West Liberty, W.Va., Dec. 10, 2016 — West Liberty University President Dr. Stephen Greiner presided over Fall Commencement exercises held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, on a wintry day warmed by the joy of family and friends cheering for their favorite graduate.
One hundred and thirty-eight students completed graduation requirements during the fall semester. Summer graduates also were invited to participate in the ceremony, held in in the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex (ASRC).
Student commencement speaker was Cindi L. Greathouse of Wheeling, who earned a bachelor’s of elementary education from the College of Education and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
As an adult student who returned to the classroom after some years, she referred to her long journey to earn her diploma, the obstacles and perseverance it took to make it to graduation day.
“I’m honored and humbled to be on this stage and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to speak to you all. I wasn’t always a great student but my teachers here at West Liberty University believed in me,” Greathouse said. She also thanked her admissions counselor Stephanie North, who assisted her in transferring to WLU.
She ended by encouraging the Class of 2016 to be “the change you wish to see.”
Keynote speaker and author, Dr. Christina Fisanick Greer was next presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by President Greiner, prior to delivering the commencement address.
Greer, a resident of Wheeling and a 1996 alumna, is now an associate professor of English at California University of Pennsylvania. She encouraged graduates to dream big by revealing her many personal tragedies, including being a high school dropout, loosing two children and dealing with a major house fire. She then explained how she endured and grew to her current status.
“Walk out of here today knowing that the road ahead of you is a bumpy one. College students today graduate with more debt and less job opportunities than any generation before them. You might have to leave the Valley. You might to have to take jobs that have nothing to do with your degree, but don’t let short-term struggles dictate your long-term goals. Dream big. Then dream bigger,” she said.
“You have an education now. No one can take that away from you. Remember, too, that you have already been tested. Through your own grit and determination you passed that biology test you couldn’t study for because you had to work over time. You managed to finish that English comp paper, even though your roommate was up all night playing video games with her noisy friends. And most importantly you drove up Rt. 88 every winter and are still alive to brag about it!
“Each and every one of you have within you the power to overcome the odds. You might not always win the battle, but you can win the war,” she said.
She ended by sharing one of her favorite poems, “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes.
Also during the ceremony, retiring professor Dr. Dave Thomas was honored and singled out by the President for his many years of teaching. Thomas, a resident of Wheeling, began his WLU employment in 1985 and was named professor of the year by students four times.
The Commencement Ceremony was televised live on WLU-TV 14 (Comcast Channel 14 and online at wltvonline.com and will be rebroadcast over the weekend.
A reception for graduates, guests and families immediately followed the ceremony and was held in the College Union.
West Liberty University is a forward-looking, four-year public university steeped in a rich heritage as West Virginia’s oldest institution of higher education and offering nearly 70 undergraduate majors and 30 programs. Graduate programs include the Master of Arts in Education, the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, the Master of Professional Studies, the Master of Science in Criminology and the online MBA degrees. For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.WESTLIB or visit westliberty.edu