The School of Global Journalism and Communication unveiled the Garden of Fame honoring alumnus’ April D. Ryan, Rochelle Stevens and Bill Rhoden on Oct. 5.

Many students and professors gathered to see the brightly colored orange plexiglass figures inscribed with the honoree’s stories on them, which were designed by students from the Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture and Planning department.

“We have this chance to reach back beyond the creation of our school but to the beginning of our program which comes out of our predecessor organization the Department of Communication Studies.” said DeWayne Wickham

The three individuals have all manufactured award-winning works in the communications profession.

Ryan is a remarkable journalist and author. She currently is a member of the White House Press Corps and a CNN analyst. In her interview she recounted feelings of nostalgia about her matriculation at Morgan State.

“I remember being you guys and being hungry for this and not knowing what I was gonna do.”

Ryan felt humbled to be honored at the Garden of Fame. She accredited a large portion of her success to two things; the grace of God and the teachings of the illustrious Morgan State University. Her closing remarks included advice to current Morgan students.

“Grab hold of everything, use everything that is accessible to you,” Said Ryan.

Stevens, an Olympic gold medalist, attended Morgan State on a full ride track scholarship. At the start of her writing career she was able to barely write a paragraph.

“My preparation, and tools, and professors here equipped me to be one of the best writers and great communicators,” said Stevens.

Throughout her career she has had over 35 contracts with fortune 500 companies. Dr. Stevens writes her contracts with skills she gained here at Morgan State.

Rhoden, an accredited sports journalist and award-winning columnist for the New York Times, continues to reach back and works with students through his Rhoden Fellowship Initiative.

According to The Undefeated, the Rhoden Fellowship is a two-year program for the next generation of sports journalists from historically black colleges and universities.

DeWayne Wickham, the dean of SGJC, explained that this garden should remind students to  “aspire to greatness and think of [themselves] as someone who can achieve their dreams.”