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Chart Your Own Course FOR KESHIA KNIGHT PULLIAM, FOLLOWING YOUR DREAM TAKES HARD WORK, SACRIFICE AND DETERMINATION By Ray King | OF THE PINE BLUFF COMMERCIAL STAFF Photographs by Richard Redus
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fter starting her career as a 9-month-old in an advertisement for baby products and going on to appear in the long-running “The Cosby Show” on television, Keshia Knight Pulliam said Thursday her decision to go to college “was the first time she ever said no” to her father. Speaking as a part of the distinguished speakers program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff during Welcome Week, Knight Pulliam said she was the oldest of four children and she decided she wanted to go to Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, while her father wanted her to go to schools like Yale and Princeton. She graduated from Spelman in 2001 with a degree in sociology and was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and said she has been “able to go from Little Rock, Arkansas, to the White House and meet a Spelman sister or sorority sister.” After college, Knight Pulliam went back to acting, appearing in movies like “Beauty Shop” and “Madea Goes To Jail” and in Tyler Perry’s award-winning television show “House of Payne.” The program was held at the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts building and Knight Pulliam told the largely student audience to “follow your dream and follow your passion.”
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UAPB MAGAZINE • University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
“Success comes from hard work, from sacrifice and dedication,” she said. “Congratulations on making that first big step in deciding what you want to do with your life.” Knight Pulliam told the students to look at challenges as opportunities because they would be able to look back and say, “Yes, I did that.” She also said that the friendships and relationships that the students build during their time in school will be things they will carry with them the rest of their lives. “Treat people the way you want to be treated because you never know when you are going to run into them again,” Knight Pulliam said. She said that with today’s global society, “You are going to connect with people from around the world.” “If you stay on your block, in your city, you will never know what the rest of the world has to offer,” Knight Pulliam said. Knight Pulliam said her career had transitioned a lot since she started as a 9-month-old. “It’s not where you begin, but it’s where you end up,” she said. “Never put yourself in a box. You’re only limited by how big you can dream.”