Philanthropist and comedian Bill Cosby today urged graduates of Miles College to make their own business opportunities as they prepare to enter a workforce that has been negatively impacted by the economy.
“You don’t have to work for anyone,” Cosby told graduates at the ceremony held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex arena. “Think about what is needed in your neighborhoods and go about your entrepreneurial self.”
Miles, located in Fairfield, shifted its commencement from the Boutwell Auditorium to the BJCC because the Boutwell currently is being used to shelter storm victims.
Cosby, who spent Friday surveying tornado damage, also asked that graduates look for ways to help the survivors of the April 27 storms that ravaged the state. “Work it, rebuild it,” he said of the devastated communities. “This is Alabama, this is you.”
Miles College Senior Class President FoloShade Weems said the gift bestowed by this year’s graduating class to the college will be a donation for tornado relief efforts.
