The A&T Register’s opinion editor (theWORD), Trumaine McCaskill wrote his senior farewell for the university. See what the opinion editor had to say about his four years here at A&T
In my four years at A&T I never held a SGA position, pledged to be in a fraternity, played a sport, or studied abroad. Even worse, I sadly didn’t remain faithful to my “high school sweetheart” or nearly any other female I dealt with for that matter. I never made it to that big party freshman year nor did I change the world and show everyone that A&T was the greatest university on God’s green earth. I didn’t remain sober all four years, nor did I do everything right.
There’s so many opportunities that passed me by that quite frankly, it’s hard for me to say I did everything I possibly could these last four years to ensure my success. However, I am a firm believer in the phrase “everything I’m not, made me everything I am.”
I’ve had an up and down experience at this great university with everything from being laughed at and basically ignored during SGA speeches freshman year to meeting Bill Clinton in my senior year. God knows there were many days when I could have called it quits.
However despite that, this small town boy from Clayton, N.C. wants the world to know that I never gave up on obtaining my degree nor did I create excuses for my trials and tribulations because excuses are nothing more than tools of the incompetent.
No matter what happens to you in this life, we all will fall down and have set backs. But you only lose when you stop fighting and believing in yourself. As Marcus Garvey once said, “if you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.”
I’ve become far less militant since I first walked on campus in the Fall of 2008. However, I will forever have faith in myself because I know I stand on the shoulders of kings and queens. I was born with the blood of the slave, but the heart of a king.
Everything I have done in my life has been for the people who came before me and the people who will come after me. With that being said, my degree is not dedicated to me, but it’s dedicated to the thousands, if not millions, of people who fought and died for me to have this opportunity.
This degree is dedicated to both of my parents who never graduated, yet still sacrificed everything to make sure I didn’t make the same mistakes they made. This is dedicated to my brothers who slapped me around, threw me through walls, and literally fought for me to have a better life than them.
But most importantly, this is for the kids in my life who watched me go from being a student to a graduate. Many of the kids I have encountered have dreams of being a graduate some day. I’ve always told them that I can’t live your life for you, however I hope the future generation knows that being black and college educated is not just a dream; it can be a reality. This is why I started writing Ask a Black Guy.
Many people don’t know why I started the Ask a Black Guy column. Well the answer to that question is simple. Since I’ve been here, the story of black men has slowly, but surely, faded. With less and less black men in college, and more and more black men in prison, the story of black men has become increasingly more unheard of.
This hurts me deeply because if educated black men are never written about, then ultimately they will slowly but surely fail to exist. Thus, in an attempt to show the campus, and the world for that matter, that black men have voices, opinions, thoughts, and views about relationships, pop culture, politics, sports, etc., Ask a Black Guy was born.
Since its creation, there have been few weeks that the stories of black men have not been told. Regardless of whether you thought our responses were funny, educational, inspirational, or just plain silly, the goal was for students on this campus to see that educated black men are not figments of your imagination; we actually exist. This is what being educated is all about.
My black skin and manly features do not stop me from telling the world my life has value. That said, I want everyone to know that the life of this black man in college has been a great, bumpy road.
I love A&T for all the things it has done for me. Whether good or bad, my experience at this school has put me on my feet. However, it’s time for me to grow. And like all good things, this too must come to an end. But before it does, I have a few people that I need to acknowledge.
For starters, I would like to give a special shout out to Ms. Goodman, my 4th grade teacher who made it her mission to make me feel like dirt everyday in her class. The one woman who took it upon herself to embarrass me by yelling to the entire class that I passed the 4th grade by “one stinking point.” If I could find her today, I would love to tell her not only am I now a college graduate, but I’m also graduating with honors by more than “one stinking point.” Thanks for being the “world’s greatest teacher.”
On a more positive side, I send out a special thank you to Mrs. Baker, my 5th grade Language Arts teacher who saw a special gift in me and allowed me to write everyday in her class while everyone else was doing regular school work.
She, along with my favorite secondary school teachers Ms. Woods and Ms. Allison, will forever live in my heart for having faith in me and showing what a real teacher is supposed to be. I will remember the lessons they taught me when I finally take over my own classroom in August.
It would also be a shame if I left out my close family in the History Department. I’ll never forget the many days and hours I spent with you guys on the 3rd floor of Gibbs Hall. Regardless of how small we are, I would put our intelligence and work ethic up against any department on campus. I appreciate the faculty and staff for teaching me that there is absolutely no greater feeling than pushing your brain to the limit and still walking away successful. I know more about my future because you forced me to truly know my history.
Next, I would like to thank my girlfriend Danielle. Only God knows what the future holds for our relationship, but I know I would not be where I am right now without you. You have been much more than a support system. When I needed that extra push, you gave it to me. When I needed your “help” on my tests and projects, you did them for me. And when I needed your forgiveness, you were able to see the good in a bad situation. Girlfriend or not, you are the best friend I could have ever asked for and I’m grateful to have you in my life.
And last but certainly not least, my family. It’s amazing how my mother can now call “the baby” a college graduate all in the same sentence. I know I put you all through so many things over the years with my heart problems and personal issues, however WE finally made it.
We went from living with eight people in a 3-bedroom trailer with a hole in the roof in the middle of the country, to now graduating with honors and walking straight into my career. Nothing in this life is impossible because of you and I will forever love you guys.
However, my last words of advice go out to the entire A&T community. And all I have to say to the students, faculty, and staff is find your passion. A wise man once said, “If there is no passion in your life, then have you truly lived? Find your passion, what ever it may be. Become it, and let it become you. Then you will see great things happen FOR you, TO you, and BECAUSE of you.”
And follow him on Twitter
@TrumaineWasHere
- Trumaine McCaskill, Opinion Editor