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Football was never the end goal for two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck. In an interview with Adam Glyn, who describes himself as a New York City-based comedian and street journalist, Tuck revealed that sports were always meant to be the path to a great education, then to a great career. In 2001, he earned a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. He became the team captain and graduated in 2005 as the program’s all-time leader in sacks, earning a management degree, according to his LinkedIn profile. “Sports for me was a conduit or a gateway to get a great education for free. My mom and dad couldn’t afford to send me to the University of Notre Dame… It was always the plan to go and do something from a career standpoint, that was very different than athletics,” he said. Tuck went on to the NFL, drafted in the third round as the No. 74 overall pick in 2005 by the New York Giants. He spent the majority of his 11-year career with the team, then...
Morgan State University’s nursing program is now the best in the state. According to a press release, Morgan State University’s Department of Nursing achieved a 100% first-time pass rate for the NCLEX-RN nursing licensure examination for its 2025 bachelor’s in nursing graduates. A 2025–26 NCLEX-RN program report found that the entire cohort of test-takers passed on the first attempt and outperformed state and national averages. The Historically Black College and University’s (HBCU’s) nursing program last achieved a 100% pass rate in 2018, per the release. “This achievement affirms the strength, discipline, and intentionality of a program that has steadily built toward this level of excellence,” said Kim Dobson Sydnor, Ph.D., dean of the School of Community Health and Policy, in the press release. “A 100 percent pass rate is not simply a measure of academic success — it reflects the readiness of our graduates to enter the profession at a critical moment for health care.” As a result...
Salenah Cartier has made history at the University of Houston (UH) at 23 years old. Cartier’s journey at UH has been driven by her understanding that education and technology are key “foundations of society” that can empower underserved communities. She acknowledged this in an interview with ABC13 Houston. “What motivates me most is giving back, showcasing my research by using my research to fill in those gaps within the literature, within studies, by partnering with charities, by volunteering, by being involved within my community, and also giving my life to God,” Cartier explained, according to ABC13 Houston. At age 17, Cartier earned a bachelor’s in psychology and remained at UH to pursue a master’s in education focused on learning, design, and technology. She made history as its youngest master’s graduate at 18, according to Essence. She has now become the university’s youngest PhD graduate. Her doctoral degree is in curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis on learning,...
Southland College Prep Charter High School’s 2026 class has more than one reason to celebrate this graduation season. According to the Jacksonville Free Press, its 135 graduating seniors have collectively received more than 1,300 college acceptances nationwide. What’s more, the class has received $54 million in merit- and need-based scholarships. In particular, Valedictorian LeiLani Barnes will attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to pursue a degree in kinesiology and dance, while Salutatorian Loren Rounds will attend Northwestern University to study political science and public health, according to the Black Information Network. Furthermore, seven students received full-ride scholarships to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and three received full rides to Washington University in St. Louis. “In December of my senior year, I was blessed with the privilege of receiving a full-ride scholarship to Washington University,” Senior Terrill Chambers...
Lamont Newell is heading to an Ivy League school, and he’s already thinking of various ways to give back to the students coming behind him. ABC News reports that Newell is a senior at Verbum Dei Jesuit High School, an all-boys school in Los Angeles. Newell is interested in technology and credits his biology teacher, who serves as a director on the robotics team, for supporting him on this path. “She also nominated me, my sophomore year, to go to NASA in Houston, which actually sparked my engineering [interest],” Newell told the outlet. Newell additionally has interest in sports, playing basketball, and building computers. This has allowed him to remain levelheaded amid challenges at home. He was homeless for a large portion of his childhood, he told the outlet. “We’ve always been moving my whole entire life,” Newell explained. “I couldn’t give you an age where we were homeless because it was from a time span, but those were the main issues.” Newell hasn’t allowed those circumstances...
Twin sisters Tia and Jasmin Criss are set to graduate from the nation’s oldest Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The pair are graduates of Philadelphia High School for Girls and credit their parents, Wendye Criss and the late Lynn Criss III, for helping them dream big. However, they never imagined the feat they would achieve in higher education. CBS News reports the pair attended Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. They both pursued a bachelor’s in business administration, according to their LinkedIn profiles. The pair have now reached the finish line of their studies, with Tia named valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA, and her sister salutatorian with a 3.9 GPA, according to information shared by the university. The pair were “shocked” when they learned of the news, as it was never the goal to become valedictorian or salutatorian, according to CBS News. Associate Dean of Students Dr. Lakiyah Chambers noted the twins’ achievement was a “product of working hard” and...
“It’s never too late,” said Tennessee State University graduate Charles Whitman Dabbs. Dabbs, a Los Angeles native, graduated from high school in 1958. He told NewsChannel 5 that there were no jobs for Black boys at the time, which led him to join the Navy at 17. He served as a hospital corpsman and embarked on a 50-year career in federal service, including with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, according to information shared by Tennessee State University. He went on to have a family and work in a handful of roles, including as a drug counselor and mental health worker. While wearing various hats over the years, he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and two master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles. In the wake of COVID-19, he decided to pursue a doctorate and began taking online courses at Tennessee State University. His younger classmates assisted him when needed, particularly with technology, he told NewsChannel 5. “I...
Inventor Tahira Reid Smith came up with a new way to enjoy a beloved hobby in the Black community. Reid Smith knows Double Dutch all too well. Raised in The Bronx, NY, she was fond of the pastime. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that she even sketched a Double Dutch machine when she was 8 years old. That drawing — which consisted of two poles and three buttons with a third grader jumping at its center — earned her first place in her school’s drawing competition. That very concept would later evolve into an invention. Reid Smith’s educational pursuits led her to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering by 2004, according to her LinkedIn profile. She then obtained a Ph.D. in design science from the University of Michigan in 2010. Her time, particularly at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, brought her childhood sketch full circle under her late professor, Burt Swersey. The outlet reports Swersey gave Reid...
