It’s no secret that HBCU’s constantly produce successful alumni. However, it seems as if the most successful of those graduates come from the big four HBCUS: Morehouse, Spelman, Howard & North Carolina A & T. All HBCU’s have value and we must start to recognize this! As a student leader at Fort Valley State University, I can personally vouch for how active and successful our alumni are. They never get publicity though. Sure, Tyrone Poole & Ricardo Lockette get love but they’re Superbowl winning NFL players. Marquette King, the only black punter in the NFL, falls in the same category.

What about Dr. Wright A. Jones? He’s the star of Lifetime’s hit show Atlanta Plastic. He graduated from FVSU with a degree in Biology. How about Shirley Sherrod, John Wesley Blassingame and Walt Gilmore? All alumni of this phenomenal institution. Many will say that black people only care about celebrity. How would we be able to make these alumni matter if they’re not some famous TV star walking red carpets with their face plastered over TV stations around the world? What if I told you we had an alumnus that’s doing just that?

Meet Jon Chaffin, a 2005 Alumnus of FVSU. He graduated with a degree in Mass Communications and went on to live out his dream of being an actor. You can see him as “Warlock” from Tyler Perry’s The Haves & Have Nots on OWN. He’s also appeared on Tyler Perry’s hit TBS show House of Payne, which currently airs in syndication on BET. Learning about him gave me confirmation that I enrolled at the right institution. There are times that I just feel like giving up. What’s the point of college when, even if you get a degree, you’re not guaranteed a job? Even if you try to network and seize opportunities, you have to juggle your schoolwork and social life. How can you make it?

Seeing alumni such as Jon Chaffin at FVSU, Terrence J from NCAT and Ta-Nehisi Coates from Howard show us that there’s light at the end of tunnel. They show us that, if you remained focus and dedicated, you can truly reap the benefits of success. All HBCU’s should promote this narrative. We’re supposed to produce the epitome of black excellence after all. The greatness that we breed shouldn’t be only once-in-a-while viral story on social media or a one hour town hall with President Obama on ESPN. Our vibrant party scene and adventurous homecomings shouldn’t be the defining narrative of who we are.

In this day and action, you have to be about action instead of empty talk. Let Fort Valley State University be the example of what should be the new philosophy for the marketing and branding for HBCU’s.

See Jon Chaffin’s Actor Demo Reel

If you are in the Georgia Area, come meet 2005 FVSU Alumnus Jon Chaffin on Satuday, October 22nd!