Today, May 10, 2014, Howard University in Washington DC held their Spring 2014 commencement ceremony for their 2014 graduating class. Congratulations to all those lovely graduates who’ve conquered that major milestone. But what I really want to talk about is Howard University’s decision to choose Sean “P. Diddy” Combs as the honorary graduate for the ceremony.
The debate that’s been circulating since Howard announce that their keynote speaker was Diddy revolved around the idea that he didn’t complete college. But yet, he’s being honored with a doctoral degree in humanities. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Diddy dropped out of school to pursue a career in the music industry. Obviously, he made history making such a big decision for himself.
But the real question is “Does this man deserve to be granted with such an acknowledgement or to even receive this honorary award at all?” People took to Twitter after hearing about the news expressing annoyance towards the school’s decision. One student wrote, “Can someone explain why Diddy, a person who never graduated from Howard, is speaking at graduation?” Another tweeted: “diddy is gonna make the commencement speech at Howard but what is he gonna say. ‘Well I dropped outta here & got rich but good luck (sic).” (Source)
Is this the way to react after hearing who’s your graduation keynote speaker? Come on now, it’s Diddy! He’s millions of people’s inspiration because he’s so successful.
I can see the frustration that many people are having with this guy becoming the spokesperson at their graduation. But I believe he deserves this award just as much as any of those graduates sitting in the audience. He graduated from the school of life by experiencing first hand the ends and outs of a dream he took head on. For many, that’s tougher than taking a couple of college courses.
In my post “What I Really Learned While In College,” I share my opinion about how I believe life experiences will teach you more than the classroom setting. It pushes you to learn for yourself and motivates you to do better when its something that you want to do. Sometimes, college is someone’s dream. But we really go to school to learn how to pursue a dream in a career we would enjoy doing maybe for the rest of our lives. So what really wrong with Diddy receiving a reward for achieving a goal he had while attending Howard University?
The real reason for why people are so bummed about this man getting this award is because he didn’t have to pay for all those years of schooling people would normally pay for a doctoral degree. But I say, mind your business because he paid it the right way. He paid by dedicating his time to what he believe is worth it. Anyone who’s going after what they want should be congratulated for perseverance. That’s not easy to do, especially when someones trying to work within a field like the music industry. If many people were granted with degrees for actually going after what they wanted and obtaining the level of success that deserves such recognition, don’t you think people will be more willing to learn more about whatever it takes to get to where they want to go? Knowledge should have never became something we must pay for, anyway.
Diddy made a way for himself to become successful without a structured system, like a university, telling him how to go about doing what he wants. What he did, by dropping out and going after his goals, is how I feel about getting a master’s degree. I believe I can be successful without it because I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get me where I want to be. If someone has the mental strength to achieve, they will.
So what I’m leaving you with is the thought: Is it really necessary to have degree if your field of work doesn’t require you to have one? Tell me in the comments below.
To read about the things I’ve obtained while attending school, read “What I Really Learned While In College” on Doc’s Castle Media.