HAMPTON, Va. — Being the "first" to achieve a goal or accomplishment is the first step towards creating your legacy.
That motto comes from Oscar-award winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter who spoke at Sunday's graduation at Hampton University.
The graduating class included 805 undergraduate and graduate students who are now ready to leave their home by the sea and make their mark on the world.
The commencement ceremony took place at Armstrong Stadium.
This was a history making ceremony for both students and the university; as it marked the first graduating class to come under the new university President, Darrell K. Williams.
President Williams stated that this class will always be a memorable moment for him.
"This class will always be special to the First Lady and I because you are the first graduating class of our tenure here at our home by the sea,” said Williams.
This year, the commencement speaker was the talented and award-winning costume designer, Ruth E. Carter.
She is known for her work in Marvel's Black Panther movies and making history as the first African American woman to win two Oscars.
Carter told News 3 it was important for her to share her story of becoming the first to graduates, as one day they will create their own history.
"Now that I have gone full journey of coming out of Hampton, doing an internship, still believing in myself, jumping in my Volkswagen, driving across country, meeting Spike Lee, doing fourteen films with Spike Lee and then immersing into Hollywood and being nominated four times, winning twice . I needed to give some of that journey back to Hampton students," said Carter.
As students take their last steps on the campus of Hampton University, the hope is that they will create a legacy of their own.
