Wilmington College to hold 149th Commencement on Saturday

Wilmington College will renew its spring tradition of Commencement, which hearkens back to 1875, on Saturday (May 10) when 205 graduates, including 18 from WC’s master’s degree programs, have degrees conferred upon them. The ticketed event will be livestreamed at www.wilmington.edu beginning at 10 a.m.

Megan Canfield, a 2017 alumna, will present the keynote address. She is a tireless advocate for meaningful change in global and local communities. She serves as a foreign affairs officer in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues at the U.S. Department of State. There, Canfield drives economic policy and initiatives supporting gender equality on a global scale, including through her role as the deputy director of three Women’s Business Councils in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Graduating senior Aubrey Schwartz will introduce Canfield following a welcome from Levi Hartschuh, Class of ’25. Another graduating senior, Shannon O’Boyle, will introduce the two student speakers, Lisa A. Elliott, who will receive a Master of Organizational Leadership (MOL), representing WC’s graduate programs, and Garrett Simmons, who will receive a Bachelor of Science and represent his fellow undergraduates.

Conferring the graduate and undergraduate degrees will be President Corey Cockerill, Board of Trustees Chair Daniel Buckley and J. Wynn Alexander, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. Hooding graduates from their respective graduate programs will be Erin Bales, program director and assistant professor with the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program, and Dan Noel, director of the MOL program.

Alexander and Sigrid Solomon, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, will announce academic honors and awards, with Wil Overholt, a 2021 graduate and assistant director of alumni and parent engagement, conferring alumni membership upon the graduates. Campus Minister Nancy McCormick will offer the innovation and benediction. Also, Cockerill will provide closing remarks.

Kyleigh Caves ’25 and junior Carlie McCoy will perform special music, “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus, accompanied by Brianna Matzke, associate professor of music. Music for the procession and recession will be provided by the Wilmington College Brass Trio, directed by Evan Hatter, assistant professor of music.

Also, the Baccalaureate service on Friday (May 9), at 10:30 a.m. in Heiland Theatre will feature student presenters and graduating seniors Elise H. Snarr, Lisa Brandenburg and Jaylah Captain. Campus Minister Nancy McCormick will preside, and President Corey Cockerill will offer remarks.

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