{"id":85082,"date":"2025-12-16T10:28:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/85082\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:28:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:28:26","slug":"florida-am-drum-major-skips-graduation-for-amazing-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/85082\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida A&M drum major skips graduation for amazing reason"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida A&M University drum major Oluwamodupe \u201cDupe\u201d Oloyede\u00a0chose tradition and team<\/a> over the tassel, postponing her graduation until the spring to lead the\u00a0Marching 100\u00a0one final time. Oloyede took to the field at the\u00a0Red Lobster Band of the Year Competition\u00a0in Atlanta instead of attending the graduation ceremony on December 12, a decision that highlights her deep commitment to her band, her leadership, and the enduring tradition of one of the most celebrated marching programs in HBCU history.<\/p>\n

Oloyede currently serves as\u00a0head drum major\u00a0of Florida A&M University\u2019s<\/a> renowned\u00a0Marching \u201c100\u201d\u00a0for the 2025\u20132026 season. She is only the\u00a0second woman ever\u00a0to hold the position and the\u00a0first in Florida A&M history\u00a0to lead the band as head drum major. Florida A&M correspondent\u00a0Vaughn Wilson\u00a0spoke with\u00a0HBCU Gameday, sharing insights into Oloyede\u2019s decision to postpone her graduation in order to lead the band one final time.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight is graduation night at Florida A&M University. She\u2019s prepared her life to be in music. She\u2019s preparing her life to be in front of people,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer dream of being a part of a possible repeat at the Band of the Year prompted her to delay her graduation to the spring\u2026 for Dupe tonight, Band of the Year represents probably the culmination of her career.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Oloyede and the rest of the\u00a0Marching \u201c100\u201d\u00a0were in Atlanta delivering a show-stopping performance,\u00a0Florida A&M University\u00a0was celebrating its\u00a0Fall 2025 Commencement. The ceremony marked the first for\u00a0President Marva B. Johnson, J.D., at the university, and the keynote address was delivered by\u00a0Kristin Harper, CEO of Driven to Succeed, LLC, and a proud Florida A&M alumna. Nearly\u00a0700 students from 21 states\u00a0graduated on Friday. Though Oloyede\u2019s presence was missed, she is set to\u00a0graduate with honors this spring.<\/p>\n

Despite the monumental moment for Florida A&M<\/a> and Oloyede, the\u00a0Division I title\u00a0at the competition went to\u00a0Southern University\u00a0and their\u00a0Human Jukebox Marching Band, marking their first win in the event\u2019s three-year history. Meanwhile,\u00a0Miles College\u00a0captured the\u00a0Division II title\u00a0for the second consecutive year, continuing their streak of excellence.<\/p>\n

While it may not have been the way she envisioned concluding her time with the\u00a0Marching \u201c100,\u201d\u00a0Oloyede leaves behind a lasting legacy and a meaningful contribution to the storied history of the\u00a0Florida A&M University\u00a0marching band. In an interview with\u00a0Andscape, she reflected on the type of legacy she hoped to leave for future generations of band members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to leave a legacy rooted in excellence,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople should remember how we represented the university, on the field, in our communities, across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida A&M University drum major Oluwamodupe \u201cDupe\u201d Oloyede\u00a0chose tradition and team over the tassel, postponing her graduation until…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[2324,2329,232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-85082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-florida-am-university","9":"tag-hbcu","10":"tag-tallahassee","11":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","12":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}