A child carried a handwritten poster, "Way to go, Dad!"
Ja'net Canty wore funky glasses that spelled out "grad."
Canty was among about 300 students who received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Virginia Union University at its 112th commencement ceremony Saturday at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
"I couldn't sleep last night," said Canty, 21, from Chesapeake.
The cheerleader, sorority president and vice president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council said, "It was quite an experience coming to VUU. I loved it. You get a lot of one on one. That is what I need."
Canty comes from a family of educators and plans to follow their lead. She will be a ninth-grade teacher at John Marshall High School in Richmond starting in September.
Guest speaker Cora B. Marrett, senior adviser at the National Science Foundation and a 1965 VUU graduate, stressed the importance of being flexible and adaptable.
"Your diploma has prepared your mind and provided you a set of wings," she said. "You need to practice flapping your wings before you get anywhere."
She said some graduates may sail through seamlessly to wonderful and productive careers. But many won't have seamless transitions.
For most, "life happens when you are on your way to something else," she said.
"VUU has provided you a solid foundation to leverage future opportunities."
Being flexible and adaptable helps people prepare for whatever life delivers along the way, she said.
Valedictorian Samuel A. Nettey, who plans to pursue a medical career, encouraged his classmates to become the best at whatever they do. And don't give up, he said. "When the world says 'give up,' hope will always whisper, 'try it one more time.'"
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