It was a great honor on Sunday to welcome families, friends and other distinguished guests to the December Graduates’ Recognition Ceremony and Reception in the Jane P. Batten Student Center. The occasion represented an incredible milestone in the lives of 37 new Virginia Wesleyan College alumni.
I was pleased to share my sincerest gratitude with the family members and friends who have supported these students in achieving their education. Likewise, it was an opportunity to applaud our dedicated faculty whose skilled teaching, advising, and mentoring has provided invaluable guidance over the last four years.
Many thanks to keynote speaker Dr. William McConnell, Assistant Professor of Education and the recipient of our 2016 Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. McConnell reflected on lessons learned in his years as an educator and offered several constructive tips for success.
Students were welcomed to their new graduate status by Alumni Council President Mavis McKenley '11, who invited them to pursue their lives and careers in a spirit of service, leadership, and contributions of many kinds.
Congratulations to the December Class of 2016:
Bachelor of Arts
Reid Bowman (Business)
Samantha Bowman (Environmental Science)
Eveline Bruce (Business)
Mary Connell (Comprehensive Liberal Studies)
Marco DaSilva (English)
Kristen Ellis (English)
Donna Floyd (Business)
Vona Goodpaster (Comprehensive Liberal Studies)
Brianna Graham (Women’s and Gender Studies and Psychology)
Jack Hamer (Recreation and Leisure Studies)
Ericka Hayes (Earth and Environmental Science)
Aimee Haywood (History and Social Science)
Ebony Hebb (Business)
Alese Herbert (Biology)
Jason Hoernke (Criminal Justice)
Kevin Hu (Computer Science)
Tracy Hudson (Business)
Rebecca Lazzeri (English and Religious Studies)
Whitney Leliefeld (Sociology)
Matthew Murray (Criminal Justice)
Nicole Nedwick (Business)
Renee Pucky (German Studies)
Christina Raab (Psychology)
Alyssa Russ (Classical Studies)
Stephen Sawicki (Business)
Jessica Seymour (Psychology and Mathematics)
Ashley Shipman (Business and Theatre)
Stephen Soltesz (Business)
Jessica Spaulding (Criminal Justice)
Michael Springer (Art)
Jessica Traynor (Business)
Deric Trimmer (Business)
Collette Vauthier (Latin)
William Virgili (Criminal Justice and Psychology)
Bachelor of Science
Catherine Clegg (Biology)
Anthony Wiggins (Mathematics)
Paulmichael Youngmills (Computer Science)
I look forward to hearing about these graduates' many accomplishments and the great ways they will make a positive impact on the world.
View a photo gallery of the December Graduates’ Recognition Ceremony and Reception on the VWC Flickr page at: https://flic.kr/s/aHskMSvntQ
