HU students return from Cannes Film Festival

Hampton University students return from Cannes Film Festival

Two HU students share their experiences at the Cannes Film Festival in France with the Daily Press. Kacie Willis and Jennifer Ibe returned this week after participating in the highly competitive Creative Minds in Cannes program.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/hampton/hampton-university/dp-nws-cannes-20100526-8,0,943959.story

HU Midshipman Selected as Female Officer on Navy Sub

HU Midshipman Selected as Female Officer on Navy Sub

Midshipman Lisa Brodsky

Lisa Brodsky, a recent Hampton University graduate and Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) midshipman, has been named as one of only 19 female officers in the nation to be selected as the first females to serve aboard a U.S. Navy submarine. She will be commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy on May 17.

Brodsky graduated May 9 magna cum laude from HU with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. Following her commissioning, Brodsky will attend Nuclear Power School in Charleston, S.C., before being assigned aboard her first submarine.

On April 29, the Department of the Navy announced a policy change that allows women to serve on submarines. Brodsky joins eight other NROTC graduates from other universities and 11 U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen as the first U.S. Navy female officers to be selected to serve as a submarine crew member. All the midshipmen selected had to go through an extensive interview process with the director of naval nuclear propulsion and the top Navy officer in the submarine force in Washington, D.C., Adm. Kirkland Donald.

“We are extremely proud of Midshipman Brodsky’s recent accomplishment, being accepted as part of the first female class in the submarine community,” said Capt. Mike Barea, the Hampton Roads NROTC commanding officer and HU professor of naval science. “There are many uncertainties that lay ahead but there's steadfastness, a willingness to serve within our Naval ROTC student body as our nation’s next generation of defenders.”

The Hampton Roads Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps is one of the largest officer training battalions in the nation, consisting of over 250 sailors, Marines, and midshipmen. It is comprised of a three school consortium that includes HU, Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University. Founded in July 1982, HU’s NROTC program, known as the “Charlie Company,” this year totaled 41 midshipmen.

The NROTC program, overseen by NSTC at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., was established to develop midshipmen mentally, morally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, loyalty and Navy core values. NROTC graduates become naval officers who possess a basic professional background, are motivated toward careers in the naval service and have a potential for future development in mind and character so as to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

Lisa Brodsky (fifth from left) stands with other female NROTC midshipmen selected to serve aboard submarines.

Obama Tells HU Grads to be Role Models and Mentors

Click to enlarge. Obama Tells HU Grads to be Role Models and Mentors Hampton University students often joke that HU President William R. Harvey owns a weather machine. Well if he does, the dial was set on perfect this past Sunday. Sunny skies and mild temperatures welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama as the keynote speaker of the Hampton University 140th Annual Commencement. Excitement has been building among the graduates, faculty, staff, parents and the community about the Commencement since Obama was announced as the speaker in February. Attendees lined up on Marshall Avenue in front of the Armstrong Stadium long before the sun rose. Once the gates were opened proud parents, grandparents, other relatives and well-wishers hurried in to get to their seats. The processional started promptly at 9 a.m. and the graduates and faculty, proudly marched in. Media representatives from all over the country snapped photos and shot video of the 1,072 graduates. Harvey welcomed Obama and compared the similarities between Obama and HU. “There are many parallels between your life and Hampton University. For example, you were born in Hawaii, and so was our founder General Samuel Chapman Armstrong,” Harvey said. “You attended and graduated from the Punahou School, and so did General Armstrong. You graduated from Harvard University and so did I. You believe in service, and Hampton University was founded on the concept of service to the community, the nation, and the world, and we instill this concept in our students through our many service programs and projects.” In his address, Obama did indeed challenge the HU Class of 2010 to serve the community by being good mentors and role models. “All of us have a responsibility, as Americans, to change this; to offer every child in this country an education that will make them competitive in our knowledge economy,” he said. “But all of you have a separate responsibility, as well. To be role models for your brothers and sisters. To be mentors in your communities. And, when the time comes, to pass that sense of an education’s value down to your children.” Obama also spoke about the history and significance of historically black colleges and universities. “We meet here today, as graduating classes have met for generations, not far from where it all began, near that old oak tree off Emancipation Drive. I know my University 101.” He went on to say that the founders of HU and the other HBCUs understood that while discrimination would persist long into the future, “with the right education, those barriers might be overcome and our God-given potential might be fulfilled. They recognized, as Frederick Douglass once put it, that ‘education…means emancipation.’” Obama challenged the graduates to be persistent like Americans before them who wanted a better life for their children and grandchildren. “That is what has made us who we are. A dream of brighter days ahead, a faith in things unseen, a belief that here, in this country, we’re the authors of our own destinies. And it now falls to you, the Class of 2010, to write the next great chapter in America’s story; to meet the tests of your own time; and to take up the ongoing work of fulfilling our founding promise.” HU valedictorian and student commencement speaker Delaiah Cobler told the students to accept Obama’s challenge to be the change we wish to see. Cobler, a history major from Richmond, Va., also told her classmates to rise above the challenges and to “shake the haters off.” Obama also became an honorary Hamptonian on May 9, 2010. Harvey and Chairman of the Hampton University Board of Trustees, Frank Fountain presented him with the honorary degree Doctor of Laws. The President also took a little bit of HU back with him to Washington D.C. Harvey presented him with a sapling of the Emancipation Oak, an athletic jacket with President Obama and Hampton University written on it and gifts for his family.

