TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – Tanor Ngom’s journey has taken him from Senegal to France, Spain, Germany, Canada and, over the past two years, to Tallahassee, where he enjoyed life student-athlete at Florida State University.
On Saturday, he continues his journey by taking the short but incredibly important walk through the graduation stage to shake hands with FSU President Richard McCullough as he officially graduates from college.
He will be the first in his family to graduate from college and earn his bachelor’s degree in social sciences.
For Ngom, changing the culture within his family is a fact that does not escape the imposing 7-2 post player.
“I am the first in my family to graduate from college and I have bragging rights all my life,” Ngom said. “It’s going to be a special moment when I go through this stage. I will soak up every part of the atmosphere as if it were an NCAA tournament game.
Ngom is also mindful that he will be graduating from the same building — the Donald L. Tucker Center — where he performed his basketball magic for the Seminoles. The graduation ceremony gives Ngom an edge on the pitch, you might say.
In two seasons at Florida State, Ngom appeared in 43 games as he helped the Seminoles continue to play as one of the top programs in the nation under head coach Leonard Hamilton. He was a key reserve in Florida State’s run to the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and started for the Seminoles in the 2022 season.
For Ngom, his journey of thousands of miles across the state of Florida comes down to one of the shortest walks of his life through the graduation scene at Tucker Center.
Ngom found the courage to take the first and most important step in her journey from one person.
Someone he hasn’t seen in almost two years.
His mother.
“She’s the reason I wake up in the morning,” Ngom said. “She is my motivation to continue.”
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