Profiles of 2004 Graduating Students

Din Tolbert changes focus from the playbook to the Good Book

Senior Din Tolbert, a communication major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and an ordained minister, holds a Bible on the North Campus basketball courts. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

From anthems of praise to the joy of hallelujah, Din Tolbert carries the gospel through music and the spoken word. He is the chaplain for Pamoja-ni, a Cornell student choir. The name of this student club means " together is" in Ki-Swahili, and its calling is to bring the communities of Cornell and Ithaca together in a musical ministry.

Before Tolbert took to the pulpit, he was a high school basketball standout at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, N.Y., on the verge of playing for Georgia Tech University, an Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse. His hoop dreams changed on Feb. 18, 2000, just before he was to sign a letter-of-intent, when Georgia Tech fired its legendary coach Bobby Cremins.

Instead of going to Tech, Tolbert decided to enroll at Cornell, in the College of Engineering, intending to play basketball here. However, he traded in a basketball career to focus on his great passion for communicating religion. By his second year at Cornell, the 6-foot-7 student had become a licensed minister at the Greater Allen Cathedral of New York in Queens. Tolbert also changed his major to communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, because he believed that communication would be his true calling.

Preaching seems to make sense for Tolbert. Jeffrey Hancock, Cornell assistant professor of communication, says that Tolbert can be very funny and he "has a great sense of presence and the ability to inspire, lead and make people believe."

Last summer Tolbert served as a marketing intern with the National Basketball Association (NBA), working in the organization's frenzied Manhattan headquarters. In mid-February, he helped transport players during the 2004 NBA All-Star Game festivities in Los Angeles.

"There were just so many things that happened that week, from going to the team practices to going to the game, to the last night when the NBA rented out Universal Studios for a postgame party," he said. "It was great."

Following graduation, Tolbert will leave the glamour of the hardwood far behind for the inner city asphalt. Eventually, he said, he plans to enter the seminary. Meanwhile, he will promote literacy among youth or simply help young people at-risk in urban communities. He explained, "I knew that giving back was important, and community-building begins now."