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Waddell Howard's rendition of "I Have a Dream" is part of the college's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. |
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Howard met the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker at the 2008
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. |
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The R-MC Brothers 4 Change organization is very involved
in community service. |
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Howard was one of many students who had the honor of meeting Julian Bond in April of 2009. |
Waddell Howard Jr. ’09 was a leader both on the football field and in the R-MC community.
One of the top kick returners in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and the South Region, Howard helped Randolph-Macon to its first ODAC Championship since 1997 in the 2009 season.
In addition to serving on the First-Year Experience board during his freshman and sophomore years, Howard was a Speaking Center tutor and a mentor in the Higgins Academic Center, and in 2006 he won the Emerging Leaders Award at Randolph-Macon.
The Afton, Virginia native was also a member of R-MC’s unique Brothers 4 Change organization. “Brothers 4 Change promotes leadership, community service and the spread of ideas that encourage diversity,” says Howard. “I was a part of the group because it meant so much to me to be able to give back to the community and help others. The group encourages brotherhood by including students from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and bands them together for a common cause.”
Each January during the college’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony, Howard recited Dr. King’s famous "I Have a Dream” speech. He has delivered his stirring rendition of the powerful speech in many places across the country—including the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. “Ever since I was five years old I have been a public speaker, reciting Dr. King’s speech,” says Howard. “I first recited it for a kindergarten play and God has been blessing me ever since. I have recited the speech for churches, organizations such as the NAACP and for corporations such as Dupont and Verizon. I look at Dr. King's ‘Dream’ as one that needs to be carried on. When I recite his speech I feel as if it is my sincerest form of gratitude to him and to the many leaders of the civil rights era. It is my attempt to build on the foundation that they laid for young men such as me.”
As a student at R-MC, Howard was also the vice president of the college’s Black Cultural Society. “The group's mission is to promote diversity and to learn about African American history, as well as other minorities’ histories," says Howard. "The organization's philosophy is similar to that of the writer John Donne: 'No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.'"
Howard graduated on May 30, 2009 with a degree in sociology. “I was a sociology major because this discipline allows me to look at the issues of the world, think critically about where the problems lie and how they can be addressed,” says Howard. “Sociology is the study of people, which means that my major can lead me into just about any career that I choose.”
Randolph-Macon College’s liberal arts education made an indelible mark on Howard. “R-MC promotes creative and independent thought,” he says. “I am grateful to have received such a wonderful education and to have met so many different people. I will cherish this experience.”
To read about R-MC’s First-Year Experience program, visit http://www.rmc.edu/why-rmc/FYE/index.aspx
To read about R-MC’s Black Cultural Society, visit http://www.rmc.edu/offices/diversity.aspx
To read about R-MC’s Brothers 4 Change organization, visit http://orgs.rmc.edu/b4c/
To read about R-MC’s Higgins Academic Center and the Speaking Center, visit http://www.rmc.edu/Offices/higgins-academic-center.aspx
Randolph-Macon is a proud member of NCAA Division III, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and sponsors 15 intercollegiate sports.
For more R-MC student profiles, visit http://www.rmc.edu/why-rmc/students.aspx.
For more information about the breadth of programs and opportunities available at Randolph-Macon, contact our Admissions Office at (800) 888-1762 or at admissions@rmc.edu