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Rites of Passage Ceremony Starts Class of 2030 Tuskegee Journey
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Rites of Passage Ceremony Starts Class of 2030 Tuskegee Journey
Crystal Drake18 August 2026
5 minute read
The procession from the BTW Monument to the Chappie James Arena
Contact: Crystal Drake, Office of Strategic Communications
Thousands of heels clicked a slow pace from the Booker T. Washington Monument early Sunday, following Dr. Mark A. Brown, President and CEO, into the Daniel “Chappie” James Arena for the annual Rites of Passage ceremony. The freshman students walked in a procession that marked the beginning of their matriculation as Tuskegee University students.
New students raise their hands for the pledge
“Once we put the pins on, we became the Class of 2030, we became connected,” said Laura Njee.
The Mathematics Pre-Med major from Dacula, Georgia reflected on the part of the ceremony where each student turns to help their neighbor put on their Tuskegee lapel pin for the first time. Njee is part of the largest freshman class Tuskegee has welcomed in more than three decades. 1430 students arrived with full intent to become Tuskegee Women and Gentlemen.
The ceremony, which serves as a symbolic transition into university life, focused on the hard work ahead and the rewards that will follow. Tuskegee’s Renaissance Era defines student success by the competitive edge a Tuskegee degree affords students when they graduate ready to compete for and secure roles employers have made clear are in high-demand.
Dr. Brown helps new student with his tie
“I see the future,” said Dr. Brown, smiling widely as he welcomed the sea of students filling one side of the arena. “I see doctors, engineers, educators, leaders in aviation, nurses and cybersecurity experts. All of that is possible for you because of the education you will work toward at Mother Tuskegee.”
He encouraged the students to learn and understand the history that built the Tuskegee legacy, including the students who fired and laid 1.2 million bricks from the Alabama clay and built Tuskegee buildings in the 1890s, epitomizing the institution’s mission to produce self-sufficient change-makers.
“If those bricks could talk, bricks our students produced with their own hands to make buildings, many of which still stand today, you would hear them telling you that you have earned your place,” he said. “They would tell you that you will be the standard-bearers of excellence in any field you choose and you will improve the human condition around the world, just as the Tuskegee women and gentlemen who came before you did.”
New students reading during the Rites of Passage ceremony
The Rites of Passage is one of a series of events designed by Tuskegee’s Office of Student Affairs to celebrate the beginning of a new academic journey. “It’s a great day to be a Golden Tiger!” said Abena Myers-Taylor, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, inviting students to get familiar with the much-loved phrase used as a greeting on campus. In her remarks, Myers-Taylor emphasized leadership, service, and personal accountability as essential characteristics required of all Tuskegee students.
The program also included keynote speaker Charles E. Johnson, a 1997 Tuskegee alumnus and President of SodexoMagic. Johnson shared insights from his professional journey, which has spanned international business, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership. As one of the architects behind SodexoMagic, a joint venture between Sodexo and Magic Johnson Enterprises, Johnson has helped build one of the nation's fastest-growing majority minority-owned food and facilities management companies.
The lighting of the unity candle
But his discussion was centered on all that came before that success, and made it possible.
His parents, with humble resources on the southside of Chicago, invested their hopes for a better future into Johnson, and his sister who is a two-time Tuskegee graduate.
“My parents bet all they had on me, and that bet has paid exponential dividends,” Johnson said. “I was driven by my desire to outrun poverty – and I did,” said the business leader of his blue-chip resume, which is equally matched by long-standing commitments to bring others along with him through community investment work. “It will require sacrifice but if you are willing to do hard things now, you will be able to live like most people can only dream of on the other side,” he said, urging students to quickly capitalize on the rigorous curriculum offered in Tuskegee’s eight colleges and schools to master skillsets that will put them on the road to advanced economic mobility.
Dr. Brown and student in conversation
For Jorden Reid of Bluffton, South Carolina, Johnson’s message resonated.
“Focus will be a big priority for me, being intentional about a plan for each day,” said the Mechanical Engineering major. In fact, he was very intentional about choosing mechanical engineering over other areas of engineering study because of the wide range of applicable areas of influence that degree will make possible. He understands the power of having options. “I am a Tuskegee Man now.”
Student leadership played a prominent role throughout the event. Miss Tuskegee University Leslie Green and Mr. Tuskegee University Micah Bell discussed the significance of the rites of passage tradition and its role in connecting students to the institution's rich history and values. Kennedi Maxwell, President of the Student Government Association, later led the ceremonial pinning of the freshman class. The ceremony included a formal acceptance of the incoming class by Miles Harpe, the new student class representative.
Students then participated in the symbolic pinning of the freshman class and lighting of the unity candles, signifying their entrance into the Tuskegee University family and their shared commitment to the institution's ideals.
“It felt like success,” said Isaiah Fields, an incoming Chemical Engineering major from New Orleans who was the valedictorian of his class at Saint Augustine High School and will be an outfielder on Tuskegee’s baseball team.
New students pin each other
He was pinned by his roommate, Mathew, and he likened the experience to what he thinks will happen many times for them, turning to each other for a helping hand and friendship. “I know I will turn to him again and again.”
Kenya Scott, felt very sure of something the moment her pin was fastened. “At that moment, I knew I was going into something good. Knowing the outcomes of Tuskegee graduates makes me excited for my journey.”
The Sociology major from Baltimore, Maryland was accepted into 16 schools. It was during her tour of the campus in March that she knew Tuskegee was the choice for her. Those feelings were reinforced during the Rites of Passage Ceremony where she said her status as a Golden Tiger “became OFFICIAL-official!”
Njee added that she experienced a similarly unifying feeling during the 200-yard procession to the arena, especially the sight of so many young Black people walking confidently toward their futures.
“I only applied to HBCUs and, in that moment, I knew I was in the right place at Tuskegee.”
