Black and Latino Rutgers Students to Celebrate Today with Rites of Passage Ceremony

Today, several hundred African-American and Latino students will proceed into Old Queens chapel for the 20th annual Rites of Passage ceremony, a pre-graduation event that recognizes the accomplishments of these Rutgers University students.

Surrounded by their families and academic instructors, the students will celebrate their respective African-American and Latino cultural heritage through readings, music, and speeches, all framing their academic achievements before they receive their diplomas later this month.

According to the university, the students participating in the ceremony are presented with ceremonial handmade stoles from Ghana, meant to connect the students with their ancestors.

Juanita Jones Daly, a Rutgers School of Engineering alumnus, was the founder of the celebration.

Daly, who graduated in 1993, said she started work on establishing the ceremony after hearing from a fellow engineering colleague in California who was a part of something similar.

Daly said the ceremony was born out of two major reasons, the first being an opportunity for African-American and Latino students to celebrate their graduation in the context of their culture in addition to the main graduation ceremony.

The ceremony is not exclusive of other cultures, nor is it meant to take the place of the main convocation, Daly said. However, given the fact that historically, black and Latino students are often outperformed by their peers of other races in education, a celebration to fully recognize the efforts of those who do make it to the end is important, she said.

Additionally, the ceremony gives a chance for students involved in student groups on campus to celebrate their graduation together, she said, especially if they are in different schools.

In the first year, the ceremony had about 130 people participating, she said. Since then, the numbers of student participation has risen and dropped, but the themes of the ceremony after 20 years have stayed the same, she said.

"I still see very talented young men and women full of promise...I see pride, I see a sense of accomplishment, a sense of gratitude, and that's the energy I feel every year," she said.

Now the Executive Operations Director for her church, Agape Family Worship Center in Rahway, Daly said her degree in engineering took her through three other jobs in 20 years, but she has been able to use the skills she learned at Rutgers in the engineering program in every job or volunteer position she has had.

Daly will give a speech at the celebration today, as she has done every year. Her public speaking skills also landed her the commencement speech in 1993 before her engineering school class, making her the first African-American woman to give the graduation speech at the School of Engineering, she said.

Daly said she shares this story because of her circumstance at Rutgers - she finished her first semester at Rutgers with a .9 GPA.

"I went from having a .9 to giving the graduation speech," she said.

Daly said her public speaking skills and involvement with on-campus organizations drove her success at Rutgers, in addition to her grades.

"It's not always about your grades, but about the other skills you have," she said

The Rites of Passage ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m. today at Old Queens chapel, 81 Somerset St.