For my first Founder’s Day, I tried to go into the day with an open mind because I was honestly a bit disappointed with my NSO (New Student Orientation) experience because it wasn’t all I was told it was going to be…but Founder’s Day was amazing for me.
While I have always been aware of Spelman’s greatness and ability to produce amazing women, Founder’s Day made me feel a much different connection. Up until this day, I never felt an undying love for Spelman, just a strong like, but being with my sisters, as well as seeing the graduating class in their cap and gowns, really moved something within me.
Being a Spelmanite, it’s really easy to get caught up in constantly having to worry about your future, going to the right events, wearing the right clothes, making the right connections, having a social life and a bomb a** GPA and for a while, all of that really overwhelmed me. All these different factors really made me question, “What’s really the point?”
Then, Founder’s Day Convocation started and it was beautiful to say the least. We had the honor of having the most amazing organist, Dr. Joyce Finch Johnson. She’s been a constant at Spelman, through several presidents and I felt honored to be able to be a part of her great legacy. My favorite aspect of the convocation was definitely our main speaker, Dr. Stacey Y. Abrams, class of 1995. Dr. Abrams told us her life story but also imparted so much wisdom in such a short of amount of time.
She made a couple of points that really stood out to me, the first being: “Where you begin does not determine where you will end.” For me, that is another way of describing to believe in yourself which is something that I feel like Spelman is constantly reaffirming in us but I never realized until Founder’s Day because I was always so caught up in worrying about all the different things going on in my school life.
At Spelman, there’s this awesome aura of support and that was so strong on Founder’s Day with all the alumnae around as well as the families that came. Another point Abrams made that spoke to me was “I don’t have to change who I am to be what I will be.” And for me, that really spoke to the idea that you don’t have to act like this girl or that girl because they’re super involved and have a lot of connections…I can just be me, on my own path and the only way to reach my end goal is to stay to true to myself.
As a first year, it’s really easy to confuse emulation with imitation and Abrams kind of reminded me scratch all of that and just be me and with that, being me is more than good enough.There were other aspects of the convocation, such as the performance by six Spelman students, “The Spelman Testimony”, and it was so moving, their professing their love for Spelman as well as her allure and greatness. The Glee Club, the renowned Spelman Glee Club, also graced us with another wonderful performance. We ended with singing the hymn, which is traditional when Spelman women leave a space, but it was just a stronger feeling.
After convocation, there was an Oval party and that was a lot of fun and really relaxing. All in all, Founder’s Day was amazing for me, and I’m glad that traditions were upheld because they are still really a part of the foundation of this institution. I felt a really comradery with my sisters, which sounds cheesy, but the feeling was real and I think it was unique to Founder’s Day.