‘Purpose will guide your path’: SC State hoods 16 doctoral graduates

Educational leadership candidates celebrated for perseverance, research and a commitment to advancing schools and communities 

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Teacher and principal are among the titles Aunquize Perkins has held during a long educational career, with each experience preparing him to complete his mission of receiving a doctoral degree. 

He found the foundation from which to complete that degree at South Carolina State University, where he was among 16 educators who were hooded for Doctor of Educational Leadership degrees during a ceremony on May 7. 

“My experience at SC State has been amazing. I am also a 2014 graduate of SC State with my Ed.S. (education specialist) degree. They developed an online program for the doctoral program after COVID, so it was a great opportunity to come back to finish out my mission. Mission completed,” Perkins said. 

Ahead of May 8’s Spring Commencement, SC State conducted its spring hooding ceremony for doctoral candidates in the Fine Arts Building’s Barbara A. Vaughn Recital Hall. A joint effort of the College of Graduate & Professional Studies and the College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences (CEHSS), the ceremony recognized educators who completed their curriculum through the SC State Department of Educational Leadership.   

A Florence, S.C., native, Perkins lives in Atlanta, where he serves as an assistant principal in the Cobb County School District. 

Perkins’ dissertation was titled “Investigation of Teacher Perception Towards Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports and Specialized Instruction Implementation in High- and Low-Performing Elementary Schools.” 

He said he intentionally chose to complete his degree at SC State, which has achieved designation as a Research 2 (R2) institution, meaning it spends at least $5 million on research and awards at least 20 research doctorates annually.   

SC State exceeded both criteria in 2023, devoting $7.8 million to research and awarding 25 doctoral degrees. The designation qualifies the university for more grants and sponsored programs.   

“We try to tie our research to our current practices as educational practitioners. Everyone’s research topic was something personal to them and their interests. Moving forward, we have additional research or plans of action that we will adhere to,” Perkins said.   

He said he enjoyed the family atmosphere SC State provided for him. 

“It’s the camaraderie amongst the students, the professors. We’re all one big family, and they uphold us to do our very best at all times,” Perkins said. 

Yolanda Young-Riley of Beaufort County, S.C., was also among the 16 educators hooded for a Doctor of Educational Leadership degree. She is a social studies teacher at Berkeley Middle School. 

“It is a rigorous curriculum. It is a very rigorous, challenging curriculum that sometimes made me cry and some days made me want to give up. But I think in all things, if there’s never a challenge, then there’s no growth. I think they grew me to the point that I was willing and ready to do the dissertation defense,” she said. 

Young-Riley’s dissertation was titled “The Effect of Literacy-Arts Infused, Character Education on Benchmark Test Scores for At-Risk 6th Graders in the Areas of Reading, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science and Mathematics.” She credited her SC State professors with preparing her. 

“They have a passion for their students,” she said. “I think it is a very good curriculum for anybody aspiring to become a doctor to make change and to make an impact on the world. 

“When we think about our research, it is an avenue to finding out what has worked, what has not worked and what will work for any group of children whether it be the most affluent, whether it be the middle, or whether it be the most impoverished,” she said. “We have to find ways to kind of mend the research and blend the research to make sure we’re coming out with the outcomes for every child.” 

Young-Riley said SC State is doing what other colleges haven’t done. 

“When I think about the vision, they have a solidified vision because with me coming in as a 50-year-old adult, they have kind of stretched my knowledge of the 21st century and moving forward into what innovations may come next,” she said. “That’s through a lot of technology, a lot of research because that is the vision of our future.” 

