The University of Lynchburg held its 2025 Undergraduate Commencement on Thursday, May 15. At the 9 a.m. ceremony, held on Shellenberger Field, 350 diplomas — 175 bachelor of arts and 175 bachelor of sciences — were awarded.
The Class of 2025 included students from 22 U.S. states; one U.S. territory, Puerto Rico; and three countries: Argentina, Italy, and Mexico.
After an invocation by Rev. Dr. Nathan Albert, University chaplain and assistant vice president for belonging, Julie Doyle, chair of Lynchburg’s board of trustees, addressed the graduates.
Doyle said the board gathered on campus last week for two days of meetings, during which they met with student leaders who embodied Lynchburg’s mission: “To inspire independent thinkers who become trustworthy, effective leaders that shape caring communities.”
Doyle said this mission was put into action recently when a member of the Class of 2025 “purposefully and eloquently” spoke out at an awards ceremony about changes made at the University last year.
“With her words, the University’s mission comes to life,” Doyle said. “Independent thinking is embraced here; effective leaders are created here. We can’t wait to see how you all use your skills and knowledge to create caring communities in the future.
“But for today, please take the time for well-deserved celebration and reflection on your time here at this wonderful institution, a place where you can always find a home.”
The graduates heard next from Kathryn Whitestone Goodman ’13, a health promotions alumna and president of the alumni board of directors.
“I’m always really thrilled when I run into a fellow Hornet out ‘in the wild,’” she said, “because while we may have a small alumni base, we are mighty and have crucial roles in society. This small, intimate college has deep connections and support that will help you throughout your lifetime, and we share a bond that large universities don’t understand.”
Goodman invited the newest alumni back to campus in October for Homecoming and reminded them to “reach out” and “stay connected,” adding, “You never know when a fellow Hornet might open a door for you, or when you’ll open one for someone else.”
Addressing his graduating classmates, Marques Armstrong ’25, president of the Student Government Association, said, “Today is more than a celebration of degrees. It’s a celebration of resilience, perseverance, and growth that brought us here.
“We faced challenges, embraced change, and discovered strengths within ourselves and each other.”
Armstrong thanked the friends, family, and “extraordinary” faculty and staff who supported him and his fellow graduates over the last four years. “Your dedication … shaped our minds, molded our characters and empowered us to dream bigger,” he said.
“You have been our mentors and motivators and, for many of us, like family.”
He then shared a quote from his favorite musical artist, Rod Wave: “Sometimes, it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about the destination.”
Armstrong added, “Class of 2025, the road hasn’t been easy. Let’s be honest, college was never just about passing classes or writing papers. It was learning about who we were. It was about navigating change, overcoming doubt, and still choosing to rise every day.
“Even when it felt easier to give up, we have faced challenges —some expected, many not — but with each one we emerged stronger, wiser, and more prepared for what lies ahead. … We learned how to be resilient and keep moving forward, even when life tested us.
“We learned how to live with intention, how to speak up when it mattered, and how to support each other when we needed it the most. Most importantly, we learned to believe in ourselves, to see our worth, our voice, and our potential, even when the road ahead wasn’t clear.”
Armstrong closed by saying Commencement wasn’t the end for the Class of 2025, but the “launchpad” into the “world that needs our light, our leadership, and our compassion. The world is waiting for our creativity, our ideas, and our courage.
“While the future may be uncertain, we are more than ready. … “Walk boldly, dream big, and speak loudly, and don’t be afraid to fail, because even in failure, there’s growth. Even in uncertainty, there’s opportunity.
“The world isn’t just waiting for graduates; it’s waiting for you. And I know you’re ready, so go take on the world.”
Before introducing the keynote speaker, University President Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar asked the Class of 2025 to ponder a few things:
“If your experience here at Lynchburg has been a life-changing one, how will you go out now and create life-changing experiences for those you meet in life?”
“Will you be an independent thinker, pausing to listen, and understand before rushing to a conclusion or response?”
