PROCESSION AND PONCHOS
Rain showers, cool weather don't dampen happy ECU graduates
Twins Denise and Danielle Grover have never attended a graduation where it didn’t rain.
A tropical storm accompanied their 2013 graduation at Corinth Holders High School in Wendell. So on-and-off rain showers and chilly weather that welcomed nearly 4,800 graduates, friends and families to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium at East Carolina University on May 6 wasn’t unusual.
Clad in purple ponchos distributed at the gate, the 21-year-old Grovers, who graduated with biology degrees in three years, will attend graduate school after taking some time off and a sunny, warm graduation trip to the Bahamas.
Chancellor Steve Ballard, who presided over his final commencement before stepping down on June 30, welcomed the Class of 2016. “We’re one of the nation’s best public universities. Today is a great day in the life of this university.”
Keynote speaker Rick Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, journalist and 1974 graduate of ECU, said there are very few milestones in one’s life, but May 6 is one for these graduates.
Keynote speaker Rick Atkinson encouraged the students to make the world a better place. (Photo by Cliff Hollis, ECU News Services)
He stressed while hard work, persistence and luck are important, “ultimately, all of you were put on this earth to make things. Collectively, that means making a better world,” Atkinson said. “So get on with it.”
Laura Zima of Whiteville believed that she and her friends would look back on graduation day with fondness despite the raindrops that fell on the College of Fine Arts and Communication procession line. “Bad things lead to the best stories,” she said.
Since her name begins with Z, being at the front of the line was a brand new experience. “It’s just unnatural,” Zima said.
“I think I’d be fine if my feet weren’t wet,” said fellow fine arts graduate Destiny Johnson of Charlotte who waited with Zima and Rita King of Washington. All concentrated in photography, which drew them to ECU.
“It’s flown by,” Johnson said. “I’ve grown a lot.”
“I’ve made a lot of friends, and I’m going to miss them,” King said.
K’Hadree Hooker, a defensive lineman on the football team, received a bachelor’s degree in communications. He said he will miss football the most and credited several professors for helping him along the way.
“Dr. K (Kris Kirschbaum), Mrs. Brittany Thompson, Dr. (John) Howard – they’re the real MVPs,” he said.
“I’m going to miss the people – the friends I’ve met and the mentors who have helped me,” said Beth Cherveny, who received her doctorate in medicine and will head to Asheville for a family medicine residency.
Protected by a hooded rain jacket, Cheryl Gennings held two bouquets – one with mixed flowers and another with roses and hydrangeas – for her daughter Alexa, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
“We could not be prouder of her,” said Cheryl of Washington, D.C. “She has loved ECU. Being away from home and out of state, it’s been great to see her grow up and not depend on mom or dad and learn to do her own thing.”
Graduates celebrate the time-honored turning of the tassels with excited “selfie” photos. (Photo by Cliff Hollis, ECU News Services)
Alexa plans to take some time off to spend with her older sister, who is expecting a baby very soon. “We Skyped last night from her hospital bed in Chicago where she is having contractions,” Cheryl Gennings said. “We’re hoping she will be able to hold off until after graduation.”
It will be the first grandchild and another celebration. “May is a big month for the Gennings family,” Cheryl said. Alexa, who has two job offers, also will travel to Europe this summer.
Taelor Page, who received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, will take a year off to build work experience at a daycare before returning to ECU for a master’s degree in child development and family relations.
“My career goal is to be a childhood educator,” she said. “I’ve had excellent professors, especially Dr. Eboni Baugh. She’s so passionate about what she teaches, and it made me passionate and pushed me to what I want to do in life.”
“No one is more proud of what you have accomplished than we are,” said Dr. John Stiller, chair of the faculty senate in his remarks to the graduates.
Criminal justice graduate Heather Kimel said she would miss the assistance and opportunities she has had at ECU, along with the people she has met in Greenville.
Kimel will be enrolling in basic law enforcement training with the goal of joining the State Bureau of Investigation. In a nod to her degree, Kimel decorated her mortarboard with crime scene tape.
“I interned in a morgue, and when I told them about that idea for decorating my cap, they said I just had to do it,” said Kimel, who interned at the Pitt County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Senior class representative Astrid Y La Cruz Montilla encouraged her fellow graduates to serve their communities and fellow citizens. “A degree is not just about a job,” she said. “A degree from East Carolina is about service.”
ECU graduates celebrated their accomplishments at commencement despite the rainy and chilly conditions. (Photo by Jay Clark, University Communication)
Steven B. Long, representing the UNC Board of Governors, thanked Ballard for his service and offered him best wishes. “You have been the heart and soul of East Carolina University for the last 12 years,” he said.
Long also recognized Dr. Richard Williams, winner of the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Kelly King, chairman of BB&T and ECU graduate, was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree. Also recognized were the five graduating seniors who received the Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award presented by the East Carolina Alumni Association: Ryan Clancy, Erika Dietrick, Joel Glotfelty, Sarah Lisson and Kate McPherson.
Umbrellas and ponchos were the order of the day, but the drizzle stopped as the ceremony began. (Photo by Cliff Hollis, ECU News Services)