Vikki and Anthony Daniel’s daughter Ashtyn Aaliyah Daniel was among 279 seniors receiving diplomas at Commencement on Friday, May 19. They wrote the following letter to President Daniel Coleman the next day; it has been gently edited for length.

It appears that our daughter Ashtyn was destined to be a BSC graduate, dating back to third grade.

The story begins with a class field trip from Prattville to Birmingham with her third-grade teacher, Karen Ballard Cooper ’94, who arranged for BSC to be part of that day. Unknowingly to us at the time, this is where Ashtyn would get her college education. During Ashtyn’s junior year in high school, we began college visits, primarily focused on in-state schools, with BSC as one of the schools on her list. After seeing the clock tower on our walk around campus, it dawned on me that this was the school we visited during the third-grade field trip.

Marylise Bridges – a classmate on that same third-grade field trip – also decided to attend BSC, and became our daughter’s roommate. We can only believe this was divine intervention.

We were joyfully surprised to see how our daughter gravitated to college life. We saw her take on activities we thought she would never be interested in. She experienced Greek life, an assortment of extracurricular activities, and participated in programs such as Honor Council, Quest II, Writing Center tutor, and the Orientation Team. She did this all while maintaining a near 4.0 GPA, culminating with her graduating Summa Cum Laude in 3 years. As you can imagine, we are very proud of her achievements, but believe the BSC environment and professors were at the core of maximizing her potential.

There were two opportunities that were significant in her growth during college: out-of-state and international travel. The time she spent during summer 2022 on a Hess Fellows Advocacy Internship at the General Board of Church and Society in Washington, D.C., allowed her to work in an atmosphere where she could see the challenges being faced in the United States and abroad. The research paper she prepared — “The Relationship Between Black Women and Homelessness” – during this internship revealed to us her deep understanding of complex, real-world situations. Likewise, she experienced navigating the metropolitan area of Washington D.C. Within a short period of time, she mastered the DC Metro and the notorious traffic in and around the Beltway.

A trip to Italy during the 2023 e-Term was a once-in-a-lifetime event. As the child of a military retiree, I (her dad) had the opportunity to be stationed in Germany, many years before I met and married her mom, Vikki. I always told my children that going overseas was a life changing event for me that I hope one day they could experience. We were so thankful that she was able to travel to Italy to see places most Americans dream about. These two events provided the opportunity for her to grow as an adult woman learning to navigate the world around her.

The graduation events topped off a wonderful college experience for our family. From the capping event, BSC Award Ceremony, Senior Seminar presentations in Dr. Amy Cottrill’s department, Baccalaureate service and finally graduation day, each activity substantiated our belief that we chose the right school for our daughter.

We want to express special thanks to Dr. Cottrill for nurturing our daughter’s education journey, especially during this last semester, and for helping her find a path to graduate in three years. She also provided our daughter valuable insight on future opportunities. And we offer special thanks to Campus Police Officer Leotis Frazier. From the very first time we came on campus, he was always delightful and fun to talk to. He is a Navy veteran and would always rib me for being an Air Force veteran. We will miss seeing these individuals.

We know that some schools in the South have a checkered past when it comes to race relations, as mentioned in Dr. Pamela Venz’s commencement address to the graduating class. As parents of a Black female, we were sensitive to the complexities our daughter could experience as a minority student at a predominately white Christian college. BSC did not give us any reason to worry in this area. Although our daughter was the only black student to receive special recognition at this year’s graduation as a Summa Cum Laude graduate, we believe her representation shows others that at BSC hard work can and will be rewarded. These opportunities are available to all regardless of race, creed, or sexual orientation.

We leave with a greater appreciation of the BSC alma mater, “Forward, Ever!”