An Ode to MY Tuskegee University

My love affair with Tuskegee University began when I was eight years old when I visited the campus for the first time. The sound of the band the liveliness of the crowds enticed me as soon as I walked on the yard,  It was homecoming and I had come to visit my cousin who was half  way through her first semester at Tuskegee., Never realizing that I would one day be apart of this storied tradition.

It  was August of 2004 when I returned to the campus of Tuskegee University no longer a visitor but, as an incoming freshman. Before attending this historic university the main images I saw of HBCUs, other than visiting my cousins,  came from the Show "A Different World".  I was ALWAYS  fascinated with the  the characters of Ron Johnson and D'wayne Wayne.  Ron more so because of his carefree attitude towards life and D'wayne because of his intelligence and the fact that he was always in pursuit of Whitley Gilbert the Prettiest girl on campus ( Funny Right?) Even though Tuskegee University was not the fictitious "Hilliman College"  the experiences and the people who attend my university were far more interesting than a television sitcom. Tuskegee University help shape me not only into a man but a leader as well. The school afforded me the opportunity to be a campus leader, meet and cultivate relationships with  people from all over the country and gain an unparalleled amount of knowledge not only from the classroom but about life. At  college I met three of my closest friends in the world as well as situations that would be  proving grounds to my maturity.

I came to  Tuskegee University as the only child of a single mother but, I left with many brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers I cherish my Tuskegee experience  and the people who made this journey  possible. TU--- U KNOW!