Spring 2026 Graduates Forge Route to Now, Next and Beyond

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (May 9, 2026) – Following North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University's three spring 2026 commencement ceremonies, the number of Aggie alumni has risen to approximately 80,000 graduates in the university’s storied 135-year history.

While total graduation numbers for 2025-26 are not yet final, well more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students earned their diplomas this academic year at North Carolina A&T, a record total for the university.

Its newest alumni have helped blaze the trail to what is “now, next and beyond” for A&T, said Chancellor James R. Martin II, referring to the high-profile framework for the university’s strategic plan.

“This university, this amazing university of North Carolina A&T, has been proving its value for more than 135 years, providing opportunity, access and rigorous academic programs to students from North Carolina, the broader nation and countries around the world,” said Martin, who was formally installed on Founders Day, March 9.

“Today we celebrate that momentum, and we celebrate you. …There’s nobody like A&T students. There’s nobody that can out-compete, out-innovate, out-think, out-lead A&T students.”

The James Weldon Johnson Fellowship Gospel and University choirs delivered stirring performances of the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the alma mater, “Dear A&T,” with several graduating students performing in their caps, gowns and sashes for each of the three ceremonies.

Board of Trustees Chair Gina Loften ’90, who spoke at each ceremony, said an A&T degree represents far more than the completion of coursework.

“It is a reflection of your discipline, your creativity, your determination and the promise that you carry forward. You have earned this moment and you should take great pride in all that you have achieved,” she said.

“I’m proud to stand before a class defined by resilience, growth and determination,” Senior Class President and Cheatham-White Scholar Jarrod Mason said during two baccalaureate ceremonies Saturday, May 9, in First Horizon Coliseum where about 2,000 students received their degrees.

“Now, looking out, I don’t just see caps and gowns. I see future leaders, innovators, creators — individuals ready to make an impact on this world,” he continued. “Each tassel turned today represents perseverance. Every challenge we face shapes who we are today. And on this Mother’s Day weekend, we know we could not have made it without the support of our family and friends in the room.”

“The distance you have traveled is inspiring,” said Martin. “From being recipients of prestigious scholarships to leading the charge in campus political engagement to earning top placement in undergraduate research presentations at national conferences to holding leadership positions in campus organizations and excelling at top-notch internships, you all represent one of the most academically, civically and professionally accomplished classes in our university’s history.”

Queen Latifah, a multitalented, award-winning performer, producer and cultural icon, served as keynote speaker for both baccalaureate ceremonies. The first ceremony, at 9 a.m., was for the colleges of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Education and Engineering and the John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences. The second, at 2:30 p.m., was for the colleges of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences and Science & Technology, as well as the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics.

Latifah – whose induction as a member of the 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class was announced just hours after she was announced as A&T’s spring 2026 undergraduate commencement speaker – has been recognized not only as an innovator for the arts, but also for setting an example and supporting fellow artists. She received a National Medal of the Arts from the U.S. government in 2024 and was a 2023 honoree at the 46th Kennedy Center Honors.

As she considered what to say in her commencement address, Latifah said she thought of friends who, when discussing success, kept using the word “delusional.”

“You have to be delusional beyond your wildest dreams, beyond your faith, beyond your belief,” she said. “And it just made me it just made me think back to my own life. When was I delusional? Well, it started off with me being 16 and calling myself Queen Latifah.”

Ultimately, Latifah became the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. She earned seven Grammy Award nominations, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1994.

Having made her big-screen debut in Spike Lee’s 1991 film, “Jungle Fever,” Latifah starred in the network comedy “Living Single” from 1993 to 1998 and hosted “The Queen Latifah Show” from 2013 to 2014. She recounted how she trusted her instincts to turn down what seemed to be a surefire chance for success with one project and instead chose to accept a part in 2002’s feature musical “Chicago.” Her decision paid off with Academy Award Best Supporting Actress, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for her portrayal of Mama Morton.

“I cannot tell you that your next step is going to be less scary. I think everyone here, judging by what you see in your world, will face a tremendous amount of adversity,” she said. “That’s nothing new. You’re built for this. You got this. You’ve been tried and tested over these past years. You’ve been let down, you’ve been lifted up, and you’re delusional enough to think you can get this daggone degree. I see you up here!

“So, if there’s one thing I can leave you with today: Be delusional. Be delusional enough to call yourself something that the world hasn’t called you yet. Be brave enough to walk down that road that no one else can see but you.”

On Friday night, the university held the commencement ceremony for nearly 350 students who received graduate degrees. More than 2,000 A&T students are master’s and doctoral candidates this year, comprising the largest ever enrollment for The Graduate College, said Martin.

“Your journey wasn’t easy, but you made the impossible possible,” Graduate Student Association President Laurence Price-Webb said during Friday’s ceremony. “Most importantly, you made the impossible into a path our undergraduates are desperate to follow because you made the impossible into a degree. Not only are you graduating, but you made it look easy.”

Nia Danielle Banks ’95, M.D., Ph.D., FACS, a board-certified plastic surgeon serving the Annapolis, Maryland, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas, served as keynote speaker. She received her B.S. in chemical engineering from A&T and her M.D., Ph.D. and surgical training from Johns Hopkins University, where she became the first African American woman to complete its plastic surgery training program. She also completed a craniofacial fellowship in Paris in 2008. She is chair emeritus of the Student National Medical Association and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Banks congratulated students for completing their master’s and doctoral degrees, noting the inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice in Transformative Nursing Leadership cohort of 15 students made history Friday as the program’s first class to complete the degree at A&T.

“I see you. We see you. You are our future,” said Banks. “The future is here.”

“Today is not just a milestone, it is a marker – a declaration that North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University continues to lead, to innovate and to produce excellence,” she said.

In 2009, Banks founded the Beaux Arts Institute of Plastic Surgery where she practices on the cutting edge of cosmetic surgery. In 2020, she opened the Art of Balance Wellness Spa with a business partner to meet the growing needs of her cosmetic surgery clients and provide wellness therapies, spa experiences and aesthetic treatments.

Banks focused her address on privilege – specifically, the privilege that comes with being first, the privilege in exposure, the privilege in purpose, the privilege in proximity and the privilege of rest.

“As the first Black woman to complete a plastic surgery residency at Johns Hopkins, there was no blueprint, only belief – belief rooted right here at an HBCU – that bringing yourself, and your whole self, is to be welcomed,” she said. “It is your advantage in every space. It is your opportunity.”

Banks challenged graduates to not just open the doors of opportunity for others, but “to blow those doors wide open.” She advised them to collect the currency of experiences – “passport stamps, not possessions” – and know what is theirs to carry.

“In the moments when the journey feels hard – and it will – remember this: We are not here by accident. We stand on sacrifice, on resilience, on brilliance that has rebuilt civilizations again and again across time and continents,” she said. “Knowing who you are – and whose you are – is a privilege.”

Martin credits students and alumni with A&T’s evolution into an exponential university aligned with the rapid pace of technological change, global shifts in demographics and economic environments and the evolution of higher education itself

“We could not have reached these achievements and distinctions of excellence without your hard work and the commitment and the perseverance that all of you have shown,” said Martin.

“Today is indeed your day. Stand tall in your achievements and all that they represent,” he said. “This is a university forever changed by your hands.”