What is black excellence?

What is your definition of black excellence? Is it the 93 I scored on an exam in a 500 level computer engineering course? Or is it the successfully coded homework for computer algorithms or the homework for artificial intelligence that my professor graded with a smiley face? Is black excellence getting a B+ on an exam I didn't study for, an A+ on computer programming II, or graduating magma cum laude? Perhaps, it is rising to the role of VP?

If those resonate with you, then let me tell you about my first Physics exam. My first Physics exam in college could vote and buy cigarettes but not alcohol. It was the first time since eight grade interim reports that I had scored lower than a B+. And that's because in the chaos following hurricane Hugo, my teacher and I disagreed about an extension for an assignment. So naturally I dropped that class.

But then I proceeded to attend every class session and the professor's office hours for the rest of the semester. I attended class when I was tired and when others skipped. I attended the class and I studied for and took every exam. I stayed in the course even when the professor, aptly named Dr. Data, asked me why was I still coming to class since I wasn't on his official roster, and even after he asked "if it was fair to use his office hours for someone not enrolled in the class." In my mind, Physics was required, so Physics would be mastered.

By the next semester, my first exam grade made others curse, blew the curve, and was a few points shy of perfect. I kept attending class and office hours, finished with all A's on nearly every exam, and never looked back. It taught me so many lessons, including:

• Setbacks are never the end unless you decide that they are
• If you don't like the result, do something about it
• If you want it bad enough, do the work— all of it
• Don't let discouragement and detractors stop you
• Hard work is always rewarded (that might not be with an A or B or even a C, but the reward is there)
• Reaching the goal may not be easy, but if it is the dream and it is God's will it can be done
• Try again and again
• Detours and delays are apart of the process

Looking back, that 19 made me question a lot about myself, a lot about how hard I was willing to work, and a lot about who I let have a say in my dreams and future. A lot about who gets to say I can or cannot. And a lot about whose voice do I listen to, the world or the God who created and rules the world. It also helped me find a gear for new levels of greatness, and to realize that I always have a choice in my success. Look, the world is always lining up to tell you what you can't do, but ask yourself who are they to tell you that you can't do what God has said you can do.

And, you will have to remind yourself of this over and over again, and remind yourself about God's grace over and over.

As for that 93 I scored on an exam in a 500 level computer engineering course, I never finished the course. The material was boring, the challenge wasn't there, and the course wasn't required. As for the other accolades and future accomplishments, do you think they would have happened if I hadn't experienced the detour in Physics and learned how to dig deeper?

To me, the dogged refusal to quit, that's Black excellence.