FVSU recruitment fair draws 500 in Dooly County - Rivers calls on future Fort Valley State students to be all that they can be



Striving for success and self motivation were the themes Fort Valley State University representatives hammered home at a morning fair held in Pinehurst on Nov. 29.

University officials said the area students who attended the program at the Dooly County High School learned a great deal about FVSU’s academic disciplines and opportunities by interacting with its students, faculty and staff.

At one point in the program, FVSU students Joe L. Butts Shanoria Morgan shared their university experiences with the audience of more than 500 elementary, middle and high school students from across the county.

“My years at Fort Valley State provided me a solid education,” Butts said. “My confidence has been strengthened at FVSU and I know I am well prepared for the future.”

Morgan said, “It was the small classroom atmosphere [and] easy access to my professors that made the difference.”

The event highlight was the keynote address on “the person who thinks he or she can” by Dr. Larry E. Rivers, president of the Fort Valley State University.

After thanking the local school officials for inviting Fort Valley State, Rivers told audience members to reach for the stars and “be the young men and women that they can be.”

“If you don’t think you can do it then you won’t have success,” he told the more than 500 students in the auditorium. “Because success begins with a person’s will.”

Rivers, an accomplished author and the eighth individual to take the helm of Fort Valley State, said his university – and alma mater – was looking for young men and women with the drive and focus to become future FVSU graduates.

He pointed out that many of the students in the auditorium could remember the lyrics and artists of almost any current song. At the same time, the same students complain that they have a difficult time reciting a poem or remembering a mathematical formula.

Looking over his audience, Rivers said, “You can do anything.”

Rivers went on to tell students to look to their heritage, keep their spirituality and consider the long-term investment needed to succeed.

“Stay rooted and remember where you came from and who helped you get there,” he said. “Somebody sacrificed – financially, spiritually and physically – for you to have an education.

“Stay spiritual,” Rivers continued. “I believe in the One who sits high and looks low, and I believe that when I fall to my knees, He hears my faintest cry and will answer by and by.

“Remember [that] success doesn’t come overnight,” he concluded. “Success takes hard work, but it’s much better than good luck.”

Congrats to Dr. Rivers This is why he was so valuable to Florida A & M