“Will you be trustworthy in every area of your life — in your relationships, business practices, and finances? Will you take the skills you have learned here and become an effective leader who excels in your responsibilities, inspiring others to do the same?”
“And will you shape caring communities, whether in your workplace, your community, your house of worship, or your home?”
She added, “I trust you will, and that when you leave here, your impact on those you meet will not only be life-changing, but world-changing, because you are awesome.”
Morrison-Shetlar went on to introduce the keynote speaker for Commencement, Gloria T. Witt, describing her as a “force of nature and a true inspiration,” “an exceptional leader who deeply shares our values,” and a “thinker, leader, and community builder.”
Witt is the founder and CEO of Define Success Coaching & Facilitation Services, an executive and leadership training firm based in Lynchburg. She also was the Democratic 5th Congressional District candidate in 2024.
After taking the podium, Witt urged the graduates to “dream big” and “be intentional,” and she reminded them that their “next move matters.”
“Some of you already have your next step lined up,” she said, “however, many of you may still be exploring and deciding what is next. How about shifting your thinking? Start by asking bigger questions: How do I want to contribute to the world? What dreams have you tucked away and what goal feels too big to say aloud?
“You may be asking, ‘Why do these questions matter?’ Because too often, we limit ourselves. We allow fear, doubt, or even the expectations of others to define our path. I want to urge you today to dream big.”
Witt talked about growing up on an Amherst County, Virginia, farm, where her family “grew it, killed it, and ate it.” She spent summers, from age 14 to 19, working tobacco fields in Connecticut, where temperatures would get well into the triple digits.
With these experiences, she grew up determined that someday she’d have “an office position in a major company,” something no one in her family had ever done. To get there, Witt dreamed big and acted with purpose.
“When I graduated from high school and completed a certificate program in accounting, my family wanted to know where I wanted to work,” she said. “I researched the local companies … and intentionally targeted B&W Nuclear Service Company, now called Framatome.
“The decision, for me, was dreaming big.”
Witt worked at Framatome, a nuclear engineering company, for 32 years, steadily climbing the corporate ladder. Along the way, she also earned two degrees, while being a wife and mother. Then she launched Define Success.
Witt encouraged the graduates to “be intentional and discover what fuels your soul” and to also be resilient. “The journey from this day forward may not be easy,” she said. “You may face challenges, setbacks, and moments of doubt. … Do not give up.
“Every great leader, innovator, and changemaker has faced failure. The difference between those who succeed and those who stop short is resilience. When you fall, get back up. When the doors close, find another way.
“When people say, ‘You can’t,’ prove them wrong. The world needs our talents, your ideas, and your voice. It’s waiting on you.”
Events celebrating Lynchburg’s Class of 2025 were held on campus throughout the week.
On Tuesday morning, May 13, an invitation-only tea was held for graduates and family members who are also Lynchburg alumni.
Later that afternoon, the University held its annual Lavender Ceremony, which celebrates and acknowledges graduating students who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The event, which was open to all Lynchburg students, featured a keynote speaker, student reflections, and the bestowal of lavender graduation cords.
“The Lavender Ceremony Celebration is one way in which we create a safe space for all students to have a sense of belonging,” said Jer Bryant ’03, ’10 MA, associate University chaplain and associate professor of English.
“Moreover, it’s an opportunity to highlight the contributions of our students who belong to and/or support the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The Lavender Ceremony was followed by the Donning of the Kente, an Office of Belonging initiative that has been described as a “cultural achievement ceremony commemorating the graduation of geographic-based diaspora students who recognize their African roots.”
At the annual event, 22 graduating students received a Ghanaian Kente cloth stole to wear with their Commencement regalia.
Numerous events were held on Wednesday, May 14, starting with the Ring Ceremony, where seniors received their class rings. Later that morning, Westover Honors and the Bonner Leader Program celebrated their graduating seniors in separate events.
