SURVIVORS! OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY

SENIOR CLASS PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

BY CHRISTYN BYRD

Good Evening.

My name is Christyn Byrd and I have the honor and privilege of serving as the Class President of the graduating Class of 2023. I would like to thank Mrs. Lauderback for her inspirational message to the Class of 2023.

Thank you for highlighting the rich history of our beloved school, Oakwood University and the importance and significance of HBCUs. You told us that “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

We will accept your challenge to “step up rather than give up.”

We will remember to focus on the big picture so we can all be agents of change. You have encouraged us to be the future leaders of the world, to get a seat at the table, to speak up, embrace failure and to create our own opportunities. Thank you so much for your words of wisdom. As we pursue our future endeavors, we will think back to this moment and allow the words you shared to resonate with us.

On behalf of the class of 2023, I would also like to thank the [Oakwood University] Board of Trustees; the administration, faculty and staff; the graduation committee, our distinguished guests; family and friends. You all have all contributed to our success as we have matriculated through Oakwood University. I would like to especially thank Dr. Karen Benn Marshall, and Mrs. LaKeisha Smith Johnson for ensuring that our graduation ceremony was a successful culmination to celebrate the academic achievements of the illustrious Class of 2023. To our sponsors, Dr. Julie and Mr. Preston Foster, you all are the absolute best. Thank you for supporting us, advocating for us, and making our senior year a memorable one. We love you.

To my class officers, Charles, Nandi, David, Tammy, SIMRA, Aaren, Elisa and JoAnn. You all are amazing people and workers and I couldn’t have asked for a better team. Thank you for your continued effort in answering questions, planning events, creating budgets, serving food, and all the other tasks in between.

To our family and friends: Thank you for being our ROCKS, our support system, and our anchors. We love you. I want to take this opportunity to shout out to my family, my village, my parents, my sisters, I LOVE YOU more than you know!!

And most importantly, To God: Thank You for seeing fit in Your will that we have arrived here at this very moment. Without You, none of this would be possible.

When I think of the words to describe the class of 2023, I noticed that the thesaurus and dictionary do not contain a word that truly embodies and encapsulates all of our numerous qualities. There are several words that are fitting to describe this class: resilient, determined, tenacious. Yet no singular word fully explains all that we went through, all that we endured and all that we overcame. However, when sitting with the best team ever, your class officers of 2023, we determined that if we had to use one word to describe our class, we would say survivors.

YOU HAVE ENCOURAGED US TO BE THE FUTURE LEADERS OF THE WORLD, TO GET A SEAT AT THE TABLE, TO SPEAK UP, EMBRACE

FAILURE AND TO CREATE OUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES.

We entered Oakwood University, hopeful, knowing that this would arguably be the best time of our lives, “the golden days.” We [would look back on them and say], “Oh I remember the days when.”

We had an amazing first semester, made a lot of friends, socialized, did well in our classes, got involved in extracurricular activities… We were just getting our feet wet. To better explain it we got a Costco sample and a small taste of what we thought would be our future at Oakwood University. We were optimistic and hopeful of what was to come.

To put it candidly, when we first heard of the pandemic, many of us thought we would be getting an extra week of spring break. However, what we thought would be a few extra days of spring break, turned out to be one of the most catastrophic and notable events in our lifetime. The start of the pandemic took place during our second semester of our freshman year at Oakwood. All we know is a COVID Oakwood. This changed our definition of reality, not only with school but [with] life. Masks became a part of our image. Hand sanitizer became a part of our hygienic routine. Lysol, toilet paper, and paper towels became hot commodities. And our noses were swabbed more times than I can count. A lot of us lost loved ones. Many of us experienced symptoms of depression or anxiety, or other mental illnesses during this time. Yet we survived. that we will have for the rest of our lives at Oakwood. So, when I look out into our class, I see survivors. I see overcomers. I see future world changers; I see future innovators; I see future servants for the Lord.

