Community, Resilience, and Legacy
Community, resilience, and honoring your foundation were the recurring themes at the fourth annual Sankofa celebration.
Held in the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC) on May 26, the celebration honored the 2026 graduates who identify as part of the African diaspora. Sponsored by the QCC Incubator and the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA), this year’s event also received generous support from the Morgan Stanley Career Exploration Fund.
Sankofa, an Akan word from Ghana, means remembering and learning from the past as you move forward, a tradition still deeply rooted in communities within the African diaspora.
In that spirit, the event, opened with a libation and paid homage to the College’s first Black graduates before speakers addressed the graduates.
“You are not an island, we don’t stand alone,” said Black Student Union President La Shaun Dornick, as she spoke about the strength of community and how that strength has shaped their collective past and offers hope for the future.
Jake Jacobo, recipient of the 2026 Ray Ricketts Memorial Award, talked about the power of standing in your own strength as he accepted his award.
“Resilience is the word that comes to mind because when I came back [to school], it was by any means necessary,” said Jacobo.
Keynote speaker Dr. Donald “DJ” Mitchell, Jr., Vice President for Mission Integration at Molloy University, reminded students that celebrating their achievement is an act of Sankofa because it honors the past that paved the way for their excellence.
“For us as Black people, education has always been deeply connected to resistance, liberation, hope, and possibility,” said Mitchell. “There were people who fought for us to read, fought for us to learn, fought for us to enter classrooms, and for opportunities that historically excluded us. So, when we celebrate educational achievement, we are also honoring generations of struggle and sacrifice.”
Dr. Mitchell offered congratulations and told the students that Queensborough had prepared them well, and to reject the myth that their future is limited by where they began.
In addition to honoring the students, a faculty and staff member was honored with Sankofa awards. Dr. Kersha Smith, Associate Professor of Psychology, received the Faculty Sankofa Award, and Raymond Volel, Student Life Specialist, received the Staff Sankofa Award. Additionally, Stephen Atkins, ASAP Student Career Senior Advisor and co-founder of the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA) received literal and figurative flowers for his work with both the QCC Incubator and the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA).
The event ended with a Kente Ceremony. Graduates crossed the stage and received a Kente stole, given to them by their invited guest, to wear during commencement. A moment that brought together the community, celebrated their resilience, and honored their foundation.
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