Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: Multiple graduates were honored with scholarships at a recent event.
The National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. Gamma Delta Chapter, a local chapter of the prestigious sorority, recently honored about 200 Black achievers in the Flint area, giving away over $5,5000 in scholarships. The event was held at Grace Emmanuel Baptist Church, and the theme was “Rooted in History, Rising to Greatness.”
The National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. is an International African American professional sorority for women in the field of education, which was founded in 1923, in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II was the guest speaker at the local event for Black scholars. He spoke along with many other esteemed speakers. Gilchrist said it is important to support Black achievers because many of those in power currently do not want them to achieve.
Gilchrist asked those in attendance: “Have you ever paid attention to a construction project?” He continued: “What’s the first thing they do when they build a new building? You dig a really big hole. You dig this hole because you have to make space for something to happen. You dig this hole, and then it seems like the people on the project spend forever planning the hole. But, the bigger the building is, the longer they spend on that hole. Most of us can’t see what’s happening, but we know there’s something important there.”
Gilchrist said the time the graduates spent on their education to that point was comparable to them planning the hole.
“You spend time making provisions,” he added. “You spend time learning things. You spend time messing stuff up, making mistakes. You spend time building relationships…You spend time getting dumped. You spend time having failures. You spend time winning basketball games. You spend time losing football games. You spend time doing all these things, getting all these experiences…”
Gilchrist told the achievers their unique experiences were their own versions of playing in the hole, building a foundation.
“When we say we are rooted in history, that’s the history you made for and of yourself. But, now we are at the point when we celebrate all that work; we celebrate all that foundation. We celebrate in ceremonies we call commencements.”
Gilchrist pointed out we call them commencements because this is the point in life where the graduates would transition to “building something that more of us can see.”
Aniko Green, of Carman Ainsworth received the first-place scholarship award at the event and shared with the Courier not only what she has built, but what she is planning to build.
Green will be attending Xavier University of Louisiana, which is a HBCU (Historically Black College and University.)
She is the president of her school’s African American Student Association, is in the National Honor Society and is the president of the Gamma Delta Zenos, sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. Additionally, she is a Delta Gem.
Green said: “I have a lot of experience and the feel the prompt for the essay we wrote to get the scholarships was very inspiring because I have had a lot of difficulties through my years. It’s nice to showcase how I’ve grown from them and learned from them.”
The essay prompt was “You will always pass failure on your way to success.”
“I feel like the queen,” said Green of being awarded the scholarship. “I feel like I worked very hard, and this is just something that shows how hard I worked towards my goals.”
Green said one thing that she will take home with her was Gilchrist saying the students should “take up space in a room.”
“I think that’s really important because a lot of times, I tend to keep to myself. I don’t say a lot. But, I’m learning to speak up loud and let everyone know I’m here.”
Green plans to attend medical school after graduating from Xavier.
“I want to become an oncologist because my grandfather passed away of cancer. So, I feel like that’s something really close to me.
“But, I feel education is very important for me to get to where I want to be in life. I know I have to learn things to get to where I want to be.”
Members of the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. Gamma Delta Chapter also talked to the Courier about why honoring Black achievers was so important to them.
Tiffany M. Pritchett, public relations director for the Gamma Delta Chapter, explained the event’s theme.
She said: “As a committee we kind of went back and forth on the theme, but we wanted our scholars to know this is a program that started in 1982. It will stay in Genesee County. So, they are rooted in history, and they are rising to greatness. They are the 2025, cream of the crop, top of our graduates for 2025. So, we know they are soaring to greater heights.”
Any African American student that attends a school at Genesee County that has a cumulative grade point average of a 3.0 or higher are considered a Black achiever. The sorority chapter reached out to local schools in January, when the school counselors know whether the students will be graduating with honors. Though all schools did not respond, the sorority chapter is hoping to be able to honor scholars from even more schools in future years.
Phyllis Jones, program chairperson of the Black Achievers Ceremony, said this is the sorority chapter’s second year hosting the event, which was previously hosted by other groups. She said it will be an annual event, and they are seeking to continue receiving funding and support to continue with their endeavor and continue providing scholarships for students and their post-secondary education.
