HAMPTON — Nearly 450 students walked across the stage at the Hampton Coliseum on Thursday to receive a degree or certificate from Virginia Peninsula Community College’s academic or workforce programs. They also received advice and words of wisdom from former Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck.
Tuck, who was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a master’s degree from Old Dominion University, was the recipient of the college’s Dana B. Hamel Award. It is named for the first chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges (VCCS) and acknowledges individuals for outstanding public service, fostering access to higher education, and promoting an understanding of workforce development’s role as an essential part of the college’s mission.
Tuck has had a varied professional career, from broadcasting to athletic public relations to technical writing and local government. He also served as chair of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO), the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance (HRMFFA), and the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC).
He also has ties to VPCC as his daughter, Elizabeth, graduated from the college in 2012, and he and his wife, Robie, have taken classes there.
“And I am still thinking about obtaining a certificate in cybersecurity, although I am not certain who would hire a 72-year-old, the age I would be when I finished my coursework,” he told those gathered at VPCC’s annual graduation ceremonies, which recognized graduates from summer 2024, fall 2024 and spring 2025.
He had six pieces of advice for the graduates:
No. 1: “Pursue your dream, not the dollar.” He has had several careers, almost all that would have provided more celebrity, fame and money than being the mayor of Hampton.
“Yet, none of them would have topped the feeling of getting up every morning knowing that I had the capability of making a positive impact on someone’s life,” he said. “I assure you that, if you are fulfilling your life’s purpose, no amount of financial compensation will surpass that feeling.”
No. 2: “Pursue your dream until you achieve it, a better opportunity comes along, or until you realize that it is a goal that is unobtainable.” His first thought of being an elected official when he was 6 years old. He first ran for office in 1985 when he was 31 but wasn’t elected for the first time until he was 56, following numerous failed attempts.
“I call it a 25-year pursuit of a 50-year dream,” he said, adding in those 25 years, he ran seven other times without success and there were times I wanted to call it quits.
“However, I saw others achieving their dreams and said to myself, ‘Why them and why not me?’ That is what kept me going.”
He added that with each job he took, he asked himself where he would be in five years.
“Your measure of success may be longer or it may be shorter, but you need some type of measurement,” he said. “There is little worse in life than getting up each morning and dreading going to work at a particular job.”
No. 3: “Sometimes what appears to be roadblocks are just detours.” He mentioned it took a job as Public Relations Director for the Washington Commanders (then known as the Redskins) only to be let go nine months later.
“Years later, while still trying to understand why God would present me with that opportunity only to seemingly snatch it away, a former pastor told me ‘Sometimes God makes you go through Egypt to get you to the Promised Land.’”
He then said if he hadn’t worked for the Commanders, he would not have met his wife, would not have followed her to Hampton, and would not have become the mayor of Hampton.
“Your choice is to live life looking in the rearview mirror or to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself,” he said.
No. 4: “In life and in whatever profession you choose, find yourself an advocate and/or a mentor.” He mentioned the proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with someone.” He said his wife has been his greatest advocate and supporter in his political and professional life. She gave him positive and negative feedback and held him accountable.
“You need the same in your life, whether it is a spouse, family member, friend, co-worker or even your employer,” he said.
No. 5: “Be a lifelong learner.” That is self-explanatory, he said.
No. 6: “Don’t be a ‘canner.’” He recalled covering a commencement speech at North Carolina Central University in 1974 by former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson.
“One of the things he said was ‘some people get all they can, can all they get, and then turnaround and sit on the can,’” Tuck said. “As I told various audiences during my 8½ years as mayor, when you attain the station in life that you have sought, extend your hand backward to help someone else.”
It was the 56th commencement for the college. For more information on the college, visit vpcc.edu.
