480 Delaware State University students received their diplomas Sunday at the school’s 122nd commencement ceremony.
NASA’s top administrator Charles Frank Bolden Jr. provided the keynote address as part of the 2013 ceremony at Alumni Stadium.
“Dream big dreams; do what you want to do. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do something or you don’t belong. Do your job and do it very well, and don’t let the opportunity to make a difference pass you by,” said Bolden.
The first African American to lead the space agency noted that advances in both civil rights and technology give those graduating Historically Black Colleges and Universities like DSU opportunities unavailable to previous graduates. He added that Del State’s emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math or STEM education position many of them to take advantage of those opportunities.
“For those of you with STEM backgrounds, our nation’s space program needs you. America’s technology industries need you. And thanks to the education you received here many of you are fully prepared for those jobs,"Bolden said. "A new world is yours today. The programs and mission I preside over at NASA today would have been science fiction when I was growing up back in Columbia, South Carolina.
Bolden told the Class of 2013 that in addition to long range goals of missions to asteroids and Mars – NASA expects to resume U-S manned cargo missions within four years. The U.S. currently pays Russia to handle those missions.
Sunday’s graduates combined with the 197 who earned diplomas in December gives Delaware State a school record 677 graduates in the 2012-2013 academic year.