Veda Spellman Stroud ’39 is 99 years old and has strong ties to N.C. A&T. Her first appointment after graduation was as secretary to Dr. Warmoth T. Gibbs Sr., then- dean of the college.

“It is truly an honor to have been chosen grand marshal for the 2015 A&T Homecoming parade,” Stroud said. “It is really special during this very important milestone in the history of the university.”

In addition to receiving her undergraduate education at A&T, she also met a lifelong friend in Virgil Stroud who later became her husband. After working for Gibbs, Stroud later received her master’s from Columbia University and returned home to A&T where she taught in the Department of Business, now the School of Business and Economics, for 42 years until she retired in 1981.

A bit of a trendsetter, Stroud was the first of several members of her family to be initiated into the Alpha Phi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Her sister Berneita Spellman Holsey who graduated from another institution, her daughter Crystal Stroud McCombs ’68 and her granddaughter Cornelia McCombs ’04 all followed her footsteps through Aggieland.

“I have cherished each day of my A&T journey as I have watched my Alma Mater develop from humble beginnings to become the magnificent institution that it is today,” she said.

The daughter of a minister in the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a public school teacher, Stroud literally grew up “in church and in school.” With strong family values rooted in education, artistic development and religious growth, she was involved in various activities within the church including serving as an accompanist for various church choirs.

The parade begins at 8 a.m., Saturday on Murrow Boulevard and ending on Laurel Street.

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