FAMU alumna Lt. Col. Eurydice S. (Stephens) Stanley recently returned to Tallahassee to present the Army ROTC Rattler Battalion commissioning address. The speech provided the unique opportunity to consider what she would have said to herself 20 years ago when she was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army.“There were so many lessons learned that I became overwhelmed,” said Stanley.
Stanley shared life lessons that she did not necessarily realize when she left FAMU in a speech titled “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned at FAMU” based on the poem by Robert Fulghum. She addressed several relevant points, such as the faithfulness of God and the importance of mentors, who Stanley sees as a requirement, not an option.
“I had so many mentors – COL Hendricks, COL Joe, Dr. Taylor, Dr. Wilson, Dr. Clark…there were too many to name, but they all really cared and permanently imprinted their expectations of excellence by example,” said Stanley.
She continues to be driven by the encouragement of her mentors.
“During our freshman convocation, President (Frederick S.) Humphries told us ‘You don’t have to prove yourselves to me, I already know you’re good, now just go do it.’”
Stanley graduated from FAMU in 1991 with a degree in public management and with a minor in military science and political science and received a certificate of labor relations. An active Rattler, she participated in Army ROTC and served as senior class president and a member of the Miss FAMU court, numerous honor societies, organizations and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Upon graduation, Stanley was granted an educational delay to postpone attending the Adjutant General Corps officer basic course. She accepted a scholarship to the University of Minnesota where she graduated with a master of arts in industrial relations in 1994. Stanley later pursued her Ph.D. while on active duty, graduating summa cum laude in 2000 from Louisiana Baptist University.
She has served in the military for 18 years, primarily in the personnel arena. She was recently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by the Honorable Dr. Clifford L. Stanley, Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Stanley currently serves as the Reserve Component Advisor at the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) in Pensacola, Florida, where she assists military personnel in pursuit of their educational goals. Appropriately, she made the cadets pledge to pursue their master’s degrees within six months of reporting to their new assignments, and encouraged them to start building their retirement savings.