03/24/2025
SUNY Cortland will recognize the achievements of graduating seniors who have embraced both their own diversity and that of the campus with its annual Kente Celebration on Saturday, April 5.
This year, 52 graduating seniors will don multicolored Kente stoles, watched by some 150 family members and friends as they embrace a more than 30-year-old campus tradition with roots in Africa.
Presented by the Kente Committee and Multicultural Life and Diversity Office, the Kente Celebration — an ancient Africana rite of passage for learners and scholars who are transitioning from institutions of higher learning to the next chapter of their lives — will begin at 4 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room. Dinner and the ceremony will start at 5 p.m.
Registration to attend the evening of photos, dinner, ceremony and socializing is closed. However, it’s not too late to register to participate in the ceremony virtually.
Diedre Kirkem ’19, a former psychology major who is an Educational Opportunity Program counselor at Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, N.Y., will deliver the keynote speech.
Herself a past Kente Celebration participant, Kirkem returned to her alma mater in March to speak with current students about psychology careers.
Before joining TC3 in 2022, she previously was a health home care manager with Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth in Cortland, N.Y., and since graduation also was a case manager for the Center for Urban Community Services in the Bronx, N.Y.
As a student, Kirkem was the Black Student Union’s vice president, participated in Africana Dance and La Familia Latina, and worked as a residential counselor with Catholic Charities in Cortland.
Also during the Kente Celebration, the Calvin Louis-Juste ’09 Memorial Award, NAACP Award and Kente Honorary Stole nomination winners will be announced.
- The Calvin Louis-Juste ’09 Memorial Award represents one graduating senior that participates in Kente. The student who receives the recognition must exemplify high academic achievement, commitment to community service, and advocacy for equity and inclusion on campus.
- The NAACP Award is for one graduating senior that demonstrated achievement in Social Justice and Education. This year’s honoree is active in promoting diversity, inclusion and social justice matters in support of the Black community and racial equity.
- Faculty, staff or administrators at SUNY Cortland who demonstrate support for students of color and are involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives are nominated to receive an honorary Kente stole.
Traditionally from Ghana, the colorful yellow, red, green and black cloth offers students a connection to a rich African academic heritage. Often parents and friends travel long distances in April to participate in their graduate’s big day of hugs, pictures and warm memories. In May, seniors of all ethnic backgrounds proudly also wear their Kente stoles during Commencement.
“The Kente Celebration has a deep institutional history and is an important experience for our multicultural students,” said AnnaMaria Omilanowicz, director of the university’s Multicultural Life and Diversity and Kente Committee chair.
For more information, contact Multicultural Life and Diversity at multicultural.life@cortland.edu.