ATLANTA — Morris Brown College’s first class of students since the school regained accreditation is about to graduate. They’re being called the “Restoration Class.”
Senior Faith Shamley is from Atlanta.
And after going to college in 2019, and not staying long, a few years later, Morris Brown seemed like the right place to try college again.
It was also her grandfather’s alma mater.
“I always say that my experience at Morris Brown has been life-changing,” Shamley said.
Shamley will graduate with a 3.9 GPA and has been accepted to Ivy League school Columbia University’s graduate program for nonprofit management.
She told Channel 2’s Lori Wilson that her small class size and the attention she got from her professors made all the difference.
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“She was one of the first students to enroll in MBC in 2022 when we regained our accreditation,” Morris Brown College President Dr. Kevin James said.
James calls Shamley and her 91 fellow spring grads the “Restoration Class.”
He called Shamley to congratulate her when he learned she was headed to the Ivy Leagues.
“We are excited about the student success here at Morris Brown. This is what a resurgence and a comeback look like,” James said.
“The president knows me by name; he knows all the other students by name. You’re not going to get that at any other college. So, it’s just a really, really special place to be,” Shamley said.
Shamley will head to New York in September.
As for how she’ll pay for her New York experience, she’s still working on it.
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