It Takes a Village. Before the degree was ever earned, there were voices praying in kitchens, hands tying shoes, mothers doing hair for hours and ironing dreams, fathers working doubles — in boots or boardrooms — hiding their pain in calluses and quiet. There were aunties who showed up with open arms, grandmamas who laid hands and laid plans, older siblings who became second parents, neighbors who gave rides, teachers who saw brilliance before the world did. This weekend, as our graduates walked across the stage, they did not walk alone. They carried with them Sunday school songs, summers with cousins, home-cooked wisdom, and every sacrifice whispered in silence so they could soar in sound. At Howard, we honor not just the individual achievement— but the village behind the vision. To every mama in the crowd, wiping tears through sunglasses, to every uncle and auntie shouting from the bleachers, to every sibling holding a sign and a whole heart of pride— this degree belongs to you...