In giving an invocation for the Bonner Graduation Luncheon, the Rev. Dr. Nina Salmon, an ordained Episcopal priest and a member of the University’s English faculty, said that if she’d had the opportunity in college, she would have been a Bonner Leader.
She added, “Bonners make me prouder than almost anything else at Lynchburg.”
As part of the program, students serve 10 hours a week at a nonprofit, school, or government agency as part of a work-study placement. At the end of their time at Lynchburg, Bonners do a legacy, or capstone project.
At the luncheon, four graduating Bonner Leaders gave presentations about their legacy, or capstone projects.
As defined by The Corella & Bertram Bonner Foundation, a legacy project “serves a civic purpose” and “can allow the student to do something that builds the capacity of a local community or promotes awareness and action on a social issue.”
Erin Boder ’25, a biology major and studio art minor, talked about her work at Brook Hill Farm, a nonprofit horse rescue and therapeutic riding center located in Forest, Virginia.
While her initial duties involved mucking stalls and filling water buckets, Boder eventually started working with special needs and at-risk youth and training volunteers. She also helped the farm’s supervisor with veterinary work.
For her legacy project, Boder researched stress levels of rescue horses — work she hopes will be continued by future Bonners. She said the Bonner Leader Program developed her leadership skills, and she plans to continue working with a nonprofit when she returns home to Ohio.
It appeared the whole Lynchburg Fire Department was on campus to support Natalee Coates ’25, a graduating Bonner and Westover Honors Fellow with a double major in criminology and intelligence studies.
Coates’s Bonner service site was the LFD’s Station 1 in downtown Lynchburg, where she was the community risk reduction intern.
Her legacy project, “Community Risk Reduction Efforts of the Lynchburg Fire Department,” involved a program she helped create called Weekly Walkabouts. The program, which addressed home fire safety, won an award from the governor’s office.
Coates created standard operating guidelines for Weekly Walkabouts, so the program could be duplicated by other jurisdictions. She also transcribed LFD log books dating back to 1883 and served as a board member for the Lynchburg Fire Department Museum.
Cheyenne Sisak ’25, a criminology major, presented on her Bonner project, “Products Empowering Personal Dignity.” She created the initiative, which distributes feminine hygiene products to Lynchburg elementary, middle, and high schools, as part of the Bonner service she was doing at Park View Community Mission in Lynchburg.
Sisak worked with Food for Thought, a Park View program that distributes weekend food bags to schoolchildren. While attending a school board meeting, she learned that teachers and school nurses were buying feminine hygiene products for students with their own money.
So, she decided to do something about it.
For her Bonner service, Olivia Upton ’25 worked at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah Nature Center in Lynchburg. There, among other things, she mapped trails, created signage, worked with campers, and developed KinderWoods Keepers, a program that teaches children how to take care of the nature center.
An environmental science and sustainability major, Westover Honors Fellow, and Noyce Scholar, Upton talked about her legacy project, “So Much More than Summer Camp: The Importance of Environmental Education at Nature Centers.”
She said through Bonner she “found a community and a purpose.”
Other Commencement-related events held on Wednesday included a pinning ceremony for Lynchburg’s nursing graduates and the annual Teacher Induction Ceremony, which recognizes Lynchburg’s education graduates and soon-to-be teachers.
At Baccalaureate, held Wednesday evening, an honorary degree was presented to Dr. Kathryn Pumphrey ’75, ’88 MEd.
Pumphrey is a former member of the University’s board of trustees and alumni board. She also was a recipient of the University’s T. Gibson Hobbs and Distinguished Alumni awards.
For more than 40 years, Pumphrey was a professional fundraiser and foundation executive in higher education and healthcare, including 21 years as executive vice president of the Centra Health Foundation.
An active volunteer in the Lynchburg community, Pumphrey served on the Central Virginia Community College Foundation Board, the board of directors of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, and the National Board for Community College Fundraisers.
Pumphrey received the Virginia Center for Inclusive Community’s Humanitarian Award and the Virginia Community College System’s Leadership in Philanthropy Award.