Others earning doctorates included: 

• Cynthia Sherese Adams — “Effectiveness of Virtual Schools on Students’ EOC Academic Performance and Graduation Rate in South Carolina.” 
• Montreal D. Bell — “A Longitudinal Examination of Defining Elementary Public-School Enrollment in Metropolitan North Georgia.” 
• Joaquin Dewan Brown — “The Effectiveness of Interactive Notebooking in Elementary Mathematics: A Study of SC Ready Achievement in a Rural Title I School.” 
• LaTonya Shanett Durant — “The Impact of Teacher Incentive Programs on Student Achievement and Teacher Retention in Rural South Carolina.” 
• Loretta Reneee Gadson-Washington — “A Comparative Study of Alternative and Traditional Teacher Certification on the Academic Achievement of Middle Schools.”
• Derrick Antoine Glover — “The Effect of an Early Intervention Program on the Transit of Children to Kindergarten in a School District in the Midlands of South Carolina.” 
• Jessica Jena Green — “An Examination of Teacher Perceptions and Factors Influencing African American Male Achievement in Grades 3-5.” 
• Herk Levar Huggins — “An Examination of the Impact of Teacher Characteristics and School Factors on Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency in South Carolina.” 
• Karla T. Mack — “Examining Demographic Differences in End-of-Pathway Assessment Performance in a Suburban Georgia School District — A Causal-Comparative Analysis.” 
• Alfred D. McGuire Jr. — “The Effectiveness of Community Engagement on School Performance in Georgia.” 
• Kamare G. Pierce — “A Comparative Analysis of Personnel Perceptions of School Culture and Climate in High- and Low-Performing Georgia Elementary Schools.”   
• Demier Zenobia Richardson-Sanders — “The Effectiveness of Parental Involvement on Elementary School Performance in South Carolina.”   
• Tawanna Freeman Sanders — “Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Alternative Education Program for Minority High School Students: Academic and Disciplinary Outcomes.”   
• Perry Frank Smith Jr. — “Exploring the Lived Experiences of Black Male High School Dropouts: Understanding the Social, Cultural and Institutional Factors Behind Early School Departure.” 

Dean provides message of encouragement, empowerment 

Dr. M. Evelyn Fields, dean of the SC State CEHSS, said the ceremony celebrated more than the degrees the educators earned, but also affirmed who they had become. 

“This degree you receive today is more than a symbol of academic achievement, it represents a journey marked by perseverance, discipline and purpose. It reflects late nights and early mornings, moments of doubt and moments of triumph,” she said. 

“It carries the weight of your sacrifices and the hopes of those who walked this path before you and those who will follow. At an HBCU like South Carolina State University, this moment carries an even deeper meaning,” Fields said. 

The dean explained to the educators that they were heirs to a legacy born of necessity and sustained by courage. 

“This institution was founded at a time when opportunity was denied, when education itself was an act of resistance, yet through the strength and vision of those who came before you, this university became and remains a beacon of access, excellence and empowerment,” Fields said. 

She said the students’ hoods did not crown them but rather called them. 

“It calls you to leadership. Not leadership defined by title, but by impact. Leadership that shows up in integrity and courage and the willingness to stand when it would be easier to sit and to speak when it would be more comfortable to remain silent,” Fields said. 

The dean implored the educators to never forget their story, stay connected to their promise, and to lift as they climb. 

“The obstacles you overcome, the lessons you’ve learned, the values you carry – these are your strengths,” Fields said. “Degrees will open doors, but purpose will guide your path. Ask yourself not only what I want to achieve, but who do I want to serve,” Fields said. “When your work aligns with your purpose, success becomes more than accomplishment. It becomes fulfillment. Lift as you climb. As you rise, reach back. Mentor someone, encourage someone, open a door for someone else. That is the legacy of this institution.”   

Dr. Percy Mack Jr., chairman of the SC State Department of Educational Leadership, said, nine school district superintendents in the state of South Carolina, including the current Superintendent of the Year, Akil Ross, are graduates of SC State’s doctoral program. 

“We honor these students. We commend them for staying the course (and) for doing what they need to do. It’s just a start for them. They will head on to bigger and better things in the years to come,” Mack said. 

Members of SC State’s administration were on hand to recognize the scholars. 

“This occasion represents both a celebration of academic achievement and a recognition of the leadership our graduates will carry forward into the schools, school districts and communities,” said Dr. Frederick M.G. Evans, SC State provost and vice president of academic affairs. 

SC State President Alexander Conyers told the graduate students that he was proud of them. 

“I looked at your different dissertation titles, and I look forward to following you and the impact that you will make across the great state of South Carolina and beyond,” Conyers said.