or not they belonged to the same major, clubs or organizations as I;
as an employee of the admissions office, where I tasked to ensure there was a focus on drawing an applicant pool, reflective of all facets of diversity;
and lastly, as Trustee, holding President Hutton accountable to the College’s values including, “a commitment to fostering diversity in perspective, background, and experience, within an environment that is dedicated to the freedom of expression, and the open sharing of ideas”; in this community of many cultures…Utica College.
In case you hadn’t noticed, the flags hanging in Strebel Student Center, they represent the countries of our current student body, some of which include Austria, Canada, Ghana, Peru, Spain, Indonesia among others. Actually, we would need a ceiling three times its size, to hang all the flags represented by students in previous years, including the colors represented on my tie this morning. Over the past 10 years, the College has expanded its reach beyond New York State and New England, by attracting students from 46 states; along with their subcultures and of range socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, which has been facilitated by the expansion of its academic majors, degree offerings, and its athletic programs.
As a student in good standing, you’ll have the opportunity to benefit from the cultural learning experiences outside the United States, in Europe, Asia and Latin America. International students will come to our shores, to share their experiences and heritage, with our community of many cultures, that is; Utica College.
Now… to the freshmen and transfer students in the room this morning, I have an extremely important question to ask… Show of hands, “how many of you would like to have a job upon graduation?” Well it’s unanimous ladies and gentlemen! Jobs, jobs, jobs…we’ve heard the frustration with the availability and access of jobs throughout the United States.
Now that we’ve established the importance of jobs; students, I’ll let you in on a secret, on how to make yourself more competitive toward landing that job upon graduation. Are you ready…it starts with “networking early and often.” Not only is it “networking early and often”, but it’s networking your diversity of experience and diversity of thought. In this global economy, companies and organizations across all industries and functional area, profit or nonprofit, are placing heavy emphasis on the span of diversity within their employee base. In fact companies and organization enlist the services of executive search firm such as my own, to find professionals who possess those attributes. Guess what, you can begin the networking process while immersing yourself, with the diversity and the many cultures and subcultures represented here, within this one community today, and in the days to come. You can continue that process in mid-October during Homecoming Weekend, where a sub-set of the extended alumni “community” of many cultures, will be present…get to know them, learn about their experiences. Your professors and members of the administration will prove to be an indispensible resource to that end.
Assume a sustained effort, to network throughout the various channels, that exist within this community of many cultures; Utica College. It’s not too early!
My Mother Juliana John Rowe, a famous playwright, in 1975 was asked by the President of Sierra Leone, to commission a play, with the notion of bringing the sub-cultures and tribes of Sierra Leone together, unified as one, without barriers, so the country could thrive as one community.
The play was entitled, “e don reach tem,” which translated into English means, “The Time is Now!!!”
• Students, the time is now, to take advantage of this community of many cultures. It can only be achieved when you allow yourself to be open to different philosophies and ideologies, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or sexual preference.
• The time is now, to be inclusive others…
• The time is now to break free to your comfort zone, only interacting with those who may listen to the same music or play the same sports or come from the same environment as you.
• The time is now, to begin “networking early and often” for professional career access.
• The time is now, to be the trend setters, taking this community of many cultures called Utica College, to new heights, for those who will be seated in this space, 365 days from now.
Now, of course part of the college experience is to attend class and to establish life-long friendships; but leverage this community of many cultures as that, “free elective” every semester beginning today, and even beyond graduation, and into your professional and personal lives; it will pay dividend. Who knows, you might come back for a Homecoming Weekend one year, and 16 year after you’ve graduated, become really good “friends” with someone who you hadn’t seen in years, whose background, culture and upbringing is quite different than your own. You just never know.
Students, best of luck, as you begin your journey, as part of the many cultures and one community, that is; Utica College.
Thank you.
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