Daymond John, founder of the fashion brand FUBU and one of the celebrity investors, or "Sharks," on the TV reality series "Shark Tank," is featured speaker for Georgia Southern's university-wide commencement ceremony Saturday.
The 9 a.m. ceremony is being held at Allen E. Paulson Stadium on the Statesboro campus for graduates of all eight of the university's subject-area colleges. No tickets are required for this ceremony, which is in effect open to the public.
"Daymond John is a dynamic business speaker with over 20 years of hands-on proven business experience," Carl L. Reiber, Georgia Southern's provost and vice president for academic affairs, said in the speaker announcement earlier this year. "His pragmatic advice resonates with everyone. He has a relatable story and journey to success that continues to both motivate and inspire."
Many business news and mass media outlets have reported that John started FUBU with just $40, sometimes with the added detail that he and a few friends used his mother's sewing machine to make the original FUBU hats. The brand, whose initials stand for "For Us, By Us," reportedly grew to global sales of $6 billion.
On ABC's "Shark Tank," John has been part of the panel of celebrity investors, who attempt to make deals with start-up entrepreneurs who pitch their ideas, since the show launched in 2009. John is also a New York Times best-selling author and a motivational speaker. In 2013, President Barack Obama appointed him a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.
Besides hearing John speak and seeing Freedom the bald eagle fly, graduates from each of Georgia Southern's eight colleges will stand as a group for the collective, ceremonial conferral of degrees.
College ceremonies
But the calling of individual graduates' names for them to walk and receive their diploma covers will occur at eight separate, college-specific ceremonies, five at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro and three at the Savannah Convention Center, at different times Friday and Saturday.
The locations of the college ceremonies follow from whether the college is headquartered in Savannah or Statesboro, although all of the colleges have students in both cities. Deans of the colleges will lead these ceremonies.
Holding ceremonies at Hanner Fieldhouse will be the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at 9:30 a.m. Friday; the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing at 1 p.m. Friday; the College of Science and Mathematics at 4 p.m. Friday; the College of Arts and Humanities at 1 p.m. Saturday; and the Parker College of Business at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Holding ceremonies in the Savannah Convention Center will be the Waters College of Health Professions at 9:30 a.m. Friday; the College of Education at 1 p.m. Friday; and the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at 4 p.m. Friday.
No tickets are required for the college-specific ceremonies, either. The university is providing bus transportation between Statesboro and Savannah for students who made advance requests and their guests to attend ceremonies in the other city.
About 4,000 Georgia Southern students are eligible to receive degrees this week, including bachelors' and graduate degrees. About 2,000 are expected to participate in the university-wide ceremony at Paulson Stadium, the university's Communications and Marketing office stated Monday.
Freedom's flight will occur if weather permits, but other aspects of the ceremony at the stadium are scheduled to occur rain or shine.
For more information on the ceremonies, visit www.georgiasouthern.edu/commencement.