Rutgers grad Sheryl Lee Ralph schools Emmys with 'Abbott Elementary' win

Pausing to compose herself, Sheryl Lee Ralph stepped toward the microphone, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and roared.

“I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim’s song,” she bellowed, using the opening stanza of Dianne Reeves' 1993 song, “Endangered Species,” as her victory anthem.

“I am a woman, I am an artist, and I know where my voice belongs,” she continued, as the audience at the Microsoft Theater rose to applaud her.

Ralph, 65, won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her portrayal of steely-yet-tender teacher Barbara Howard in ABC’s breakout sitcom “Abbott Elementary.”

Ralph is a 1975 graduate of Rutgers University.

She "entered Rutgers as a pre-med student, but swiftly changed her major to English literature and theater arts after she encountered her first cadaver," according to the Rutgers University Alumni Association. She graduated near the top of her class from Rutgers College in three years at age 19, making her Rutgers’ youngest female graduate at that time.

“I'd always wanted to go to Rutgers because Paul Robeson graduated from Rutgers,” Ralph said in a 2014 interview on "Oprah: Where Are They Now?"

She was inducted into Rutgers' Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2002.“I'd always wanted to go to Rutgers because Paul Robeson graduated from Rutgers,” Ralph said in a 2014 interview on "Oprah: Where Are They Now?".

“Paul Robeson was an incredible athlete, an incredible orator, an incredible actor, an incredible singer, and very brilliant. And I thought that if a Black man or any man could be all of those things at the turn of that century in a place and a time where it was thought 'Who are you to be all of these things and a man of color, too?’ – that's the school that I wanted to go to.”

Other Rutgers alums nominated for Emmys this year were 2004 Mason Gross graduate Tom Pelphrey, nominated for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for "Ozark"; and 2005 Mason Gross graduate Sebastian Stan, nominated for outstanding lead actor in a limited or an anthology series or movie for "Pam & Tommy."

Emmys live updates: 'Succession' wins best drama, 'Ted Lasso' takes top comedy for second time

Emmys full winners list: 'Succession,' 'Ted Lasso,' 'The White Lotus' and more

Ralph's Emmy win

Her win, in the first hour of the telecast, was not only the first award given to a network show during Monday’s ceremony, but also Ralph’s first accolade of any kind since a 1990 Independent Spirit Award for the film “To Sleep with Anger.”

Looking regal in a strapless black gown with a high thigh slit, the Broadway powerhouse (she was nominated for a Tony Award in 1982 for her role as Deena Jones in “Dreamgirls”) with scads of TV credits (“Moesha,” “Ray Donovan”) delivered an inspiring speech about resilience.

Drop dead gorg: From Amanda Seyfried to Zendaya, here are the 10 best dressed celebs at 2022 Emmy Awards

“To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like. This is what striving looks like. And don’t you ever, ever give up on you,” she said.

Ralph directed praise toward “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson, whom she thanked for having in her corner, as well as her family and “friends, like everybody who voted for me, cheered for me, loved me.”

Ralph’s table of “Abbott Elementary” castmates were hardly the only ones in the room showering their colleague with long-due applause.

It's about damn time: Lizzo celebrates on-screen representation in Emmys acceptance speech

Backstage at the 2022 Emmys, Quinta Brunson says she might 'punch' Jimmy Kimmel

Fellow nominee Hannah Waddingham ("Ted Lasso") stood tall as she cheered Ralph, while Lizzo, seated next to host Kenan Thompson for the next bit, looked genuinely stunned in her mountainous red taffeta dress as she mouthed the most appropriate reaction to Ralph’s win: “Wow.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rutgers graduate Sheryl Lee Ralph wins Emmy for Abbott Elementary