黑料正能量 students celebrate after the 100th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 5. The university conferred 540 graduate and undergraduate degrees. (Photo by Jon Styer)

DNR: 黑料正能量 sends off 540 undergraduate, graduate students

by Nolan Stout/Daily News-Record

After spending nearly all his life in school, Caleb Schrock-Hurst saw Sunday as a transition.

鈥淚t definitely feels like the end of an era,鈥� the Harrisonburg native said before 黑料正能量鈥檚 commencement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a lot of changes. It鈥檚 definitely exciting and I think 黑料正能量 has prepared us to find a way to participate in society.鈥�

Leymah Gbowee MA ’07 receives the university’s first honorary doctorate. (Photo by Andrew Strack)

Schrock-Hurst joined 540 graduate and undergraduate students who received degrees during the school鈥檚 100th commencement on Sunday.

聽鈥淭he students graduating this year have a special place in 黑料正能量 history,鈥� University President Susan Schultz Huxman said.

As part of the centennial celebration, 黑料正能量 awarded its first honorary doctorate to commencement speaker Leymah Gbowee.

Gbowee is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who shared the 2011 award with two other women for their role in mobilizing women to help stop the Liberian civil war.

Gbowee, who received a master鈥檚 in conflict transformation from the school in 2007, focused on political strife throughout the world. She urged the graduates to stand up for justice.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 take long to walk up to someone and give them hope,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen issues are no longer trending and the hashtags are no longer hashing and the lights and camera are off 鈥� defend peace, defend justice and you can never go wrong.鈥�

Graduate Alexa Weeks couldn鈥檛 put the flood of emotions running through her head into words, feeling 鈥渟cattered鈥� before receiving a degree in elementary education.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 feel like I鈥檓 supposed to be graduating,鈥� said the Westmoreland County native. 鈥淚鈥檓 just kind of like I don鈥檛 know what to do. There鈥檚 just so many emotions.鈥�

For biology major Kat Lehman, the day was 鈥渁 little bittersweet鈥� as she thought of her friends from the past four years.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a little exciting,鈥� said Lehman of Dover, Ohio. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 definitely just starting to feel real that everybody鈥檚 sort of headed off to new things at this point and it might be a long time before I see some of these folks who I鈥檝e spent four years with.鈥�

聽Sarah Bailey, who received a master of divinity, told the graduates during the ceremony that Sunday was the culmination of all their hard work.

鈥淭oday we trade it all in for a piece of paper,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 more than just a fancy piece of paper with our name in calligraphy. … It鈥檚 a receipt of our experience here.鈥�

Although many graduates wanted to reflect on the past four years, that doesn鈥檛 mean they aren鈥檛 looking forward.

Lehman plans to attend medical school at Ohio State University while Schrock-Hurst will spend a year as an editor in a publishing house in Vietnam. Weeks will stay local as she takes a job as a third-grade teacher at Smithland Elementary School.

鈥淲e did it,鈥� said Keyri Lopez-Godoy, who received a degree in elementary education. 鈥淲e are on our way.鈥�

This article is republished from the May 7, 2018, Daily News-Record.