- It would definitely be a different place without this university here in Robeson County.

Robeson County is my home.

I grew up about three miles away from where we're sitting right now.

And the importance of education has always been an emphasis in my life, as well as in the lives of so many in this region, and so if you look at this region, you see so many folks who even though they may not have attended UNC Pembroke as an undergrad, they ended up getting their education because of the influence of this university.

I went to the light blue school and then to the dark blue school myself, and someone asked me, "Which university influenced you the most?"

and I said it was Pembroke State University, which it was when I was growing up.

And the question was why?

Because I was able to come to this campus and when I left to go away from home for the first time in my life being away from home, I knew what it was like to be on a university.

It didn't scare me.

I was not intimidated.

I saw, I grew up seeing people from different parts of the world.

I grew up listening to different accents and I grew up seeing a classroom, studying in the library here on campus, so when I went away to school, it was very natural and was not a very intimidating situation for me at all.

I think that story that I just told you can be repeated tens of thousands of times over the decades, and so in this area, you have so many folks who are, who have succeeded because of the pathway of education.