Friday, Feb. 5 was a historic day for Cal Poly Pomona (CPP)—it was the day we celebrated our first female and first African-American university president’s investiture. Dr. Soraya Coley stood in front of hundreds of CPP students, faculty, staff and alumni as she officially took on the role of our university’s sixth president.
In celebration, many Cal State University (CSU) officials, U.S. representatives and senators, past university presidents and much more came to congratulate Coley and lent words of wisdom to the excited audience. Here are a few of the most inspirational words we heard that day:

“This university is creating the next generation of leaders—leaders from which our world will be able to find a new sense of hope. The world is waiting.”
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Julian Herrera, Associated Students Inc. (ASI) president

“Your dreams are yours. Don’t let anyone sell you short.”
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Hilda Solis, CPP alumni and first Bronco to serve on a presidential cabinet

“Leadership isn’t about one person; it’s about all of us—the students, the faculty, the staff, the alumni. We are what leadership is about.”
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Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland

“It is easy to be powerful. What takes real courage is standing up for the powerless.”
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Lou Monville, chair of Board of Trustees for CSU

“We know that excellence requires inclusiveness and diversity, and we will take our rightful place as a polytechnic university with a global reach.”
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Soraya Coley, sixth president of Cal Poly Pomona

“The best is yet to come.”
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Timothy P. White, CSU chancellor

Do you feel ready to take on the world yet?! Let us know how excited you are about our new president using the hashtag #CampusCropChat on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and remember to follow us on Snapchat @asicpp for live updates on events like the CPP Presidential Investiture!

All photos courtesy of  Cal Poly Pomona