FAMU's Gaither Gymnasium was full of the real Rattler spirit during the annual Homecoming Convocation. With more than 3,000 students, alumni, faculty and staff in attendance, the Rattlers were home.“We all have a part to play in preserving FAMU,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons.
FAMU alumna Sonia Myles, director for Global Printed Packaging Purchases for Procter & Gamble, served as keynote speaker.
“Thank you, FAMU — you saw the best in me,” said Myles.
Myles graduated summa cum laude in 1989 with her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing. Myles, who recalled her days as a student at FAMU, said she spent the best days of her life at the university.
“It has been 25 years and two months since my life has changed forever,” the Michigan native said. “You can accomplish and be and do anything that you set your mind to. FAMU and that real Rattler spirit will help you achieve the impossible. FAMU changed our lives and for some of my friends, FAMU saved their lives.”
Ammons awarded Myles with the President’s Award.
Myles added that the “real Rattler spirit is a phenomenon” that cannot be explained.
“I think FAMU gives us three Cs: courage, confidence and charisma,” Myles said. “People know a FAMUan when they see them. There are people not yet born who are depending on you.”
Thomas L. Mitchell Sr., president of the FAMU National Alumni Association, said it is important for FAMU to continue to survive through its students and alumni.
“Not only do we bleed orange and green, but we breathe orange and green,” Mitchell said. “It is important for all of us to realize that this is an institution that must live forever. FAMU must live forever.”