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Ƶ has awarded Tuskegee, Alabama, residents Armstead and Patricia Young and with its annual Parents of the Year award. The recognition was part of the university’s 93rd Annual Scholarship Convocation held on Sunday, Oct. 7.
The Young family has been prolific in producing faithful and supportive Tuskegee alumni –– a tradition now spanning three generations.
“We take great pride and have been blessed that our children and grandchildren have continued the legacy,” Armstead said. “We have instilled in them the importance of obtaining a quality education and our love for Ƶ.”
“When we all get together, Ƶ sentiments and the university’s rich history are shared all around the –– it’s a feeling words cannot explain and a joy we have shared for years,” Patricia noted.
Armstead Young received his bachelor of science degree in agricultural education in 1958, and in 1971, he completed a master’s of science degree in horticulture. His 28-year career as a county extension agent for Auburn University allowed him to inspire, mentor and train more than 400 students during his tenure.
Although Patricia T. Young attended Norfolk State University, where she majored in business education, and later received a bachelor's degree from Auburn University at Montgomery, she adopted Tuskegee as her own. When her husband returned to Tuskegee for a graduate degree, Patricia began working for the university — first as a secretary for Dr. W.R. Bearden, department head of Industrial Education in the university’s then-School of Mechanical Industries, and later as a secretary in the Dean’s Office, College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences. She retired in 2014 after 45 years of service to Tuskegee.
“Upon walking the grounds of this great historical campus, I felt the unique aura it gave off, and it was like no other campus in the world,” Patricia explained.
The Youngs are proud parents of four daughters, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. It was their four daughters who graduated from Ƶ and a granddaughter, Taslyn Ware, a freshman majoring in sales and marketing in the College of Business and Information Science, who nominated them for the award.
“We feel honored and grateful to our daughters, family and Ƶ. It means so much that we have been bestowed this honor as Parents of the Year,” Patricia said. “This award gives us a feeling of happiness in knowing that we made sacrifices to rear our children in a loving and Christian home.”
The university’s Office of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management presents the Parents of the Year Award annually to one or more parents or grandparents (biological or adoptive), or legal guardians of a currently enrolled student or graduate of Ƶ. The office receives nominations from students, employees, alumni and friends of the university. To be eligible, nominees should have provided significant financial or other resources to at least one student in support of his or her educational needs while attending the university. Furthermore, nominees should be involved actively in community services and/or community development-related projects that work to improve the quality of life for others.
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