Ofield Dukes spoke with the students of N.C. A&T on Nov. 10 in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

He came in with an enthused attitude to provide students with information that will help them think about there career choice in public relations.

Students focused in as he spoke words of wisdom of why you should do all things with excellence as he did himself as he overcame the racial barrier of blacks in the field of journalism. Students with the Public Relations Club had heard Dukes speak in New York at a National Black Public Relations Society Conference and thought that other students would surely benefit by inviting him to visit our campus.

Public relations is a thorough field that requires hard work and commitment. “You can’t decide when you are in the field to do your best, you must decide now as a student,” says Dukes.

Dukes is the founder and owner of Ofield Dukes and Associates Public Relations firm. One of his professional attributes was serving on the Johnson-Humphrey administration as deputy director of public affairs for the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.

He also organized the Stevie Wonder march on Washington, to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday a national holiday. He won National Newspaper Publisher Association awards for editorial and feature writing in 1964 and earned the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) highest award-the Silver Anvil-for his outstanding achievements in public relations.

“Mr. Dukes was both informative and entertaining,” said Maxine Bynum, a junior, journalism mass communication major with a concentration in public relations. “He encouraged me to map out a career plan and stick to it in order to be successful.”

He now resides in Washington, D.C. where his business is continuing to serve national figures and local politics.

Formerly adjunct professor at Howard University, he is now an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of communications at The American University where he encourages students to get experience to be the best.

After placing emphasis on strong writing skills and a five-year career plan, he ended his talk and opened the floor by allowing the students to tell what they wanted to do with a degree in public relations. One student said they desired to do everything.

“You need to do one thing and become good in that one thing. Just like a doctor specializes, so should you. That’s how you become excellent,” he said.

Students and faculty members applauded him with thanks for spending the day with us.

• Charlene Day