USI students, strangers share inspiration for attending inauguration

Anthony Payton has never met Dr. Ronald Rochon, but the way friends spoke of USI's new president was enough to convince Payton to take a road trip from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to attend his first collegiate inauguration.

"When people tell you that this is somebody that you need to know, that this is somebody that's going to be helpful for the educational aspiration of this University, you get in your car and you drive five hours to be a part of that history," Payton explained.

USI students had a much shorter trip to the new Screaming Eagles Arena but shared the same feeling-they wanted to be there to support their leader.

"It's a one-time thing. It's pretty important, so I feel like if you have the opportunity to go to it, you should take advantage of it," said Darius Payne '20, advertising.

"It's just something really cool to say that I was here," added Erin Lewis '19, accounting. "Dr. Rochon has done a really good job of bringing the community together, and I think this [inauguration] is kind of a testament to that. I think he's going to do a lot for this campus, and that's something I'm really looking forward to seeing."

Lewis, a USI tour guide, sees Rochon as a friendly father figure for the University. "He really genuinely cares about his students. He makes sure if he sees one of us out giving a tour, he'll stop and talk to the prospective students," she said. "It's almost like a dad role."

Ian Graves '20, mechanical engineering, knows exactly what Lewis means. "He would see me, say 'Hi,' stop me and make sure I come by his office. Or if I saw him at a certain event, he would always take his time to make sure I was having a good time and see how I was doing," Graves recalled.

Not only is Rochon making history as just the fourth president of the University of Southern Indiana, Graves, Payne and their friend, Stapha Silvester '20, mechanical engineering, say it means a lot that he is also the University's first African American president. "He's like a head figure and kind of like a goal," said Silvester. "If you want to be president, it shows you can be president."

"It gives us something to strive for, and it just shows us what we're doing here is going to pay off in the future," Payne said.

Though they are strangers, as an African American who grew up around the same time as Rochon, Anthony Payton already feels a bond between the two.

"There's a connection there, especially within this context of our country," Payton said. "I think that universities and schools and academia, in general, have to take the lead to show what this country really is supposed to be. And if that means choosing a qualified African American male to lead a university, let's do it. I think it sends a positive signal."

As anyone who has met him will tell you, Rochon is all about positivity, no matter what role he's in.