PVAMU’s Class of 2028 welcomed as Panthers during Lighting & Pinning Ceremony

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Aug. 29, 2024) - On Friday, Aug. 23, Prairie View A&M University officially welcomed the Class of 2028 during the Lighting & Pinning Ceremony. The freshmen induction event was held in the William "Billy" J. Nicks Sr. Building for the more than 2,000 Panthers beginning their journeys on "The Hill."

"My goal for our students and this University is not just to be excellent but to REMAIN EXCELLENT…which means we must always be striving to grow into the best versions of ourselves," said President Tomikia P. LeGrande.

The first-year students were reminded of the University's humble beginnings in 1876 on a former slave plantation, as well as its founders, Matthew Gaines and William Holland. They served in the Texas Legislature during the Reconstruction period and dreamed the impossible dream: public education for formerly enslaved people and their progeny.

"Unimaginably courageous, Legislators Holland and Gaines' efforts made the impossible possible. On the former Alta Vista Plantation stood a single building, where the first eight students, known as the Unknown 8, laid the path that, over the decades, more than 80,000 alumni would follow and flourish," a snippet from the program said.

PVAMU's Class of 2028 pledged to continue "Lifting the Light" to excellence in personal conduct, academic endeavors, their commitment to building community, and adopting and modeling the University's core values. After receiving their official PVAMU pins, they also received a pledge from the University community to give them "unequivocal and unwavering support."

"You are officially Panthers! We can't wait to see all the great and productive things you're going to do," President LeGrande said before taking her traditional selfie with the new class.

-PVAMU-

*Photos by Nicholas Hunt, Office for Marketing and Communications