ENGLEWOOD — Kennedy-King College’s valedictorian, 39-year-old Dontea Williams, credits the school for preparing him for the next chapter in his life. For him and other graduates of City Colleges of Chicago, that next chapter will be marked by a special visit from the rapper Common on Saturday.
The hip-hop artist and recent Academy Award winner has been selected as speaker for the graduation ceremony, which will be held at the UIC Pavilion, 525 S. Racine Ave. at noon.
Williams, a Roseland resident, said he has been a Common fan since the South Side native came on the entertainment scene.
“It was exciting to hear he was going to be the speaker for the graduation,” he said, adding that Common was an excellent choice because of his passion for education and his work in the community.
“A lot of people can relate, especially young guys, with him being a rapper and Academy Award winner, he brings a lot to the table so I think it was a good choice,” Williams said.
After being out of school for nearly 20 years, Williams said that Kennedy-King has helped him move forward with his life. He is graduating with an associate's degree in applied science in air conditioning and refrigeration, and he will attend the Illinois Institute of Technology in the fall, where he will major in industrial facilities and industrial sustainability.
His goal is to create his own sustainability consulting firm.
“Kennedy-King gave me the confidence to continue on in school because before I went there, I wasn’t really sure [I could do it],” he said.
“I was a little scared to go into the classroom. I didn’t know if I still had the brains to make it, or the intelligence to make it through a classroom environment.”
Williams, who is graduating with a 4.0 grade point average, always has been smart. He was accepted into Whitney Young’s gifted program in seventh grade, but school couldn’t hold his attention, which is why he said he dropped out of high school at 17 during his junior year.
“I was hardheaded and didn’t want to act right, so I stayed there for like a year and then I [eventually] dropped out of high school,” Williams said.
Thanks to the carpentry skills his grandfather passed down to him and his brother, Williams didn’t have a problem getting a job. He worked with a local management company doing maintenance work on three- to four-story buildings. When the recession hit, he was laid off, and that’s when he was ready to go back to school. He was 37 then.
Offering nontraditional college students such as Williams a second chance is what Kennedy-King is all about, said Kristy Lisle, vice president of Academic Affairs.
She said the average student age at the college is 32, and faculty and staff like to use a “high-touch approach” with students.
“When I say ‘high-touch,’ it’s not just you’re a number, or you’re standing in line and we greet you, but we are seeking them, we know who they are, we notice when they’re not there,” Lisle said.
“That’s what is needed to make that difference, to show that we care about them, we believe in them and we know they can do it.”
Williams said that attending Kennedy-King helped him restore faith in himself.
When he meets Common Saturday, along with a select group of other graduates, he said he doesn’t have any particular questions in mind, but that it will just be nice to say “hello.”
Chancellor Cheryl Hyman said in a news release that she wants the graduates to not only celebrate, but “dream big.”
“As someone who grew up on the South Side of Chicago and has gone on to great success, Common will share a relatable and inspiring story with our graduates,” she said.
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