Rhonna-Rose
Akama-Makia

To my family, friends, mentors, and community

Today, I celebrate the completion of my Bachelor of Business Administration. For some, this milestone may appear traditional. A degree earned, a ceremony attended, a chapter closed. But for me, this moment carries years of detours, pauses, growth, rebuilding, and quiet perseverance.

I am a nontraditional student, and this degree was not a straight path. There were seasons when life required me to lead before I finished learning. Seasons when responsibility came before recognition. Seasons when I questioned whether returning to complete what I started was even possible.

But I come from a people who do not quit.

I am the daughter of African immigrants people who crossed oceans in pursuit of possibility. People who built lives from unfamiliar soil. People who carried pride, honor, and determination within them. I come from a lineage of resilience.

This degree is not just mine. It belongs to my parents and ancestors, who believed in building something greater than themselves. It belongs to every friend who checked in, every mentor who encouraged me, every person who said, "Finish. You can do this." It belongs to the community that never stopped seeing who I was becoming, even when I was still figuring it out.

This chapter closes not with relief, but with pride. Not just for earning a degree, but for honoring the journey.

With gratitude and determination,
Rhonna-Rose