Onyx is proud to celebrate 50 years!
Egbert Perry
ENG' 76
Harold Haskins was a godsend for so many of us who attended Penn in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had an outsized hand in helping hundreds (perhaps thousands) of students graduate from Penn. His leadership of the Office of Support Services and many other complementary programs made the Penn and Philadelphia experiences more welcoming to so many students at difficult and sometimes turbulent times during their journey through Penn. For some, they were the first to go to college. For others, a Penn experience presented major social and financial challenges. Hask also made it possible for students of all walks of life, from all races and socio-economic groups, to handle the academic rigor that was inherent in a Penn education.
I had the privilege of being one of the tutors for the Office of Support Services under Hask’s leadership for six (6) years. So, without equivocation, I can say that I owe “Hask” a debt of gratitude for helping me pay for my Penn education, He made us all feel like he was our big brother and Counselor. For many of us, he was also more like a surrogate father. Hask’s departure from this life marks a sad time for the Penn family. Yet, we should celebrate what he meant to all of us, and the tremendous legacy that he left.
We will miss you Hask. Rest in peace, wrapped in our love for you.
Marc Morial
C'80
Hask was on our side!!
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As an African-American student entering UPenn in the Fall of 1976, Harold Haskins was, for all of us—a rock and lifeline—through challenges, triumphs, and dreams. His office became our informal student where we spent time, sought advice, and refuge from sometimes uncertain experiences at Penn. For me— Hask tapped me and the late Sheryl George to create and lead the Stepping Stones program which assisted our classmates in resume preparation, interview skills, and connection with job opportunities with leading corporations. We were able to connect them with the corporate recruiter from GE—Scott Paper — and many others. Hask was a beautiful and generous spirit who loved and cared for us as students and as aspiring change agents.He will be missed and I am forever grateful for what he meant to the UPenn Community!!
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MAY HE REST IN PEACE AND POWER!!
Alan Bowser
W'84
Hask made me dream big. He told me I was going to be a U.S. Senator (only the 4th in history at that time) and he pushed me to apply for the Thouron Award. I won the Thouron.
The Senate will have to wait, but Hask always made me believe that ANYTHING was within my reach.
Michael Pearson
C'84
Hask conveyed dignified black serenity as a counter to societal noise targeted at Black Penn students.
His poise was contagious. It made African-American distinction audible to all Quaker ears.
Charles M. Henderson, Jr.
W'85
In addition to providing me with free unlimited tutoring, Hask said something that still helps me make the most of challenging situations. Looking down at me with his characteristic smile he reached out, took my hand in his, and said "Charles, every problem is an opportunity in disguise."
Christopher Salley
W'88
Spring of my junior year (1987), Hask calls me into his office and asks me if I want to work at Goldman Sachs for the summer. My eyes get big and I say, Yes, of course." He dials the phone while I am sitting there and precedes to tell the person he is sending them someone for the summer. He hangs up and tells me “Alright, you’re in. Do your best and make us proud.” And that was that. Hask was the best….and I strived to live up to his expectations for me then and continue to strive to do so now.
Clayton Virgil
W'97
You would walk through Steiny-D or across campus and say hello to all the black students. You would stop us on the Walk and I know that’s how we probably met. I wasn’t one of your LEAD students but I always felt like one. You frequently checked up on me and the others, making sure we had what we needed to survive. When you showed up to Black Wharton activities, you shared sage advice with your kids on how to navigate the choppy waters of campus life and beyond. While I heard snippets and gained little nuggets of knowledge along the way, others received the blueprint for success at the school and in life in general.
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You were a champion for Black folks on campus, giving so much of your energy to make sure we all had a fighting chance while preparing us to deal with the world beyond Locust Walk. You saw unlimited potential in all of us, even when there were times when we may have struggled or questioned our mere existence on the campus of one of the world’s most storied institutions. You were tough on us because you wanted us all to strive and achieve greatness; at the same time, you were a caring father who unconditionally loved all of us black Penn students, whether or not you knew our names.
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To read Clayton Virgil's entire tribute to Hask, please click here.
Ibrahim Majeed
W'01
Harold Haskins was a wonderful mentor, friend, and father figure to me during my time at Wharton. He was a great support to me in developing my career while I was a "green," inexperienced young freshman. He was also instrumental in supporting me when my father passed away tragically in 2000 during my junior year. The African-American community will surely miss his dedication and support. He is a wonderful person who I will sorely miss as well.
