More than seventy CAES bachelor’s degree candidates turned their tassels and became Aggie graduates during the fall semester graduation ceremony Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum. 

It was a day of celebration, but also a day in which the Class of 2023 was challenged to achieve in the world, as they have done at N.C. A&T. 

“At A&T, you were nourished, noticed and nurtured,” said keynote speaker Dena LaMar, executive vice president and chief operating officer for AAA Northeast and an A&T alumna. “You can leave and enter the world with confidence.” 

In her remarks, she cautioned students not to make three mistakes she had made. 

“At my first job, I didn’t attend events and only hung out with people who looked like me. I missed the opportunity to broaden my circle. It was a mistake not to take advantage of diverse relationships,” she said. “At my next job, I felt that I had to be one way while at work, and another way outside work. But to jump-start your career, you have to make authentic connections. Always be ‘real.’ “ 

Finally, an important mentor offered to guide her. 

“My third big mistake was in not seeking out a mentor sooner,” she said. 

Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr. recalled that this class had come through the pandemic closure and met the challenge with success. 

“While we are no longer in the midst of a pandemic, we’re still navigating our new normal, Your normal is, and always has been, about excellence,” Martin told the crowd of more than 700 graduates from all seven colleges.  “As you leave here today, for graduate school, professional careers, take some of that tenacity you’ve showed at A&T with you.”