I am honored to have a place in the inaugural Reginaldo Howard Leadership Program. This is more than recognition. It is a duty, a call to step forward and carry a legacy that will not be erased.

Reginaldo Howard was not just a leader. The first Black student body president of Duke, he moved with vision, with conviction, and with unshakable certainty that leadership is not about titles but about impact. He understood that change is not given but taken. Demanded. Built.

Though his time was tragically cut short, the mark he left behind became permanent, woven into the fabric of this institution. His name came to stand for something greater: Black excellence, purpose-driven leadership, and the courage to challenge what is, in pursuit of what should be.

For decades that legacy was carried through the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship – a scholarship that not just rewarded potential but ensured Black scholars had the support, recognition, and space they deserved.

But as history has proven, structures built to uplift Black excellence are always the first to be challenged. When affirmative action was attacked, the scholarship was cut short. A decision, but not a defeat.

Because legacies like Reggie’s do not fade. They transform and prevail.

The Reginaldo Howard Leadership Program emerges, not as a replacement, but as a statement. A declaration that Black academic excellence, intellectual community, and leadership will not only persist, but thrive. The framework may have shifted, but the mission is untouchable. The vision remains clear, and the responsibility endures.

This opportunity is a moment of reflection, of purpose, and of understanding what it means to step into something greater than myself. It is a reminder that the doors I walk through were opened by those before me, and the work I do now will shape the path for those who come next.

I do not take that lightly. I have no doubt that RHLP will be one of the most enriching, defining, and transformative experiences of my time at Duke.