History alumnus’ Harvard speech on college access goes viral

Donovan Livingston’s passion for college access was evident during his four years as a history student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Seven years after graduating from Carolina, that same passion led to a moving speech at the Harvard School of Education student commencement that has since gone viral. Livingston’s speech, focusing on diversity and education, reached more than 11 million views in less than a week.

A history student at Carolina, Livingston also was president of the Black Student Movement, vice president of Xi Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and a staff member of Project Uplift, which introduces the college experience to high school students. After graduating in 2009, he worked with the Carolina College Advising Corps as a college advisor at Dudley High School and Ben L. Smith High School in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Having earned his Master of Education in Teaching, Livingston plans on enrolling in a Ph.D program at UNC-Greensboro this fall.