Under stormy skies but with spirits soaring, Stillman College celebrated its resilient Class of 2025 with an unforgettable commencement ceremony, highlighted by a powerful message from Melonie D. Parker, Google’s vice president of Employee Engagement.
Held inside Birthright Alumni Hall due to inclement weather, the event honored 121 graduates—43 men and 78 women—who have achieved remarkable success. Over 65 percent earned honors, a milestone that reflects the institution’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence.
Parker, a seasoned executive and champion for equity in tech and beyond, took the stage with a message every graduate needed to hear:
“Stillman, by its very existence, tells you that challenges are not stop signs,” she said. “Challenges are invitations to innovate, persevere, build something meaningful, even when the path seems unclear.”
Her words struck a chord with the graduates, who have endured and adapted through uncertain college years, from a global pandemic to economic shifts.
“Stillman endured. It adapted. It found new strength. This wasn’t just institutional survival. It was a demonstration of what a committed community can achieve,” she continued.
An HBCU graduate herself, Parker knows a thing or two about turning challenges into opportunities. A proud alumna of Hampton University (B.A., Mass Communications) and Villanova University (M.A., Human Resources), she has built a 30-year career leading transformative change across major corporations.
At Google, Parker has spearheaded the company’s racial equity commitments and led efforts to close opportunity gaps within the tech industry and beyond. Her mantra, “we exist to close gaps,” has become a rallying cry for meaningful impact.
Before Google, she held leadership roles at Sandia National Laboratories and Lockheed Martin, often breaking barriers as the first Black woman to hold executive roles in spaces traditionally closed to women and people of color.
The ceremony wasn’t just about celebration—it was about moving forward. On behalf of Google, Parker presented Stillman College with a $30,000 unrestricted gift, a significant contribution that will support ongoing student success and innovation and inspire hope and optimism for the future.
“The partnership between Stillman College and Google is one rooted in a shared mission and vision,” she said. “At Google, we strive to make information universally accessible and useful, and this aligns perfectly with Stillman College’s mission to foster academic excellence and empower diverse populations for leadership and service.”
In recognition of her leadership and commitment to HBCUs, Parker received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, presented by Stillman President Dr. Yolanda W. Page and Board Chairman Joe Hampton.
Dr. Page opened the ceremony with a lighthearted and uplifting note:
“We are not going to let this rain rain on this wonderful day for the Class of 2025.”
And they didn’t. The energy in the room was electric—less than two hours of speeches and celebration that sent graduates out into the world with purpose, power, and pride.
The recurring theme for the Class of 2025 was clear: Resilience isn’t just survival—it’s strategy. It’s the foundation upon which new legacies are built. Like Parker’s, these new legacies are ones of innovation, diversity, and social change.
Stillman’s newest alums now join a long line of visionaries, trailblazers, and change-makers—and if Dr. Melonie D. Parker’s story is any indication, their future is brighter than ever.
