N.C. A&T Set to Graduate Record Number for Spring Commencement; Journalist, Author, Attorney Sunny Hostin to Keynote

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 21, 2022) – Recording consecutive yearly increases of graduating students, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will continue the trend for its Spring 2022 Commencement ceremony where 1,811 students have applied for graduation, representing a 13 percent increase over the past year, totaling more than 3,000 for the 2021-22 academic year. The university will welcome three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, attorney and co-host of ABC’s “The View,” Sunny Hostin, as the keynote speaker.

One ceremony will be held for both undergraduate and graduate students Saturday, May 14, at 8:30 a.m. in person at Greensboro Coliseum. Tickets are not required to attend.

Originally from South Bronx, New York, Hostin developed a longstanding commitment to social justice at a young age. Growing up as the daughter of biracial parents, she faced the pressures of poverty and police harassment, and experienced firsthand the insidious workings of systemic racism. After graduating from Notre Dame Law School, Hostin began her career as an appellate law clerk and went on to become a trial attorney for the Justice Department and a federal prosecutor.

During her time as Assistant U.S. Attorney, Hostin was awarded the “Special Achievement Award” by Attorney General Janet Reno for her prosecution of child sexual predators.

A gifted storyteller, Hostin’s impressive depth of knowledge carries over to politics and the criminal justice system. She has brought clarity and context to some of the biggest stories of the past decade, including incisive political analysis of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent presidency, the college admissions scandal, the George Zimmerman trial, unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, and the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

In May 2020, Hostin and a group of Black female activists penned an authoritative op-ed for The Washington Post urging presidential candidate Joe Biden to select a Black female vice-presidential candidate, ultimately predicting his selection of Kamala Harris. She has won two Emmys for her work as a correspondent for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and one for her work as a correspondent for the ABC News Special, “The President and the People.” 

Hostin’s debut book, “I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds,” features an introspective look into the challenges she faced while being raised by teenage parents in housing projects, the many obstacles she overcame to become a federal prosecutor and her ultimate path to becoming an incredibly successful television journalist.

In May 2021, Hostin released her novel, “Summer on the Bluffs,” the first of her upcoming three-book fiction series. Drawing from elements of her own story, the book chronicles the escapades of a talented Afro-Latina lawyer with her godsisters in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the most exclusive Black beach community in the country. She founded Sunny Hostin Productions, which will adapt the trilogy into a television series partnered with Octavia Spencer’s production company, Orit Entertainment.

An inescapable presence from the top echelons of news and entertainment, Hostin continues to use her platform to advocate for and give a voice to the marginalized.

Media interested in covering commencement should submit a request for credentials to Jackie Torok, director of media relations, via jtorok@ncat.edu. Please note that requests do not indicate automatic credential approval.