Congratulations graduates, keep your head up

 
Best advice I can give to those graduates getting ready to leave Southern University is keep your head up and move forward. When you walk across that stage you will join a whole new world even if you don’t leave Southern University immediately.
I already have one degree from dear ole SU so I know a little bit about what is going to happen to you in the following weeks. So let me give you all a few pointers on what to expect before graduation.
First thing, expect random charges to magically appear on your account. You have to do a check out sheet that requires you to go to various departments to make sure you don’t owe them any money because we all know Southern is quick on the draw but slow on the returns. So to be safe do a pre walk through of various places such as the library and the police department to make sure you don’t owe anyone and that there are no mistakes, because, they do happen and you don’t want that kind of stress during this time.
Secondly, make sure that you don’t have any discrepancies with grades and classes. You don’t want to get to graduation practice and have your name not appear on the list leaving you trying to push last minute course substitutions and track down old professors from sophomore year in two days. Also make sure any transfer credits appear on your transcript because if they don’t you will have a worlds of trouble trying to find them so get on top of it.
Thirdly, have a little patience until after you walk across that stage to let “that professor” have a piece of your mind. Trust me we all have “that professor” in our department that deserves a little RNS after the way they treated you in their class but hold off until you for sure have victory nicely rolled up in your hands because that little booklet they give you on the stage is empty so you don’t want them reneging after you go H.A.M. on Dr. So and So for being a *insert proper expletive or insult*. So just take a breath and enjoy your special day when you see them from the stage (which will feel like the top of the world) and don’t worry about coming down until the next day to let ’em have it.
Lastly, live and let go. Yes, we all know that SU has its problems but if don’t let go of the bad times that we went through here and learn to embrace the good, then the problem will never end. We here at Southern University, according to a report done by the Baton Rouge Area Commerce in 2011, rank below the peer average percentage (13 percent) at a measly 5.4 percent of alumni support in the budget. This is due to a poor undergraduate experience the report concluded, however, what the report doesn’t report are the good experiences we all have had that made this crazy journey worth it all. I know that Southern has done some pretty messed up things to us, I have experienced a professor in my department terrorizing students and pitting them against one another creating a poisonous learning atmosphere and have experienced being bad mouthed by educators behind my back where it can be heard by other students to discredit me. I’ve been in those long financial aid lines with the over worked lady with a little too much “tude” for you to deal with in one day. I’ve blown up on professors and even in the middle of the police department, I’ve been made promises for something that was later reneged on, I’ve had my shared disdain for my lovely university but at the end of the day I had to realize that we, Southern University Family, have a problem that we need to fix. We can’t just walk away and leave the problem to fester and grow into an even bigger cancer than the one we have now. It’s time to lead ourselves into a complete remission but it takes us giving half a care about our university. So before you walk across that stage take your problems and leave them by the announcer when he call your name, don’t carry them with you across glory.
So congrats grads but the end is far from near in so many ways. You are getting ready to embark on new journeys that will lead you to places unknown but always remember dear ole Southern University, give back, and spread the contagion that is Jaguar Pride.