On Saturday April 30, at 9 a.m., Atlanta Mayor M. Kasim Reed will speak at Florida A&M’s spring commencement ceremony in the Al Lawson Center. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will speak at commencement at 2 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to graduation,” said Stacey Graham, 22, a graduating health care management student from Fort Lauderdale. “I do not have a job, but I have been going on interviews. After I graduate I’m looking to attend grad school at Florida A&M to get my masters.”??
Reed is a former partner with international law firm Holland & Knight in Atlanta. He served two terms as state representative for House District 52.??
In November 2002, Reed was elected to the Georgia State Senate. He was a member of the Senate Judiciary, Higher Education, Ethics, Transportation and the State and Local Government Committees. Reed is on the Board of Trustees for Howard University, where he earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees.
With his list of accomplishments, it comes as no surprise that the Aspen Institute selected Reed as a Rodel Fellow. ??
The first African American to serve as EPA administrator, Jackson,supervises 17,000 employees who are supposed to safeguard air and water quality. They address health threats from toxins and pollution.
Jackson graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University and earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University. Before she became the EPA administrator, she was a chief -of-staff to New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine, and commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
As part of the commencement ceremonies a nmber of honorary doctorate degrees will be awarded.
For some students it could be an emotional event. “It’s bittersweet,” said Brandon Hartley, 21, a graduating criminal justice senior. “Some part of me is sad and the other part is happy to go.”