Two-Star General Returns to South Side Chicago to Inspire Youth at 8th Infantry Association Scholarship Ceremony

Maj. Gen. Rodney Boyd, The Adjutant General of Illinois and the Commander of the Illinois National Guard was the keynote speaker at the 8th Infantry Illinois National Guard Association annual scholarship ceremony on Aug. 10 at the Illinois Army National Guard's General Richard Jones Armory on Chicago's South Side.
The 8th Infantry Association keeps the memory of the Illinois National Guard's all-African-American "Fighting" 8th Infantry alive and awards multiple scholarships each year.
Boyd told the 14 scholarship recipients how he grew up just down the street on the South Side in a family with eight children in public housing and on public assistance.
"One day I just decided, I'm going to change my trajectory," he said. He added that the scholarship recipients are also changing their trajectories. "Don't give up on yourself. It gets tough. It gets tough, but you are up for the challenge," the general said.
The lineage and honors of the 8th Infantry Regiment is with the 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment with its headquarters in the General Jones Armory on the South Side.