Cheyney Graduate to Participate in ESPN’s Virtual “The Undefeated” HBCU Day Celebrating the Class of 2020
(CHEYNEY, PA – May 22, 2020) This Saturday, May 23, The Undefeated, ESPN’s content platform focused on the intersections of sports, race and culture will present The Undefeated HBCU Day, a virtual celebration of the Class of 2020. Along with messages from prominent African Americans including former President Barack Obama, Cheyney University’s Arynn Pratt, representing this year’s graduating class will deliver a special inspirational message on www.TheUndefeated.com.
Former President Barack Obama headlines a list of prominent African Americans who will deliver congratulatory and inspirational messages to this year’s HBCU graduates. Others include Grammy Award-winning artist Toni Braxton, actor Omar Epps, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, The Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, and more.
“Arynn is a very bright young lady and has represented Cheyney exceptionally well during her matriculation,” said Cheyney University President Aaron A. Walton. “She was recommended as valedictorian by Cheyney Provost Kizzy Morris and I immediately approved. We cannot wait to see her join the national stage with so many prominent African Americans.”
“Being named valedictorian for the Class of 2020 at the first HBCU was quite a shock. I am humbled and grateful to God to represent Cheyney University in such a way,” Pratt said. “Considering the COVID-19 quarantine took away the second half of my final semester and caused our graduation ceremony to be delayed until later this year, I was trying to find something to be excited about. This definitely did it!”
Pratt has dual degrees in Psychology (BA) and Biology/Pre-Medicine (BS), completed requirements for two degrees in four years, starting in the 2016 fall semester. She took at least 21 credits each semester for the past three semesters averaging a 4.0 for those semesters. During her junior year, Pratt was appointed to the Pennsylvania Board of Education to serve as a student representative to provide her perspective on policies that affect Pennsylvania students. She was awarded a Keystone Scholarship, which is given to academically gifted students and covers the full cost of their education at Cheyney.
Pratt also completed an internship with Atlantis in Ourense, Spain where she completed over 60 hours of AAMC-compliant, physician shadowing in various specialities. Now a graduate, she will continue her pursuit of becoming a medical doctor.
Utilizing the hashtag #UndefeatedHBCUDay, the virtual celebration will feature a collection of videos and written content shared all day across The Undefeated’s social accounts (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) and curated on www.TheUndefeated.com.
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About Cheyney – Founded in 1837, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is the nation’s oldest historically Black institution of higher education. Building on this legacy, the vision for Cheyney is to become the premier model for academic excellence, character development, and social responsibility among not only Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but in all of American higher education. The campus is located on 275 acres straddling Delaware and Chester Counties. Read more at www.cheyney.edu.
The Undefeated and HBCUs – The Undefeated is one of the leading media platforms providing insightful reporting and storytelling focused on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Stories about HBCUs are one of the featured content verticals on The Undefeated website. In addition, the ESPN sports, race and culture platform offers a Rhoden Fellowship, a one-year journalism internship program that identifies and trains aspiring African American journalists from HBCUs. During the academic year, the Fellows serve as correspondents covering sports and news at their respective campuses for The Undefeated’s HBCU vertical.