By Anthony Howard
Over 600 graduates received degrees in their respective fields of study during the Jackson State University Fall 2023 Commencement Ceremony inside the Lee E. Williams Athletic & Assembly Center on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
Award-winning global communications strategist Sophia Y. Marshall, senior vice president of communications for Comcast Central Division, keynoted the celebratory occasion.
“All of you inspire me with your resilience, brilliance, determination, and your love for Jackson State,” JSU President Marcus L. Thompson, Ph.D., told the graduates. “May you always remember that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you look, and smarter than you think.”
During her commencement speech, Marshall spoke heavily on determination and the importance of having strong supporters in your circle of friends. She began her keynote by sharing her struggle to find that “good job” after graduation.
“I had the best of intentions, backed by a ton of hard work,” said Marshall, an alumna of Albany State University. “Can you believe I received a ‘no’ from every single technology company on my list?”
As an honors graduate voted most intelligent by her peers, Marshall said she immediately refused to believe that the rejections reflected her abilities. She expanded her search to multiple Fortune 500 companies with a communication leadership program, including Chick-fil-A.
“I was convinced that my English degree, 18 years of Sunday school, and a passion for those good chicken sandwiches would make me a shoo-in,” she joked. “I applied to them several times, and the answer was still no.”
As her pile of rejected applications grew, the College Park, Georgia, native admitted that her unsuccessful job search was becoming worrisome and caused her to panic. She decided to speak with her advisor to seek inspiration.
“She didn’t solve any of my problems that day, but she encouraged me to consider work that truly excited me and to apply that passion with the focus of my degree,” Marshall shared.
Despite the challenges she had faced while attempting to launch her career, Marshall remembered that she was built for times like those and reflected on the successes throughout her family’s history.
Marshall said she thought about how her grandparents raised her parents in a rural and segregated South and how her cousin Anthony was the first person on her mother’s side of the family to earn a college degree.
“I remembered my father’s lesson about confidence. A story he told a million times about looking in the mirror one time in eighth grade and decided that he was as good as he needed to look,” said Marshall, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Doubtful of the notion that he never looked in the mirror again, Marshall acknowledged that her father’s confidence and audacity to never doubt his abilities supported him, even during a career change at 40.
“In that moment, I began to master two of the most important skills in life and career, courage and resilience,” Marshall stated. “The ability to tap into an inner source, adapt, overcome obstacles, and recover from setbacks stronger than before.”
Marshall said she was motivated by the strength of her ancestors to continue her job search and began what is now a 22-year-long career building, transforming, and leading integrated communications programs for premiere B2B and consumer brands.
She concluded her address by leaving the fall 2023 class with some valuable tips she “learned the hard way.”
“I want you to declare a destination for your dream,” suggested Marshall. “There is real truth in writing a vision and making it plain because you cannot create a road map to an unknown destination.”
Marshall assured the graduates that it was okay to change their destination. She then encouraged the graduates to become problem solvers.
“In any role that you take, make it your mission to understand the greatest challenges of your team, your leader, and of the business and align your work with a fix before they ask and watch your value increase by tenfold,” said Marshall.
The communication strategist urged the graduates to self-evaluate and remember to continue to raise the bar for themselves. She warned them that there is always someone who may be coming for their position before quoting her favorite rapper, T.I., and said, “You better get on your job.”
Marshall’s next tip was for graduates to expand their circle, quoting deceased California rapper Nipsey Hussle, stating, “If you don’t look at the people in your circle and get inspired, you don’t have a circle, you have a cage.”
“I want you to find people who will demand better of you,” Marshall demanded.
Marshall’s final piece of advice was to “take the risk.” She told the graduates that their career is a set of experiences that will lead them to the destination of their choice.
“Take them early and take them often if you want to land the big win,” said Marshall. “We represent the greatest comeback story of all time, and I want you to declare you will do the work to honor every single person who stood in the gap for you and supported you to and through this moment.”