No Diddy Boppin’ At Howard

Let me ask you all this…

What do you believe is the ultimate goal for going to college?

The ultimate goal for going to college is put yourself in a better position to achieve success.  That’s it.  People spend upwards of $50K-$100K or more for 4-5 years of schooling so they can get a piece of paper that costs probably $0.02 to make so they can proudly display something on their walls as symbol implying “I made it!”  Seriously, have you ever heard any other ultimate reason as to why people go to college?  I’ve yet to meet one person who has went to college or even thought about going to college who just wanted to go so they could accumlate debt.

College is supposed to be this stepping stone on one’s path to fullfilling their American dream.  Yet after all of the hardwork is complete, mommy & daddy are proud, grandma & granddad are crying their eyeballs out, you hang up your diploma on your wall, buy you a nice bumper sticker or license plate cover stating what school you graduated from….then comes the real shocker for most.  Time to pay up!

For those of you who weren’t able to attain some type of scholarship and had to pay using the assistance of financial aid, six months later after you graduate the student loan people will be beating down your door wanting to collect their money.  Hopefully, you will have landed a job in your chosen profession that directly relates to what you pursued in college for a degree.  Reality is, most people won’t be working in a career field related to their degree and most people won’t be coming out of the gates winning on their road to success.  A lot of you will probably end up working a job making anywhere between $25k-$50K a year.  You’ll be lucky if you do not become a boomerang baby (a college grad who goes back home to live with mom and dad because they can’t afford to make it on their own due to either not finding a job or student loans whooping their ass).

THAT MY FRIENDS IS THE REALITY FOR A LOT OF COLLEGE GRADS….which is why I’m having the hardest of times trying to understand why Diddy isn’t qualified to give a graduation commencement speech.

What is the purpose of a college graduation commencement speech?

A college graduation commencement speech’s main purpose in life is to provide nothing but pure inspiration for the college grad as they transition from the student class to the working class.  Usually, someone who is fairly successful is asked to share their thoughts on what it takes to become a success in hopes of motivating at least 1 student.  That’s it!

So what’s the deal with Howard University & Diddy?

Diddy (Sean Combs) attended Howard University & dropped out of school.  Diddy recognized early on that college wasn’t the path for him to achieve his vision of success, so he dropped out and eventually became one of the biggest names in the music & entertainment industry.  Not only did he work hard to ensure his name became a household name, but he also started a few companies that went on hire countless people…I’m willing to bet a lot of these people were college grads he hired.

Students at Howard University do not want Diddy to give the graduation commencement speech simply because he dropped out of Howard University.  Now let’s think about this.  First, I stated most people go to college in order to pursue success correct?  Second, not once did I state that most people GRADUATE college to pursue success.  Third, if the end goal of going to college is to become successful in life, then for a commencement speech (motivational speech on success), does it really matter if the speaker graduated or not or should the focus be on the success/accomplishments of the speaker which qualifies him or her to speak in the first place?

I mean c’mon….students at Howard University are mad at a guy who could potentially hire them.  Think about this too, most people go to college in order to get a JOB which a lot translate into thinking that is success (it can be).  Yet Diddy dropped out and eventually became a highly successful JOB CREATOR.  So what in the world are Howard University students mad at???

Get it together Howard University.  Diddy may not be a college grad, but he has an extensive track record going back years that can be proven to teach a young college grad how to be successful in life versus just graduating & entering the world owing more money for school loans than you will probably earn from your new job.

I mean, when Steve Jobs spoke at Stanford, I don’t recall the students of Stanford getting pissed because the ultimate rock star of the technology world was a college drop out giving them a motivational speech on how to become successful.