These Philly teenagers have earned college degrees before graduating from high school. Channel 6 Action News reports that Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School in Pennsylvania has a dual-enrollment partnership with the Community College of Philadelphia that has enabled the school to achieve this feat. The program’s purpose is to support “highly motivated students pursuing an accelerated path to higher education,” per its program manual. The opportunity also ensures that underserved youth face fewer financial barriers to pursuing that goal, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Part of the program’s first class, Dylan Adkins, Khalif Barakat-Cooper, Marquise Floyd-Reid, Aidan Marion, and Jeremiah Roach earned college credits from the Community College of Philadelphia while in high school. Courses they enrolled in included physics, art history, intro to robotics, and survey of criminal justice, among others. “I knew that it was going to be an academic challenge, definitely...
Seventy-five-year-old Peggy E. Moore is now a college graduate at the very university she has worked at for 44 years. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Moore has worked in the provost’s office at Temple University since 1989. She first served as a receptionist in the medical school admissions department and then in the university budget office a few years earlier. She had initially transferred to the school to pursue her bachelor’s degree in 1980 after attending the Community College of Philadelphia to get her associate’s. Though she took a pause from her education to raise her young sons, she never lost sight of her goal to complete her bachelor’s degree, according to the outlet. Being an employee at the university also meant she received free tuition. She took one to two classes each semester, with risk management and insurance being her favorite course, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. “When I felt myself getting stressed, I would stop like a semester or two, and then I would...
Detroit, MI, native Marcel Smith is giving back to the state that raised him by becoming an owner-operator. Smith is a graduate of Houston Christian University, where he studied business after attending Detroit Public Schools. According to his LinkedIn, he earned a bachelor’s degree in International Business in 2014, then went on to earn a master’s in business administration and management from the same university. According to a press release, being a student-athlete fostered his leadership spirit. That trait is also what led him to be selected for the Chick-fil-A® Leadership Development Program, a 24-36 month-long initiative that gives participants opportunities to improve their business acumen professionally and personally, tasking them with addressing real-world issues at locations nationwide, according to a blog post. Smith participated in the program from 2020-2025, served as a grand opening supervisor at eight locations, and supported various multi-restaurant operators, notes...
Kwanza Jones is set to make history in the investment world. Jones is a Princeton University graduate who sits on various boards and has been investing for more than a decade, according to her LinkedIn profile. Since 2014, she has served as co-founder and CEO of the Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Initiative, which is a philanthropic organization and private single-family office guided by pillars such as education, entrepreneurship, equity, and empowerment. According to information on its website, more than $250 million in funding has been directed to these areas. In the latest update, the Seidler family has agreed to transfer ownership of the San Diego Padres MLB franchise to Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano, according to a press release. The Seidler family has been considering selling the team — valued at $3.9 billion according to Sports Illustrated — since November. The agreement will require approval from the MLB and its customary closing conditions. If approved, Jones would...
Dr. Silvia Bautista Morrobel returned to a dental practice where she once worked, except this time, to become its owner. The first-generation student is a proud graduate of Marquette University School of Dentistry. Before attending the university, she double-majored in biology (pre-dentistry) and Spanish , and minored in chemistry, on a full-ride scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where she received her bachelor’s, according to her LinkedIn profile. Carvd N Stone reports Morrobel graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 2017. This marked a full-circle moment for her as she received orthodontic treatment from the Marquette School of Dentistry when she was 12 years old. “I was inspired by my Orthodontist at the time and told her that when I grew up, I wanted to be just like her. 9 years later, at the age of 21, I received my acceptance letter to that very same school I was treated at,” she wrote on her LinkedIn page. Morrobel is now a Doctor of Dental Surgery...
Demetria Coley is an 18-year-old nursing graduate on a fast track to success. Coley made history in her academic career as Florida State University’s (FSU) youngest College of Nursing graduate. FSView & Florida Flambeau reports that Coley’s father, Demetrius, works as a science teacher and serves as chair of the science department at R. Frank Nims Middle School in Tallahassee, and he encouraged her to take education seriously from an early age. Additionally, her late mother, Elicia, who was a NICU nurse, is also an example to her. Elicia passed away from ovarian cancer in 2020, according to Nurse.org. “I decided to follow [my mother’s] footsteps, make her proud,” Coley told FSView & Florida Flambeau. By age 15, she simultaneously graduated from Lincoln High School and obtained an associate degree from Tallahassee State College. She made history as its youngest graduate, a record previously held by her sister, D’Aundra, notes the outlet. From there, Coley attended Florida A&M...
Dr. Ashandra Batiste is leading a dental practice embracing technology. At 11 years old, Batiste already knew she wanted to become a dentist. The decision stemmed from an accident in which she hit her two front permanent teeth while getting out of a pool. Her longtime dentist restored her smile and confidence. That moment was her career epiphany. In 1998, Batiste enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin and obtained a bachelor’s degree in human development and family sciences. She worked as a dental assistant while in undergrad, spending half days in the office three days a week. In 2003, she enrolled at Howard University College of Dentistry. Reflecting on her experience, she told AFROTECH™ that the program fostered a sense of collective ownership among peers that she said can’t be replicated at a predominantly white institution, and demanded high standards, required rigorous training, and had no room for cutting corners. Elite Dental Wellness Batiste credits the university’s...