By climbing a steeper road, the value and appreciation Delaware State students took and continue to take from their education and their experiences is just as great, if not greater, than students attending ivy league schools.

We have to instill in them the skills they need to succeed at a young age and open up their imaginations to the very real opportunities they can be afforded if they put their minds to it.

Typically, historical black colleges and universities like Delaware State, attracted students who were raised in an environment where going to college wasn't the next natural step after high school.

The teachers were focused on helping these students. The students benefited from hands-on teaching and a faculty who cared about them and their success in life and soon the students began to believe in themselves and the reality that they could make something of their lives.

Ensuring a bright future for all our children is the responsibility of the community, the schools, families and like it or not- politicians as well.

Upon arriving, meeting their teachers and signing up for classes, these students began to realize that their attendance at Delaware State University was not a goal achieved, but rather a dream being sewn - a first step, if you will.

When Delaware State University was founded in 1890, it was not by choice, but by social reality.