Only 2 Days Left: Vote for HU!

Only 2 Days Left to Vote for HU in the Home Depot Retool Your School Contest!

There are only two days left to vote for Hampton University in the Home Depot Retool Your School Contest. HU is currently in 4th place, behind Elizabeth City State University, Florida A&M University and Tuskegee University. Make your vote count!

The program is designed to provide improvements to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) nationwide. One $50,000 grant recipient and ten $10,000 grant recipients will be selected by votes submitted by the public and an advisory board of community influencers.

Vote here today and tomorrow: http://homedepotretoolyourschool.com/project.aspx?id=33

HU Mourns the Loss of Rev. Dr. Fred J. Boddie, Jr.

HU Mourns the Loss of Rev. Dr. Fred J. Boddie, Jr.

Hampton University mourns the loss of the Rev. Dr. Fred J. Boddie, Jr., a noted pastor, community activist and HU professor. Boddie passed away on April 18 in Newport News, Va.

Boddie served as pastor of First Church of Newport News for more than 39 years, growing the congregation to more than 900 members and expanding church facilities. In addition, Boddie taught courses in humanities for HU's College of Education and Continuing Studies.

As a community advocate, Boddie was a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a former trustee at Saint Pauls College, former member of the school board of Isle of Wight County, and a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Recently, he was appointed as the senior advisor for Cooke Brothers Funeral Home in Newport News.

Boddie earned a bachelor's and master's degree from Shaw University and a Doctor of Ministry from Howard University.

He leaves behind his beloved wife, Patricia Joan Hall Boddie, two sons, Fred Jacob Boddie, III, and Dr. Timothy Tee Boddie, one daughter, Patricia Theodora Boddie, four grandchildren, two sisters and a host of other relatives. His son, Dr. Timothy Tee Boddie, previously served as university chaplain and assistant professor of English at HU throughout the course of 17 years of dedicated service.

WVEC: 97-year-old who cast her first vote for Obama gets to see his HU speech

97-year-old who cast her first vote for Obama gets to see his HU speech

www.wvec.com

Frances Washington was inspired by Barack Obama to vote for the very first time last November.

http://www.wvec.com/news/97-YEAR-OLD-GOING-TO-H-U-COMMENCEMENT-91752904.html

'Barack the Blue and White': A HU Senior's Thoughts About Commencement

'Barack the Blue and White': A HU Senior's Thoughts About Commencement

There’s less than 20 days left until graduation for the class of 2010 at Hampton University! The spirit of Senioritis is definitely upon us. Not only are we graduating, but President Obama is our commencement speaker! You can see our excitement bubbling just beneath the surface.

What you can’t see are the memories and experiences we’ve shared over these past four years. If you’ve heard anything about the Real HU, you’ve probably heard that we Hamptonians consider each other family. And it’s true. Quintessence VII aka QT7 (naming classes is a storied HU tradition) has celebrated each other’s victories and encouraged each other through losses.

I think I speak for my classmates when I say November 4, 2008 was one of the most moving experiences we’ve shared. We watched in the Student Center as it was declared that Barack Obama would be the nation’s first Black president. We stood yelling in the Student Center, “Yes We Can!”

We had voted in our first presidential election and seen the power of our voices combined. To hear that President Obama’s voice will also be the soundtrack for our segue from Hampton students to Hampton alumni incites emotions for which there are no words.


But let me try.

The commencement speaker is important because he marks an end and a beginning. He marks the end of a year of many lasts as students at this historic place: last class, last exam, last homecoming game, last 12-2, last Alpha Cab, last Black History Extravaganza, last Spring Fest, last meal in the caf, last chicken-on-a-stick etc. He also introduces the beginning of the rest of our lives and all the firsts that come with it.

By now we’ve heard many speakers in Ogden Hall, Convocation Center, Chapel, and Scripps etc. The best speakers are the ones we can relate to, the ones who inspire us to accomplish even our wildest dreams. Who better to give us this inspiration than a man who actually embodies one of those dreams?

Hearing the nation’s first black president speak at our commencement will serve not only as motivation but also a reminder. A reminder that we can be the change we want to see in the world; after all, OUR votes elected him. A reminder that we too can be great because of the similarities we share with Barack Obama.

We too have learned to overcome adversity; not run from it. We too know how to respect ourselves even if we should encounter someone who doesn’t. We know not to let the evils of the world deter us from being truly excellent. We know to compose ourselves with decorum and grace at ALL times so that our actions speak louder than the color of our skin.


So on behalf of QT7, thank you President Obama. We simply can't wait until May 9th.

By Krystan Hitchcock '10

Krystan Hitchcock is a senior public relations major at Hampton University. She will be attending the NYU School of Law in the fall.