Puffy or Diddy or P Diddy or Mr. Combs or
what ever you want to call him…that guy…gave
the keynote at Howard University's 2014
Commencement Celebration today and was
also given an honorary PhD from his alma mater
in the process! So now you can call him Dr.
Puffy or Dr. Diddy or Dr. Daddy…okay so I
don't really know how that part is going to work
out just yet, but whatever we're supposed to be
calling him now…slide a Dr. in front of it!
As Sean Combs stepped up to the podium to
inspire the next generation of our best and
brightest he literally beamed! Check out what
Revolt posted about the speech and the day
below!
"Hard work and big dreams are the fruits
of life. Drawing from some of his biggest
lessons learned, including the pivotal
points in his life, REVOLT Chairman Sean
Combs urged the 2014 Howard University
graduating class to not just pursue their
dreams but, make it a reality. "I don't
want you to dream," he said. "I want you
to do."
Cleaning up nice for the momentous
occasion—donning a clean, cream-colored
suit while donning his signature shades,
Mr. Combs scribed a new verse in the
history books this morning (May 10) on The
Yard of his alma mater, as he delivered the
renowned institution's 146th
commencement address. The speech
spanned from his Combs' humble
beginnings as a young Harlem native
raised by a single mother to entering
Howard U for the first time and going on to
make the impossible possible.
The speech
drew a parallel between the obstacles
encountered growing up in that single
parent household to the lessons learned
along the way.
"My world was changed here on Howard. I
was raised by a single mother. My dad, Mr.
Melvin Combs, died when I was three,"
reflected Combs. "My mom told he passed
away in a car accident but something
about that didn't feel right.
So I looked
back and searched articles and found out
that he had been murdered in a drug deal
gone bad. Right there in that [Howard] in
that library, I realized there's nothing
greater than a mother's love and desire to
protect her child. Nothing. I also decided
that I would live my life in a way to make
her proud. I decided to embrace the
entrepreneurship of my father, but in a
honest way, in a legal way by earning,
scraping, working harder, believing in
myself and most importantly making the
most of the blessings that God blessed me
with."
The momentous occasion also added
another new name to Combs' long list of
epithets, after receiving an honorary degree
in humanities from the institution. Soaking
in the impactful moment, Puff rejoiced over
the honor telling the graduates and staff,
"Only this family can take one of its son,
whose the only one that had three names
changes, and gives him a fourth: Dr.
Combs."
Interim Howard President Wayne
Frederick shared the excitment before the
event, saying "We are honored to have Mr.
Combs serve as our speaker. He sat in
classrooms where our students sit, walked
'The Yard,' and like many students, his
entrepreneurial spirit was sparked at
Howard."
Other honorees during the ceremony were
iconic CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, PepsiCo
CEP Indra Nooyi, jazz legend Benny Golson,
and surgeon Clive Callender. The five
names add to Howard graduation
illustrious cast of speakers throughout the
years, which include Oprah Winfrey, Colin
Powell, Hilary Clinton, and Maya Angelou.
The newly appointed Dr. Combs touched on
a number of other topics during the
inspirational speech. Of course The
Notorious B.I.G. was also quoted, which
segued into Puff describing his experience
arriving at Howard for the first time. "It
was a dream, I used to read word up
magazines, and then I went and enrolled
into Howard University, he said.
"I remember walking up that hill, passing
'The Quad' through the main gate and
making a right into The Yard and my mind
was blown. I never heard so many accents,
seen so many beautiful, intelligent women
in the world." For the latter, he issued a
real time hashtag (#beclear).
But everything wasn't all about Combs and
his experiences. He also took time to
contront the graduating class about the
road ahead of them.
"Do you know how
powerful you are?" he asked. He also
wasn't shy about admitting his early exit
from the institution, and with that Puff
kept it 100% honest about his time and
experiences at the campus that helped him
become the person he is today. Bringing up
the power of the Howard community and
the family of supporters there that stuck
with him through the years and helped him
to succeed, he reminded the class,
"Remember the power of this Howard
family who always has your back."
Inspriring, uplifting, and honest, Dr.
Combs' speech definitely struck a chord
with the graduates, staff and the
outpouring of supporters on Twitter, which
was translated through the hastag:
#DiddySpeechHU.
The last part of his speech left attendees
with a message about turning those
dreams and aspirations into reality and
memories. "Close your eyes and dream,
Combs said. "Then open your eyes and
see."
As the great Notorious B.I.G. once
declared, "the sky is the limit."
Congrats to all the Class of 2014…Dr. Combs
included!
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