Little impacts that led to a big change

By Kyle Hobstetter on May 17, 2021

It was the first session of the 2019 summer orientation, and, as the orientation leaders introduced themselves, Onesimus “Oz” Asante ’21 was told to say something fun and clever to make a good impression.

When it was finally his turn, Asante went with the first thing that came into his head.

“When I say O, you say Z,” Asante said, going into a call-and-response chant with the incoming freshmen and their families. After three years as an orientation leader, students still recognize him because of that call and response.

“I went into my whole spiel, and it would always make people laugh,” Asante says. “A month ago, I was walking around campus, and someone stopped me and said, ‘You’re the guy who said ‘When I say O, you say Z’ at orientation. I never forgot you.’

“And I didn’t know who that guy was, but something that small can make an impact on somebody.”

It was small impacts that propelled Asante through four years at Towson University. When he was deciding on a college, the Montgomery Village, Maryland, native didn’t want to follow his sister to Towson University. He wanted to go to school in Virginia, closer to friends and family. But he didn’t want to upset his parents, so he enrolled at TU.

And he admits he had a terrible attitude about it.

“I didn't really do anything; I didn't care,” he laughs. “I'm a very outgoing person, but you couldn't tell, because I was just so quiet. I didn't talk to anybody. I told myself I was going to stay here for a semester and transfer. Every day was the same:” I went to class, went to Chick-fil-A and then back to my room.”

After a month, Asante was miserable. As he realized the term was going to seem much longer if he did nothing, he gave himself some advice: “Don’t be miserable. Do something.”

When he received an email inviting him to attend one of the Office of Student Activities’ one-day leadership programs, he decided to give it a shot. During this program, the participants sat down and listed goals for the rest of the term.

His was simple: Sign up for one thing. He ran for Towers Residence Hall Building Council president and won.

That role was his starting point. After that, he found other ways to get involved in the TU community. He joined the African Diaspora Club (ADC)—for which he now serves as president—became a resident assistant and participated in LeaderShape.

Probably the most surprising organization he joined was New Student and Family Programs, as an orientation leader and student director. Looking back at his four years at TU, even he can’t believe how he went from a freshman who couldn’t wait to transfer to spending three years telling incoming students how great TU is.

“Not in my wildest dreams would I have ever expected to be an orientation leader,” Asante laughs. “If I could go back and talk to myself, I would tell myself, ‘You’re going to be okay. Trust me, it’s a lot better than you think it is.’

“It’s mind boggling the way things work out and how doing that one thing will do so much for you. It really just created the mindset and those changes for me, and I’m really appreciative of everything and everybody here at TU, because ultimately it’s what made me love it so much.”

Those moments and experiences he gained helped him find another calling—mentoring younger students.

“Mentorship is something that I’m passionate about,” Asante says. “I love helping people navigate through college because I made a lot of mistakes while I was here. Just being able to share with them what not to do or how to change their perspective, it really feels good for me.”

As he gets ready to graduate with a degree in mass communication with a focus in public relations, Asante can’t help but look back and laugh at how hard his parents pushed for him to go to TU. In fact, they now complain because they can’t get him to come home.

His parents always made sure Asante and his four siblings knew how important college was. Unfortunately, Asante’s grandfather passed away recently, and his mother has traveled back to Ghana to be with her family.

While she will be able to watch Commencement online, Asante’s father will be there in person before he immediately hops on a flight to join his wife.

“My dad was hell-bent on seeing me graduate,” Asante says. “One of the main things that drives who I am as a person is family, and that's blood and chosen family. It’s what makes me go, it’s the reason why I wake up in the morning, the reason why I worked so hard.

“It’s kind of like the ending to a story, the fact that they get to see this. My dad's a very stubborn person, because I've told him multiple times, ‘Listen, I understand this is important, but you don't have to do this. You can go be with my mom.’ And he just told me he’s going to be there.”

Get to know more TU grads

Towson University continues with a week of Commencement celebrations on Tuesday, May 18 with ceremonies honoring the spring, summer and winter 2020 graduates in the College of Liberal Arts, College of Education and Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.

Jasmine Korr ’20

College of Liberal Arts 

When considering what she loves most about her professional life so far, Jasmine Korr realized she’s passionate about working with people.

“I noticed that in all the roles I’ve had, I like being an advocate for others the best,” says Korr ’17, who graduated from TU with a bachelor’s degree in family and human services, was on the track and field team, and currently works in the Career Center. “I really enjoy training and development and hiring, which I do a lot of in my role right now.”
 
So Korr re-enrolled in TU in fall 2018, using tuition remission benefits to earn her master’s in human resource development.
 
While working full time as a graduate student wasn’t easy, Korr was cheered on by her Career Center colleagues, especially her supervisor Lorie Logan-Bennett. “Everyone at Towson values higher education and pursuing a degree, so I had a lot of support.”
 
Engaging classroom discussions and close relationships with faculty were highlights of the program, she adds. “The faculty is really invested in the students.”

Sabreen Kabir ’20

College of Education

When Sabreen Kabir, an early childhood and special education major, moved from her native country of Bangladesh to Maryland in 2015 to pursue a degree in education, she recognized strengths and challenges she would face as a non-native English speaker. 

At TU, she drew on her own experience to empower other English language learners through a variety of opportunities in the College of Education. “I never imagined making such an impact with younger students,” says Kabir. “TU has given me so much exposure.” 

For the fall, she has secured an advanced teaching contract with Anne Arundel County Public Schools. 

“I know there will be a time in my future when I can share my knowledge with people in my native country,” says Kabir, who one day wants to be a change agent in Bangladesh following in the footsteps of her mother, a teacher in Bangladesh for 20 years.

Jason Hamilton ’20

Fisher College of Science and Mathematics

Jason Hamilton felt like his four years at Towson University were over in the blink of an eye. But he knows that his time on campus felt like he was putting in “25 hours a day, eight days a week.” 

He spent four years as a member of the Black Student Union, including serving as the organization’s president last year; worked in the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility; and was Homecoming King his senior year. 
 
But it was his time working in the Office of Student Activities that changed his life. After being an orientation leader and a student director, he found a passion for working in student affairs. 
 
So, after graduating this spring with a degree in computer science, he will move on to UNC Greensboro to get his master’s degree in student affairs administration. 
 
“I wouldn’t trade my time at Towson for anything in the world,” Hamilton says. “The people I’ve met, the connections I formed, the chapters I didn’t even know I had opening in front of me with the mentors I gained, all of it is just so much more than I could ever imagine.
 
“I really feel like I found who I was by coming to TU.”

#TUproud

We’re proud of all our graduates and we’re eager to celebrate their achievements, together.

A live stream of the ceremonies will be broadcast on www.towson.edu and live updates will be shared all week on TU’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Alumni Instagram accounts.

You can join in on the celebrations too. Use #TUproud when sharing photos on Instagram or Twitter, and we might share them from our pages.

For more information, social media graphics, profile picture frames and more, visit Commencement.