Randolph celebrates the Class of 2024 during Commencement

Nikki Giovanni emphasized the importance of acceptance during her Commencement address to the Class of 2024 on Sunday. 

“I’m just a poet, which means I only have words and perhaps a few dreams,” said Giovanni, a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator who was named a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in 1999. “We on the third planet from the yellow sun are simply one life form. We must learn to respect and appreciate the other life forms.

“We must go forward in this galaxy to find a new way for us to relate to each other,” she added. “We must cease being afraid of those of different colors, of different races, of different preferences. We must find a way to accept ourselves and our fellow humans.” 

Giovanni is more than just a poet, of course. A leader in the Black Arts Movement, she has published more than two dozen collections of poetry, essays, and anthologies, written several works of nonfiction and children’s literature, and taught all over the country. 

She is also the recipient of a wide range of awards, including the inaugural Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, the American Book Award, the Virginia Governor’s Award for the Arts, and the Library of Congress’ Literary Lifetime Achievement Award and Patron of Letters Degree.

“I congratulate you,” she told graduates on Sunday. “It hasn’t been easy, but life isn’t easy, and nobody said it should be. Life is not safe, and nobody said it should be. Life is just whatever we do every day, with some level of kindness, some level of intelligence, some level of going forward.

“I recommend old age. It’s a good idea,” she later added to laughs from the packed crowd. “It’s a good idea to live, and it’s a good idea to allow others to live.” 

2024 Maude Huff Fife Award winners Madison Witt and Samuel Hey

Sunday’s ceremony also included a land acknowledgment read by Jadin Wilkening ’24 and the announcement of the recipients of the prestigious Maude Huff Fife Award.

Named after a graduate of the Class of 1918, the award is given to the student (or students) whose quality point ratio is the highest in the senior class. This year, the award was given to Sam Hey, a biology major, and Madison Witt, an education major. 

In her remarks, President Sue Ott Rowlands spoke about the value of a liberal arts education, calling it students’ “ticket to the future.” 

“From the hallowed halls of this great college have come civic and economic leaders who help make a difference in their communities, their nation, and indeed the world,” she said. “Today, we add these women and men before me to the list of graduates who are leaving this college prepared to reach extraordinary levels of achievement.” 

When it was his turn at the podium, Student Government President Isaac Carney ’24 emphasized the love he has for his fellow students. 

“I’m not going to pretend that I know the answer to all your questions,” he said. “I don’t know where we’ll be in five or 10 years, and I can’t tell you that it’s all going to be OK. All I hope from today is you hear my voice and understand that I wish so much more for all of you than I do for myself.” 

Carney also reflected on the College’s motto, Vita abundantior.

“It alludes to not only living, but living vibrantly,” he said. “Living fully. Living completely. The Life More Abundant is not just a catchphrase or a lofty goal for a couple of people. The leaders of this college strive every day to truly prepare every single student inside the Red Brick Wall for life after college, and specifically life in abundance. It is the culture of this school. To strive to be more. The desire for something greater is built in.”