Michael Perkins had a special understanding of the thoughts running through the minds of the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) graduating student at the University College Graduation Ceremony on May 7.
He was sitting right where they are just one year ago when he finished the BGS program himself, completing a life goal that was about 50 years in the making. At the time, Perkins emphasized that crossing one finish line wasn’t the end for him — “this degree is a comma, not a period,” a message he shared with the 2026 graduates.
“I took too long to get here, but now that I’ve got the train running, I’m far from being done,” said Perkins, who will be the Alumni Speaker at the University College Graduation Ceremony this year. “I’m at a point in my life that it’s no longer about a career or financial stability, it’s for the educational experience in a field of study I’m genuinely interested in. I’ve waited long enough — I’m doing this for me, I’m doing it for the ancestors, I’m doing it for those whose shoulders I stand on.”
In the year since graduation, Perkins has made good on that promise to himself.
“While I’m taking courses as a non-matriculated student for the time being, those classes (offered by Temple’s Department of Africology and African American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts) are the basis for a master’s degree in African American Studies,” he said. “It’s definitely challenging, but it is going well — I say to my friends I’m in the deep water now. I’d say I’m more comfortable now staying ahead of the work rather than taking it one day at a time — I spend a lot of time in the Charles Library.”
Perkins’ ambitions at the time of graduation to become “a mentor or a tutor” have also come to fruition. He has served as Mentorship Coordinator with the Lemuel G. Googins Lodge, supporting students at James A. Rhoads Elementary School. He has additionally promoted access to postsecondary learning as a Community Engagement Ambassador with Graduate Philadelphia, helping adult learners navigate resources, return to school and achieve their own educational goals. It was with Graduate Philadelphia that Perkins’ own journey back to the classroom got its start.
“I knew I wanted to go back to school so we explored my options. I had gone to Temple previously for communications at one point and computers through the Fox School of Business at another — it seemed to be the best option to get to the finish line,” he said. “I had worked for the City of Philadelphia for 22 years in the court system as a Deputy Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions. When I decided to fully retire in January 2024, I was working for Amtrak. Then I began the Bachelor of General Studies program in the fall of 2024.”
Perkins’ commitment to lifelong learning earned him an Adult Learner of the Year Award from Graduate Philadelphia.
“When I was on that stage and speaking to the audience, as with all things as I move forward, it came from my heart. It’s interesting, the location where that program took place — Girard College — has its own history in the Black community,” he said. “I lived in the same community and that was the first time I had ever been on campus. Members of my family were instrumental in the initial march around the walls of Girard College for admission of the first Black students — it holds a place in my heart, which I highlighted in my speech.”
Family is never far from Perkin’s mind when he talks about his own educational pursuits. He was motivated to return to the classroom, Perkins said, “by the people around me and what I could be in my community once I achieved this goal.”
“While college may not be for everyone, I do believe it’s something that needs to be encouraged and students need to be given the proper motivation as early as elementary school and junior high — it needs to be nurtured over a process of years. Speaking from an African American point of view, we should believe that college is an option for all of us and something we should pursue because if we don’t take advantage of it, the opportunity isn’t going to be there for you,” he said. “My nieces and nephew are examples of this — my sister raised them well and they are all graduating from college. I started college before them, but they all finished before me, so I did this in part to show them that Uncle Mike went to college too and he graduated from college as well.”
That speech at Girard College and the talk he will give to the BGS graduates on May 7, he said, “bring into focus — just as graduation did — the journey that I’ve traveled, the places I’ve been and the people I’ve met, and that includes the people at Graduate Philadelphia and University College because they are all a part of that journey now.”
Perkins said being chosen Alumni Speaker for the 2026 University College Graduation Ceremony is something had had both hoped for “and sort of anticipated.”
“It means a lot to be recognized this soon after graduation. It brings a tear to my eye as I think about it, because it’s been a long journey,” he said. “It has been defeating at times, but it has also been very rewarding. I find strength in perseverance — perseverance is what this whole life thing is all about.”
There is “no handbook on how to live life,” Perkins said.
“We have influences around us, the people that are there to guide us, but ultimately it’s our life to live and figure out. It’s a journey, it’s trial and error, and what works for me might not work for someone else,” he said. “I do want to try to help other avoid some of the pitfalls and problems I encountered along the way.”
Perkins said he is gratified that Temple “believes that my experiences are worthy of being shared with a large audience.”
“Hopefully I’m able to motivate at least one person in that room. The message I want to share is that that we need to understand that we are all part of a process — God places us here for a reason and purpose; you have to live out your purpose, whatever it is,” he said. “We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, so it is our responsibility to provide that same foundation for future generations. In the difficult times that we live in, why can’t we just try to get along. Why can’t we just try to make things a little better for everyone — let’s go out and make things a little better than we found it.”
The Bachelor of General Studies is designed for learners with prior college and at least sixty transferable credits who are ready to complete their undergraduate degree. The 120-credit bachelor’s program focuses on creating a solid foundation for a wide variety of careers and it allows students the opportunity to customize their degree path. Learn more about the Bachelor of General Studies here.