Roanoke College Commencement speaker, Nancy Agee, president and CEO of Carilion Clinic, advised graduates on Saturday to live life well.
She shared with the College’s approximately 452 graduates the stories of six different people, including a 17-year-old killed by a drunk driver, a wife and mother battling cancer and a retired professor and long distance runner who suffered a stroke and paralysis.
There’s a theme in all of their stories, Agee said.
“Life isn’t about living each day as if it were your last, despite the bumper sticker,” she said. “Life is about living life well.”
How can graduates do that? Agee offered seven suggestions.
- Remember your creator and be thankful
- Take risks and make mistakes
- Marry your best friend
- Respect your body
- Be wise about money
- Keep learning
- Trust yourself and others
Ann Jordan Shreckhise, valedictorian for the class of 2015, shared similar words during the ceremony. The biology major told the Commencement crowd that people often miss important life moments by focusing on an end goal.
“It is when our focus narrows so much on the end of our pursuits that we don’t focus on what got us there,” she said.
Looking back, she said many of her plans for her academic direction and extracurricular interests changed from the time that she was a freshman at Roanoke.
“This uncertainty is something we should embrace,” said Shreckhise, of Grottoes, Va., who next month will start a doctorate program in physical therapy at Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences in Fishersville, Va.
Alexander Paul Berryman, of Moyock, N.C., was the class salutatorian. He is a sociology major and will attend Virginia Tech’s urban affairs and planning graduate program in the fall.
Agee and Makota Fujimura each received honorary degrees during the ceremony. Fujimura, who received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, is a worldwide-known artist, writer and speaker. He also is recipient of the American Academy of Religion’s 2014 Religion and Arts award.
His daughter, Lydia Mary Fujimura, graduated from Roanoke on Saturday with a bachelor of science degree in psychology.
Agee received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Four retiring Roanoke faculty members received the Simon Carson Wells Medal. They are Dr. Charles Early, professor of psychology, Dr. Jan Lynch, professor of psychology, Dr. Larry Lynch, professor of business administration, and Dr. Jeffrey Spielman, professor of mathematics. The medal is named for Dr. Simon Carson Wells, a teacher of mathematics and natural science at the College from 1849 until his death in 1900.
Two other Roanoke faculty were honored on Saturday. Dr. Brent Adkins, associate professor of religion and philosophy, received the Dean’s Award for Exemplary Teaching. Dr. Robert Schultz, who is the John P. Fishwick professor of English, received the Dean’s Award for Exemplary Professional Achievement.
