News from campus and beyond
Summer commencement sends off Paladins with charge to engage communities with courage and compassion
Summer 2024 graduates from Furman University. Photo by Owen Withycombe, Furman University.
In a sun-bathed Hartness Pavilion on Furman University’s campus, loved ones dressed in their best beamed with pride (and a few babies testing the limits of their lungs) to watch 21 new graduates receive their diplomas August 10 in the annual summer commencement ceremony.
The number of August graduates is a fraction of the number who participate in the spring ceremony, but the cause is no less celebratory. See the photo gallery below.
Beth Pontari, vice president for Academic Affairs and provost, and professor of psychology, delivered an address, imploring the graduates to go forth into the world with the courage to contribute, with compassion for themselves and others and in search of a supportive and understanding community where they can make a difference. Read Pontari’s full address here.
Elizabeth Davis, president of Furman, also addressed the graduates.
“We build community when we share experiences,” Davis said. “During our time here together, we have done just that. We found ways to connect and form deep and lasting friendships. We celebrated each other’s successes and comforted one another through disappointment and loss.
“Finally, remember that Furman is not something that you leave behind. This university and your experience here will affect your life forever. We will need your help to ensure future students have the same opportunities. We expect you to engage with your university and the Furman family. We will certainly be here for you,” Davis said.
Students graduating with a bachelor of arts degree were: William E Barker, Alexia Marie Charles, Sydney Grace Correll, Hannah Lynn del Toro (Cum Laude), Kate Elizabeth Jones (Magna Cum Laude), Mary Eliza Kamerschen, Austin James Lombardi, Rachel Margaret Shamblin (Summa Cum Laude) and Carter Dean Whitt. Barker, del Toro, Jones and Whitt were not in attendance.
Students graduating with a bachelor of science degree were: Ashley Kay Fieber (Summa Cum Laude), Alarea Monae Jackson and Samuel Spencer Luck-Leonard.
Students graduating with a master of arts degree were: Jessica Mary Agnew, Haley Ann Armstrong, Ashley Muse Bate, Bonnie Jane Egan, Claire Elizabeth Goss, Rebecca Galloway Hicks, Benjamin Rhyne King, Emma Scott Livingston, Danny Brian Maddux, Johnna LaRose Malici, Audrey Lynn Medgyesy, Ghevont P Melsom, Diana Nely Pasternak, Luke Daniel Charles Tandy and Cecilia Pearl Vanech. Goss, Daniel and Tandy were not in attendance.
Two students, Collin Scott Webber and John H. Zimmerman II, received master of science degrees. They were not in attendance.