Obinna C. Obilo
W'04, WG'08
My life's trajectory has been singularly changed by Harold Haskins' influence and from which I directly benefited from:
(i) Hask co-founded the Leadership Education and Development Summer Business Institute for rising, underrepresented high school seniors which was replicated across the country at a dozen top-tier schools;
(ii) Hask helped establish both the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association and the African-American MBA Association;
(iii) Hask helped to found the Onyx Senior Honor Society;
(iv) Hask was a member of the Friars Senior Honor Society; and,
(iv) Hask proudly advocated for Black permanence at Penn and indirectly at all institutions that created access to capital (economic, political) for our communities.
When he finally retired after over three decades of service to Penn, I was honored to be asked to serve as a presenter at his retirement.
His laughter and his sharp wit were unmistakable for anyone's. He was loved by many because he gave love to many. He will be sorely, sorely missed. Sleep well, brother. You've earned your rest.
Nichole Nelson
C'11
I’m fortunate to have met Hask when I visited Penn with my parents for Multicultural Scholars Weekend in the Spring of 2007 because he had just retired from the University that year. My parents and I coincidentally walked into the African-American Resources Center and we had a lovely conversation with Robert Carter, Valerie Dorsey Allen, and Colleen Winn, and they said that there was someone who I needed to meet. And I met Hask.
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I was struck by his willingness to help me and other students even after he retired. I appreciated his recommendation that I apply for the Center for Africana Studies Summer Institute and how he helped get me into the PennCap Pre-Freshman Program. As a student from a conservative, virtually all-white town on Long Island, those programs were invaluable to me because they laid the foundation for me to navigate my path at Penn, in general, and specifically as a Black student on campus. We kept in touch periodically throughout my freshman and sophomore years, but what really brought us together was Onyx Senior Honor Society.
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From my junior year onward, I had a front-row seat to his genius and creativity as we worked together on projects to encourage more Onyx Alumni to engage with Onyx. We worked together for almost 10 years to re-connect Onyx’s founders and Alumni with the Society. Two of the founders spoke at its pinning ceremonies during my senior year and Hask introduced me to other founders and other Onyx Alumni throughout the years. Just as he wanted Black undergraduate students to work together on projects to navigate the institution and thrive, he wanted us to continue working together even after graduation, to help each other succeed professionally and lean on each other during difficult personal times. He had a number of ideas for Onyx like how it should have an endowment, offer grants and scholarships for undergraduates, offer scholarships for members to pursue graduate study, have a Graduate Board comprised of Onyx Alumni to aid in the Society’s Alumni affairs, and eventually raise enough money to give back to Black students from West Philadelphia.
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He often told me stories of finding money for different initiatives during his early years as an administrator in the 1970s. His way of making a way out of no way—literally—for Black students was incredible. His imagination knew no limitations.
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I’m truly grateful for our 13-year friendship. He’s changed my life and the life of thousands of people in profound ways. He changed my life so much so that when I had to make a documentary as one of the requirements for Brian Peterson and Charles Howard’s course on the History of Black Men and Women at Penn, there was only one person who I wanted to interview, and that was Hask.
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May his legacy live on in the activism that we pursue to aid Black students and make the University continue to feel like a home so that Black students can feel as comfortable inhabiting its many spaces as white students. We miss you, Hask.
Tiffany Bullock (née John-Lewis)
C'11
I do not have just one memory or anecdote to share about Hask...Rather, I want to highlight a series of memories from my time on campus where I can vividly recall Hask being the strongest, yet often the quietest presence in many important rooms during events such as Onyx pinning ceremonies and Makuu Kwanzaa celebrations. This memory speaks to what he symbolized for me — a physical manifestation of the understanding that we (my fellow black classmates) were never alone and that our elders were always there celebrating us, supporting us, and pushing us forward.
Chevon Boone
C'13
My Penn experience has forever been impacted by the work of the late Mr. Harold Haskins. As a member of the Onyx Senior Honor Society and the PennCap Pre-Freshman Program, both organizations that he helped found, I can attest that Mr. Haskins helped to pave the road for many leaders to step into their calling at Penn. His legacy will forever live through the immeasurable amount of support he provided to the Penn community.