'You Must Be a Fighter in Life'

In Season of Endings, Boxing Champ Tells Parkdale Grads to Seize Beginnings

As Sugar Ray Leonard stood to address Parkdale High School's graduating class yesterday, it was remarkable to think how much had changed at the school since he had been in the students' shoes 36 years ago. The seated blocks of men in green gowns and women in gold reflected the new demographics of Prince George's County, with one student giving snippets of her speech in Spanish. All of them had passed a state testing regimen undreamed of when Leonard was a student.

And how many of the youngsters knew the trim, dignified 53-year-old before them was one of the greatest boxers to step into the ring? Most probably did not. The welterweight-middleweight's glory days came before they were born. But Leonard, Parkdale's most famous alumnus, plunged ahead, urging on the students like a skilled cornerman.

"You have so many doors and opportunities that are available to you that not succeeding is not acceptable," Leonard said. "You must be a fighter in life."

Graduation season is underway across the region for tens of thousands of seniors, and a number of exercises have attracted stars of politics, sports or the media. First lady Michelle Obama is one of the headliners, speaking at a public charter school this week in the District. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke yesterday to the graduating class of Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, in exercises held at DAR Constitution Hall.

Thomas agreed to speak after a chance meeting with two players from Quince Orchard's championship football team on an airplane. Defensive tackle Terrence Stephens and defensive end Jason Ankrah, both 18-year-old seniors, were returning from a scouting trip to the University of Nebraska. They struck up a friendship with Thomas, who turned out to be an ardent Nebraska fan, and the justice accepted an invitation to speak at the exercises. Thomas told Ankrah that he's done "probably three" previous high school graduation speeches.

Leonard's appearance at the Parkdale graduation was part of a day of festivities that began with a visit to Charles Carroll Middle School in New Carrollton, where the students greeted him with shrieks and cheers. A group of handpicked students in green polo shirts and khakis hit him with a flurry of questions about boxing, to which he responded with positive talk.

"Boxing is really a poor man's sport," he told the youngsters. "What happens if you don't have an education is you have nothing to fall back on. I'm known all over the world, and not just because I'm a great boxer, but because I can relate to anyone."

He carried that spirit to the Parkdale commencement at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland. When Leonard graduated in 1973, Parkdale was a mix of white and black students. Yesterday's 450-strong graduating class was thickly salted with Hispanic and African last names -- seven students named Flores, five named Hernandez and an Odunlami, Ogunnubi, Ogunsanwo, Ohikhueme and Ojinmah, among others. As speakers and the students also proudly noted, they were part of the first class to pass the High School Assessments, a new state testing program requiring students to show skill in algebra, biology, English and government.

But for all the differences between Leonard's Class of 1973 and the Class of 2009, the timeless ceremony took place as it always has.

The class marched into the arena to the sound of "Pomp and Circumstance" and yelling from relatives in the stands. Speakers offered encouraging words about opportunity and seizing the day, and the students received their diplomas to hearty cheers. After pirouetting across the stage, they streamed out of the arena and into the arms of their families.

"I did it! I did it!" cried Lemika Cheek, running outside with her gold gown flowing behind her.

"I'm so proud of you!" her mother, Michelle Cheek said, embracing her.

"Oh, I am so happy," Michelle said. "She matured a whole lot. She became a beautiful young lady."

Staff writer Daniel de Vise contributed to this report.