And we endured all of these trials and tribulations while matriculating through Oakwood to obtain a degree. This class has faced what many others have never and will never have to. Not only did we survive the pandemic, but we survived the racial war. We survived the mental toll of the wrongful killings of our Black brothers and sisters, including George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery Breonna Taylor , and too many others. We survived breakout rooms. We survived Zoom meetings. We survived long lines. We survived no Wi Fi, We survived “Biblical Foundations,” We survived the mold. We survived contact tracing. We survived the speed bumps.

We survived GroupMe! We survived OU confessions. We survived the runaround. We survived quarantine. We survived the cafe. We survived a cyberattack.

We are survivors and our experiences have made us stronger and have better equipped us with skills to handle the challenges we will face in the future. Despite all that we went through, we made the best of our OU experience. We led, we encouraged each other, we collaborated, we stayed close, we comforted each other, we pulled each other up and we pushed each other through. We had some of our best spiritual experiences at Oakwood. We met amazing mentors and friends in our teachers at Oakwood.

I see individuals that choose hope over fear. Individuals who do not see the future as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better. Class of 2023—Excuses did not encumber us. Heartache and headache did not hinder us; oppositions did not obstruct us; and COVID did not kill us, WE. ARE. SURVIVORS.

WE ARE SURVIVORS AND OUR EXPERIENCES HAVE MADE US STRONGER AND HAVE BETTER EQUIPPED US WITH SKILLS TO HANDLE THE CHALLENGES WE WILL FACE IN THE FUTURE.

Christyn’s Story

Christyn Byrd is a recent 2023 graduate of Oakwood University, where she majored in Biology: PreMed/PreOsteopathic, and received the Presidential Award for the highest academic achievement at Oakwood University—maintaining a 4.0 GPA with the completion of 133 credit hours.

At Oakwood, Christyn was very involved in many clubs, organizations, research studies, and other extracurricular activities. This past academic year she served as the Class President for the Class of 2023 and the President of the Oakwood Biomedical Association (OBMA). Christyn is also a Fund II Foundation UNCF STEM Scholar, and a former member of the 2017 Choir of the World, the Oakwood University Aeolians.

want you to know that we’ve been down for a long time, but we’re coming up.

We have experienced dark days where we didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. There were nights where we cried ourselves to sleep. There were nights when we wondered how we were going to get that assignment in at 11:59.

We joined choirs and praise teams at Oakwood. We played sports and intramurals at Oakwood. We dangled out keys at Oakwood. We threw our shoes at Oakwood. We skated at Oakwood.

Some of us found our Oakwood man or woman that we were promised at Oakwood, and we have all made friends

When you survive an experience, it makes you stronger. It makes you appreciate the journey. It facilitates stronger connections and bonds. It makes you appreciate the hard times so you can relish in the good times. It makes you appreciate when you’re down, so you know when you’re up. Class of 2023, today I

Christyn has participated in several summer research internships including the University of Alabama (UAB) Summers Health Professionals Education Program (SHPEP), the Mayo Clinic Undergraduate Plummer Scholars Summer Program (UPS+), the Johns Hopkins Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) Summer Internship Program, and an internship with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Division. In her junior year at Oakwood, Christyn was accepted early into the University of Alabama (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine through the inaugural Burroughs Welcome Scholars Cohort.

In her spare time, Christyn loves to be with her parents, Dr. Carlton and Mrs. Danielle Byrd; sisters, Caileigh and Carissa Byrd; family members and friends. She enjoys singing music, photography, as well as watching movies and television.

Christyn’s plan is to pursue a career in medicine to make a difference and to do her part to address the health disparities that disproportionately affect African Americans. Ultimately, she is desirous of fulfilling the plans God has for her life, to use her platform to be a witness for Christ. t

Days when you wondered how you’d get the money to clear. Days when you wondered how you’d pass the class that you needed to graduate. Days when we wondered if we’d make it to this day. We have seen the lowest of lows. We did not know what our future held, but we know Who holds our future. Our Greater is coming. Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us. Greater is coming! This is only the beginning. So, since everyone at Oakwood can sing. Sing this with me!

“We are survivors!

We are not gon give up, We’re not gon stop, We’re gon work harder, We are survivors!

We’re gonna make it. We will survive, Let’s Keep on surviving.”

Because if God is before us, WHO can be against us?

Class of 2023, LET’S KEEP SURVIVING! t