Class of 2027 deserves ‘standing ovation’

Dr. Hakim J. Lucas was guest speaker at Matriculation Day on Sept. 12. (Special to The Panther)

Guest speaker Dr. Hakim J. Lucas left the class of 2027 with a powerful message on transformation during his convocation address.  

On Sept. 12, the freshman class gathered in the W.V. Middleton Auditorium for the 155th annual Matriculation Day Convocation. Lucas, president and CEO of Virginia Union, joined members of Claflin’s faculty and student government in welcoming the class into the institution. 

Lucas made a personal connection with the students. He invited the audience to be interactive in his message and acknowledged the struggles they overcame to get to Claflin.  

“All of you who are here now have entered into this space, going through things that we cannot even imagine,” Lucas said. “We were abused, we were hated on, we were told what we couldn’t be.”  

Overcoming is something that deserves praise on its own, Lucas said. “You may not earn a degree. You may not finish. But the fact that you made it to Matriculation Day, you deserve a standing ovation.”  

Claflin aligns itself with the model of elevation and transformation. These ideals played an important role in Lucas’ message.  

“Transformation is the ability to say I came here one way and left another way,” Lucas said. “Elevation is your ability to go higher.”  

He made a direct connection to what SGA President Jabez Roberson said in his speech about his personal journey.

“The name Jabez means born in sorrow. But he looked at his situation and he looked around and said, ‘I don’t want to be that anymore,’ Lucas said. “This is the name of your president, and it is a sign of transformation.”   

“Since coming here, I was introduced to something called Claflin Magic, and man, what a powerful transformation that has brought to my life,” Roberson said in an earlier speech at the convocation.  

Lucas closed by encouraging the 2027 class to step into their own transformations and let go of things and people holding them back, telling them to be bold and use their voices.