{"id":1058,"date":"2009-02-09T23:12:53","date_gmt":"2009-02-10T05:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2014-09-23T08:41:17","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T13:41:17","slug":"honorscolinpowell020909","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/honorscolinpowell020909\/","title":{"rendered":"Colin Powell Reflects on America’s Progress, Advises Students to ‘Give Back’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"rkj?1138-c.jpg\"<\/p>\n
\nColin Powell makes a point during his public address Monday evening at the University of Mississippi as Chancellor Robert Khayat and Jim Barksdale watch from the stage of the Ford Center.<\/b> UM photo by Robert Jordan.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

OXFORD,Miss. – Like many Americans, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin L.
\nPowell was overcome with emotion when Barack Obama won the 2008
\npresidential election.<\/p>\n

“It hit me like an electric shock,”
\nPowell said Monday evening at the University of Mississippi. “I had to
\nsit down and I started to cry. One thought came to me: He did it.
\nPeople said he wouldn’t do it, but he did it.”<\/p>\n

Powell visited
\nthe university Monday evening to deliver a public address to more than
\n1,200 students and members of the Ole Miss community at the Gertrude C.
\nFord Center for the Performing Arts. His speech, “A World of
\nOpportunity and Challenge,” coincided with the spring convocation for
\nthe UM Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and with Black History
\nMonth.
\n

During his visit, Powell had dinner with 20 honors students in Tim Nordstrom’s American Foreign Policy class. The students discussed foreign policy with Powell before his speech.<\/p>\n

“This represents a chance for the students to meet and discuss U.S. foreign policy with someone who has been a very integral part of recent U.S. foreign policy,” said Nordstrom, associate professor of political science.<\/p>\n

Powell also sat down with a group of UM student leaders who have been involved in Black History Month events across campus to answer their questions on foreign policy. The discussion was led by Graham Purcell, senior political science major and president of the Associated Student Body, and Brittany Smith, senior chemistry major and president of the Black Student Union.<\/p>\n

“I’ve met some very wonderful and accomplished students today here at Ole Miss,” Powell said, noting that this was his first visit to the campus. “It’s a beautiful place, with a beautiful history. (America) is changing, and nowhere is that more the case than at Ole Miss.”<\/p>\n

Before Powell’s speech, Honors College Dean Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez presented the 2009 Barksdale Awards to Vince Chamblee and Mary Maher. Each winner receives $5,000 in scholarship money. Chamblee, son of Tommy and Rita Chamblee, is a junior economics, public policy leadership and accountancy major from Fulton. Maher, a junior English major from Gulfport, is the daughter of Brian and Barbara Maher. As both students are studying abroad, their fathers accepted the awards.<\/p>\n

\n\"skb?0975-aapr.jpg\"<\/p>\n
\nFormer U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks Monday night at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Powell addressed more than 1,200 University of Mississippi students and members of the Ole Miss community for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College’s spring convocation and as part of the university’s observance of Black History Month.<\/b>\u00a0 UM photo by Kevin Bain.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College was created in 1997 with a gift from Jim and Sally Barksdale. Barksdale, former Netscape Communications CEO and an Ole Miss alumnus, introduced Powell to the crowd. “(Powell) is the embodiment of the American dream,” Barksdale said.<\/p>\n

In his address, Powell covered a number of issues. He spoke on the state of the economy, changes he faced after stepping down as Secretary of State and the presidential election. He also discussed race issues in the United States. The world he observes today is a very different one from what he remembers.<\/p>\n

“I’ve risen to the top of my profession, not because of the color of my skin,” he said. “We still have a long way to go, but we have come a long way.”<\/p>\n

While highlighting challenges facing the world, Powell’s message was an uplifting one. “You are entering a world with enormous opportunities. I don’t want you to believe we are leaving you in a world of chaos,” he said to the students. “America still remains the leader of the world who wants to be free.”<\/p>\n

Powell saved his biggest piece of advice for students until the end of his speech.<\/p>\n

“Make sure that when you leave this place, you don’t forget the obligation you have to give back,” he said. “Give back to your community, give back to your nation and above all, give back to Ole Miss.”<\/p>\n

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Colin Powell makes a point during his public address Monday evening at the University of Mississippi as Chancellor Robert Khayat and Jim Barksdale watch from the stage of the Ford Center. UM photo by Robert Jordan. OXFORD,Miss. – Like many Americans, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was overcome with emotion when BarackRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nColin Powell Reflects on America's Progress, Advises Students to 'Give Back' - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/honorscolinpowell020909\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colin Powell Reflects on America's Progress, Advises Students to 'Give Back' - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Colin Powell makes a point during his public address Monday evening at the University of Mississippi as Chancellor Robert Khayat and Jim Barksdale watch from the stage of the Ford Center. 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