Ketwana Schoos Speaks at Annual MLK Convocation; ‘We Are Only as Strong as Our Roots’

A woman in a black and white patterned shirt with a red rose smiles as she stands behind a podium that reads “Albion College.” A microphone is positioned in front of her and a spotlight illuminates a circle behind her.
Ketwana Schoos, vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for the Community College of Allegheny County, gives her keynote speech for the MLK Convocation. Schoos, an Albion native, said her upbringing taught her that “we are only as strong as our roots” (Photo by Bella Bakeman).

Family and community are often cited as integral parts of who people are, and who they grow up to become. That’s certainly true for Community College of Allegheny County’s Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Ketawana Schoos. 

Schoos gave the keynote address titled “We Are Only as Strong as Our Roots” at this year’s annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation and Community Celebration, 62 years after King’s historic visit to Albion’s Goodrich Chapel.

As an Albion native, Schoos said she would not be where she is today without her hometown community.

“We are only as strong as our roots,” Schoos said. “I am grateful for everyone in this city who planted a seed that turned into trees for me, even though they themselves may not benefit from the shade.”

Director of the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service Eddie Visco said the institute plays a role in bringing the college and the Albion community together for the event. 

“It’s important to recognize the legacy of Dr. King and the work we still need to do to make sure that we have an equitable, just and diverse community,” Visco said in an interview before the event. “We wanted to not focus specifically on the community within the quad, but the community beyond the quad.” 

A man in a blue and white stripe suit and a woman in a grey and black jacket make Greek symbols with their hands. The woman is smiling at the camera, and the man’s arm is around her.
Schoos and Taran McZee, Albion’s vice president for belonging and culture, posed for a photograph at a “Meet the Greeks” event at Central Michigan University, where they both met as students. In an interview before the event, McZee said, “We’ve both worked in higher education our whole careers and just stayed in touch over the years” (Photo by Bella Bakeman).

In an interview prior to the convocation, Vice President for Belonging and Culture Taran McZee said he agreed with Visco that the college’s relationship with the town is important.

“I commend the city and the college for coming together to do programs like this,” McZee said.  “I think we should probably do more.”

‘Community Love’  

As a first-generation college student, Schoos said in an interview before the event that she leaned on her family and community, and that “it takes a village,” citing Albion as a place where “respect, kindness and getting to know people for who they are,”  were central values.

“We just treated people like people,” Schoos said. “There wasn’t that additional barrier of the kind of things that keep people separated today. It was just about community love.”

At the event, Schoos said she still has a bag full of cards from her high school graduation, which have encouraging words written on them by her community.  She added that when she was in college, these cards “provided the comfort of home” for her.

“I still go to that bag to be watered when life is lifin’ to remind me that I have an entire community behind me cheering me on,” Schoos said.  

 On the left side of the photograph, a woman illuminated by a spotlight stands pointing at a projector screen filled with various images of family and friends. On the right side of the screen, there is a shadow from a sign language interpreter, illuminated by a spotlight.
Schoos points at a collage filled with photographs of her family, friends and supporters, many of which were in the audience (Photo by Bella Bakeman).

‘Education Changes Lives’

Mae Ola Dunklin, education chair for the Albion’s NAACP and Albion College trustee, said in a speech at the event that “education changes lives.” One thing Schoos said she knew she could control growing up was her education.

“No matter what was going on around me, I always endeavored to ask questions, study hard, pay attention and do my very best in school,” Schoos said at the event. “This seed was planted by my parents, but blossomed for me in sixth grade after a chance encounter.”

Schoos said that before today’s electronic report cards, students used to receive them in the hallways. Her assistant superintendent, upon seeing that Schoos had received all A’s, told her, “Excellent job. If you keep it up, you’ll be valedictorian of your high school class.” 

Schoos said she wrote down the word “valedictorian” and looked it up in her dictionary when she got home that night. She said that learning its meaning gave her a goal to strive for. She would go on to become one of the seven valedictorians of her class – upon saying this at the event, the crowd cheered loudly. 

“One person, one positive, empowering comment, can change your life,” Schoos said.

‘The Time is Always Right to Do What is Right’

To “Albion’s next generation of leaders,” Schoos said at the event that “the time is now.” She added that “our country is at a crossroads of retreating back into a time and social climate that King and other civil rights leaders gave their lives to overcome.” 

“The Albion I remember provided the opportunity to be respectfully curious about other cultures, traditions, heritages or ways of life,” Schoos said. “Our differences should be celebrated, not politicized or weaponized. As Dr. King often said, ‘the time is always right to do what is right.’” 

King’s imagining of an integrated America is something that Schoos believes we could be closer to achieving if more people experienced community access and could witness “people getting along, supporting one another, caring about education and access to health care and economic opportunities.”

In an interview before the event, Schoos said these experiences needed to be accessible “for everybody, not just for some,” adding, “that was the Albion I grew up in.”

She said that the integration of these experiences in the United States could create communities where people “come together from the commonality of humanity.”

In an interview before the event, Schoos said she had advice for Albion College students about the impression they can have on the youth of the community. 

“Whenever you can get out into the community, just to tell your story and so that the youth here can see the possibilities,” Schoos said. “See more than just the downtown, and when there’s opportunities, go out and inspire the youth.”

About Heidi Faramelli 22 Articles
Heidi Faramelli is a junior and is double majoring in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies. She's from Angola, Indiana. She finds joy in telling people-centered stories and giving the outspoken a platform to tell their stories. Contact Heidi via email at HKF10@albion.edu.

1 Comment

  1. Excellent article, Heidi!
    As a former English teacher, I say to you, “You done good, kid!”
    Love you….Grandma Sheila

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*