Medical pioneer to SC State grads: ‘Believe in your abilities.’

The university conferred over 140 undergraduate and graduate degrees on Friday at its Fall 2023 Commencement.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – With four degrees from four universities under his belt, Dr. Fabien McGill is ready to transform young lives as the principal of a new charter school in Orangeburg.

McGill received his Doctor of Education on Friday at South Carolina State University’s Fall 2023 Commencement as one of more than 140 graduates to cross the stage. His doctoral dissertation was “Covid-19’s Impact on the Achievement Gaps Between the 2019-2022 School Years for Elementary Students in English Language Arts & Mathematics.”

“It feels amazing. It’s a long dream come to reality,” McGill said after the ceremony in Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. “With the support of everybody around me, I was able to make it happen.”

McGill completed his undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston in 2016, followed by his master’s degree from the University of South Carolina and his Educational Specialist degree from Albany State University in Georgia before enrolling in SC State’s doctoral program.

“In the meantime, I’ve done some teaching, coaching and consulting, and administration, so now I’m opening up a school,” he said.

That school is the Willie Jeffries School of Excellence, a new charter school on Five Chop Road named for legendary former SC State football coach Willie Jeffries. McGill already serves as the school’s project director and will become its principal once it opens for the 2024-25 school year.

“I’ve got a lot of positivity going on right now,” he said of the opportunity to lead the school. “I can’t complain.”

He also had no complaints about the education he received in SC State’s Doctor of Education program.

“There were ample amounts of support. The professors and our advisers were reaching out to us making sure we were comfortable with everything,” McGill said., “If we needed anything, they would meet us at the library. I live in Columbia, and some of my professors would even meet me there.

“Honestly, I could not have asked for a better support system,” he said.

McGill was one of 53 students who received doctoral or master’s degrees in Friday’s ceremony. SC State also awarded 89 undergraduate degrees.

Among the undergrads was Asia Crump, who completed her bachelor’s degree in marketing after transferring from Winthrop University. She already had accepted a full-time position in Columbia and eventually plans to attend graduate school.

“Honestly, I feel like I have no worries,” Crump said. “I’m so happy to see my classmates graduate. I’m so thankful for South Carolina State -- all the faculty and staff who helped me get here, and all the supportive students. It really is a family here, and I know everyone says that, but it’s 100 percent true.

“I am so thankful for everyone I’ve met. It’s one of the best decisions of my life to come to SC State. I do not regret it one bit,” she said. “I’ve been afforded so many luxuries here that I was not getting at Winthrop. SC State is truly for the students. If you’re thinking of transferring, do it. Come here. This is the school to be at.”

Friday’s commencement address was delivered by Dr. Antoinette Williams Rutherford, a member of the SC State class of 1997 and a trailblazer in the medical field. Rutherford advised students to follow a “roadmap to success” to explore endless possibilities.

“As you move beyond these halls, remember the quest for knowledge does not end here. Learning is a lifelong journey, and to be successful, you need to continue to refine your skills, and always be open to growth,” she said.

Rutherford, medical director of adult sleep medicine at Prisma Health Midlands and interim division chief of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine at Prisma Health, told the graduates that during medical school, she experienced times of uncertainty and doubt. She found strength in a simple yet powerful mantra.

“Now graduates, I want you to repeat after me, ‘I can do it. Yes, I can. If I can’t do it, no one can,’” she said. “I want you to believe in yourselves, Bulldogs. When things seem overwhelming, and the shadows of doubt loom in those moments, I want you to say to yourself that you can do it.

“Believe in your abilities. Believe in your aspirations and your dreams. For if you don’t believe in yourself, who’s going to believe in you?” Rutherford said.

The doctor’s words were taken to heart by Jasmine Brown,  a Summerville, South Carolina, resident who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology on Friday. Brown was exploring various avenues for using her degree, including furthering her studies for nursing certifications and eventually graduate school.

“The speaker was very inspiring because I consider myself following a path that she followed,” Brown said. “I’m going to dip feet my feet into everything and see what I like the most.”

Brown’s collegiate experience was atypical, but she found a rock of strength from the faculty in staff in SC State’s Department of Biological and Physical Sciences (BAPS).  

“My story isn’t like most -- I had a baby my sophomore year,” Brown said. “The support I received from the BAPS department was amazing. I would not have been able to do this without that support from home and the people in BAPS.

“Growing up, I was always told, ‘SC State is a party school. You won’t get a good education here.’ I feel like my education here was amazing, and this was a home away from home. I wouldn’t change my four years here.”

And what would she say to students considering an education at SC State?

“It may seem difficult at first, but it’s worth it,” Brown said. “It’s nothing you can’t do.”

SC State also awarded honorary doctorates to four people who have supported the university in various endeavors:

• Diane E. Sumpter, Doctor of Humane Letters.
• Judge Clifton B. Newman, Doctor of Laws
• State Sen. Kent M. Williams, Doctor of Humane Letters.
•  State  Sen. Harvey S. Peeler Jr., Doctor of Humane Letters.