With 107 graduates hailing from Bedford to Bangladesh, Randolph College’s commencement ceremony Sunday honored the first class to enroll at Randolph as a co-ed institution.
President John Klein called today’s graduates “pioneers” and praised them for weathering the growing pains of an institution in flux.
“You more than any other class experienced the college in transition, both the downs and the ups together,” Klein said during his message to the graduates.
The sun peaked out from the clouds for a brief window Sunday morning, providing relief from a weekend of wet weather. It was an improvement from the day before, when rain threatened to put a damper on outdoor graduations at Liberty University, Lynchburg College and Sweet Briar College.
The ceremony -- which featured commencement speaker Shannon Valentine, a Lynchburg leader and former state delegate – reflected the college’s rich traditions.
During the processional, a brass band played as the graduates were ushered into The Dell, the Greek-style amphitheater on the backside of campus. Meanwhile, hundreds of spectators cheered on the graduates from the grassy hillside above.
According to custom, the graduates each chose a friend or family member to march by their side, and raise the hood of their robe during the conferring of the degrees.
After degrees were conferred, Klein presented the Maude Huff Fife Award to the senior with the best grades: Guan Wang, a math and economics major from China.
Valentine’s commencement speech focused on learning from the pivotal moments that define our lives. She recounted the death of her first husband, who died during naval service.
“It was a moment through which the prism I saw and understood life changed completely,” she said.
The tragedy fortified Valentine’s conviction that “our lives matter.” In the decades that followed, she devoted her life to raising three children and pursuing a career of public service.
Valentine described some of the challenges of her political career, including her loss to Republican Scott Garrett in the 2009 House of Delegates election. She urged the graduates to face life’s struggles with integrity, saying “Integrity is not what you do; it’s who you are.”
Representing the class of 2011, senior class president Amanda Roberts expressed nostalgia for Randolph’s traditions and tight-knit community, while alluding to the challenges of transitioning to co-ed.
“The fact that we are all here after the past four years of struggles speaks to the character of our class,” she said, later adding:
“I see Randolph as my home. It will be difficult to leave the embrace of the red brick wall.”
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