Candidates from graduate-level programs in the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and School of Communications received their diplomas during a joint Commencement ceremony May 22 in Alumni Gym.
While Commencement marks the end of one chapter, with students becoming graduates after months or years of rigorous work, it also signifies a new beginning. In his welcome remarks at Elon’s Graduate-Level Commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 22, School of Communications Dean Kenn Gaither reminded graduates that a commencement literally means a beginning, despite the traditional framing of graduation as a destination reached.
“Graduates, a commencement is the beginning of a new chapter of your life, and you are now armed with the knowledge from an advanced degree to begin something new,” Gaither said. “The Elon motto is ‘numen lumen,’ which signifies spiritual light and intellectual light. At Elon, you have walked in the light. Now, you enter the world as the light.”
The joint ceremony in Alumni Gym recognized graduates from the Master of Science in Accounting, Master of Science in Business Analytics and Master of Business Administration programs in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business; the Master of Arts in Interactive Media program in the School of Communications; and the Master of Arts in Higher Education and Master of Education programs in the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education.
Stephen Gyan of the Master of Arts in Higher Education program, who was selected to deliver the message of appreciation on behalf of his fellow students, encouraged the graduates to embrace the beauty of the unknown. A first-generation college student from Ghana, Gyan traveled 5,389 miles to realize his goal of earning a master’s degree and deepening his understanding of how educational systems nurture people and transform societies.
He shared how overwhelming it was at times to pursue an advanced degree in an unfamiliar country, an ocean way from his family. But Gyan’s Elon experience also broadened his educational and professional horizons and boosted his confidence in his own abilities, leading him to pursue his Ph.D. this September.
“There’s power in the unknown, and it’s important to reframe it as a catalyst for action,” Gyan said. “Life may be complex, but I firmly believe that when we trust ourselves and take initiative in the present moment, the world will conspire to help us achieve our dreams.”
Gyan said he believes that earning their master’s degrees Wednesday night signified a stepping stone for the future he and his fellow graduates want to create for themselves. With a commitment to learning continuously, constantly seeking mentorship and acting proactively, he said he felt confident the graduates would leave Elon well equipped to take on whatever comes next for them.
“Let’s draw inspiration from taking small steps even when the path isn’t clear,” Gyan said. “By doing this, we become bold, action-oriented and willing to experiment. It will free us from the fear of inadequacy and imposter syndrome and empower us to embrace the humanity that includes failure as part of our journey. After all, our actions can have a variety of outcomes – it can be good, it can be bad or somewhere in between. But the most important thing is that we would have tried. Colleagues, let’s choose to be optimistic and embrace the positive world that awaits us.”
André Valcour, vice president and laboratory director with the Center for Esoteric Testing and discipline director of allergy, coagulation and endocrinology at Labcorp, echoed the importance of lifelong learning in his keynote address. He remarked on humans’ capacity to adapt to change and reflected on how rapidly the world has evolved throughout his own educational and professional journey.
When he took his first computer programming course in college, he submitted his homework on punch cards. His doctoral dissertation at the University of Vermont was the school’s first to be written on a word processor rather than a typewriter. Today, people carry computers in their pockets or wear them on their wrists and are now experimenting with artificial intelligence as a resource. To keep up with such exponential evolution, Valcour said it’s imperative that people always aspire to learn.
“To soar in the age of explosive change, you will need to constantly increase your knowledge and skills,” said Valcour, a 2014 graduate of Elon’s MBA program. “You will need to be a lifelong learner to be a lifelong success. The days when you could get a four-year degree or even a graduate degree and think that it would sustain you for a lifetime are over.”
To be successful in today’s world, Valcour encouraged the graduates to routinely assess what further self-development they need, what further knowledge and skills they need, what standards they should set for themselves and what strengths they should employ. He also urged them to be proactive in exploring mentoring relationships with people who are smarter than them, people who will provide guidance and support, and people who will challenge them.
“You must remember that if you will be successful in this kind of relationship, you must be open to criticism, you must have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and, most of all, you must be passionate about your goals and be willing to take risks to achieve them,” Valcour said.
Valcour also underscored the importance of not only learning throughout your career but using that knowledge to empower the success of others. Leadership, he said, is not about a person’s position, but about their actions, their innovations and their influence.
“Be the kind of leader that makes others successful,” Valcour said. “Use your talents to effect positive change. Above all, maintain a strong moral compass. Your integrity is your most valuable asset.”
In her charge the graduates, President Connie Ledoux Book said she hoped they would carry Elon’s core values of honesty, integrity, responsibility and respect with them as they begin their next chapter as master’s degree recipients.
“Use these Elon values when you encounter hard choices,” Book said. “Lean on them – and each other – when you need to reason things out. Remember, we are forever bound together by these values – you, me, your classmates, faculty, staff, Elon.”
Candidates for the Master of Science in Accounting Degree
Alex Belveal
Katlin S. Bollenbach
Blake C. Cleven
Liam M. Dabagian
Tommy Dimock
Claire E. Doherty
Taylor Getz
Kaitlin A. King
Jack C. McAuliffe
Jackie Schmidt
Ariston J. Tomes
Jake Varady
Julia C. Vide
Callum R. Walker
Candidates for the Master of Science in Business Analytics Degree
Annabelle Ackroyd
Jessica Booth
Jack Cutler
Rafi Dahdal
Léanna Dejean
Justine Dobral
Matthew Downing
Raphael Engelhard
Luca Erhardt
Zac Ervin
Zane Bruce Gilbert
Kai Glass
Chazz Harley
Nazhiyah Hayes
Dylan Heap
Kathryn Johnson
Maya Johnson
Daniel Martin
Drew Ellen Menscer
Hannah Miller
Ajay Nimmala
Caleb Ogunmola
Tate Ostrowski
Shane Paradine
Edoardo Righetti
Victor Roche
Isak Sedin
Suman Sharma
Trinity Roshni Swepson
Vanessa Taylor
Jabril Williams
Jun Yin
Candidates for the Master of Business Administration Degree
Kyra Auguste
Richard Bechtold
Quintin Brenner
Frederick Brown
Jose Daniel Castillo Solano
Felicia Cenca
Major Duckett
April Dawn Dudash
Jessica Hamrick Hart
Nitish Kumar
Meghann Mae Lail
Breanna Lewis
Aeriel Miller
David Eugene Morgan III
Jasmine C. Ryant
Victoria Schneider
Warren Snell
Brandon Jade Swindell
Candidates for the Master of Arts in Interactive Media Degree
Raven Monique Abbott
Jessica Maris Baker
Andrew Allen Dryfoos
Isabella Maria Szalay Hilditch
Tishana Trinity Jackson
Kaitlin N. McGoogan
Cameron Xavier Rosebud
Gabriella R. Sable
Denise Yvonne Simmons
Abigail Sparkman
Morgan Sierra Stankiewicz
Amaya C. Waddy
Puxin Zhao
Candidates for the Master of Arts in Higher Education Degree
Hao Chun Chi
Julia Ruth DeWitt
Darynha Gnep
Elana Rae Gutmann
Stephen Gyan
Caleigh Shea MacKinnon
Marie-Clare Oluebube Ofoegbu
Elijah Pennock
Vanessa Lorraine Truelove
Haley Nicole Turczynski
Alexandra Lucia Weaver
Candidates for the Master of Education Degree
Robert A Alvis
Fernando Antonio Arevalo Rodriguez
Wanying Deng
Yanmei Duan
Maria Florencia Guida
Alexa Perkins LaTorre
Wenting Li
Zongchao Mu
April Ashford Siler
Madeleine Steffani Tapia Solis