ORANGEBURG, S.C. — More than 140 students took a step into their future on Friday, graduating from South Carolina State University.
"Man, I feel joy; I feel excitement; I feel all the emotion you're supposed to feel right now," graduate Damajea Boxley said.
Bulldog pride was in the air in Orangeburg, with 89 undergraduate and 53 graduate students looking to what follows.
"My next step is to kind of get into the supply chain field," Tyrese Chain said.
"Family consumer sciences multidisciplinary studies and I plan to teach," Tobaria Hamms said.
For some of those students, legacy was the key to their success.
"The feeling is kind of overwhelming proud ecstatic super proud though it's just a blessing to have somebody you know to follow in your footsteps," Travis Bellamy said of his niece graduating on Friday.
For other students, it was friendship.
"We've been friends since childhood. I don't remember a time I didn't know her. And we do a lot of things together - we do a lot of things together. So, we decided to do this together," Rhonda Wijivers-Wiley said.
She and her lifelong best friend embarked on the Ph.D. program together.
"So we got our EDS together and then this was the next step getting doctorate together," Janet Campbell said.
And some students paved their own way.
"Yeah I'm the first generation and also the first out of 5 brothers and pretty much all my immediate family," Tyrese Chian said.
Students left with the same Bulldog pride.
"Your expectations are not limited; your expectations are unlimited. Anything you're trying to do, you can be anybody you want to be in this world," Damajea Boxley said.
Students graduated with psychology and mechanical engineering degrees.