On the weekend that marked the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, over 1,000 Longwood graduates heard words of wisdom delivered by two Commencement speakers—Joan Johns Cobbs and A.E. Dick Howard—with ties to legal cases centered in Farmville that changed the trajectory of the country and national civil rights history.
Both the graduate and undergraduate speakers gave their addresses inside the Joan Perry Brock Center, after forecasted storms and the potential for lightning forced moving Saturday’s undergraduate ceremony from the traditional location on Wheeler Mall. Still, the soggy weather and venue change did little to dampen the spirits and celebrations of Longwood’s Class of 2024 and the friends and family gathered to cheer their accomplishments. [Watch the video]
Cobbs, who delivered the Undergraduate Commencement address and received an honorary degree, walked out of R.R. Moton High School in 1951 as part of the historic strike led by her sister, Barbara Johns. Cobbs was a plaintiff in the court case Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, which was later combined with and became part of the Brown case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 17, 1954.
Cobbs spoke of the adversities she faced and told graduates to never let anyone discourage them from reaching their goals or realizing their full potential. She told graduates they have the ability to make a meaningful difference in the world at any age, citing the actions of her sister as a 16-year-old student.
“As you embark on this journey of life I implore you to commit to the values of honesty, integrity, empathy, diversity and equity. Remember that real success is not measured solely by your personal achievements, but by the impact you have on the lives of others.”
Joan Johns Cobbs Tweet This
“As you embark on this journey of life I implore you to commit to the values of honesty, integrity, empathy, diversity and equity,” Cobbs said. “Remember that real success is not measured solely by your personal achievements, but by the impact you have on the lives of others.”
Cobbs and her childhood best friend, Edwilda Allen Isaac, sister of Dr. Edna Allen Bledsoe Dean, the first tenured Black professor at Longwood for whom Allen Hall is named, participated in the 1951 Moton strike. Both were denied admission to what was then Longwood College in 1955, based on the color of their skin, and had to leave the Farmville area to attend college.
“We often wondered what our lives would have been like had we been able to go to Longwood,” she said. “However, despite the obstacles, both of us were able to have successful careers.”
And yet, what shines through is your optimism, your excitement for the future, your care for one another and your can-do spirit.
President W. Taylor Reveley IV Tweet This
In his remarks on Saturday, President W. Taylor Reveley IV acknowledged the move to an indoor venue was because this class—which arrived on campus in the fall of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic—had already missed out on too much and he didn’t want the threat of lightning to jeopardize the momentous occasion.
“I want you to be together for this moment,” he said.
Reveley described the Class of 2024 as a historic generational class and a historic class for Longwood. The graduates were born in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, had their childhood upended by the financial crash of 2008, graduated from high school in the still early months of Covid and now are graduating from college facing a world beset with unease.
“And yet, what shines through is your optimism, your excitement for the future, your care for one another and your can-do spirit,” Reveley said. “Longwood, this honored and beautiful place that we love, has reinforced those good instincts and virtues. Our joy in these fulcrum years has been seeing you through. We are excited for the great deeds ahead, wise as you will have become, so full of experience.”
Forgiveness, grace and gratitude will set you free and allow you to accomplish even more than you can imagine, but all that we on the board know that you are capable of.
Katharine Bond ’98, Rector of the Board of Visitors Tweet This
Rector Katharine Bond ’98, in her last year of service on the Board of Visitors, asked graduates to participate in one final group exercise at the beginning of her remarks. She had them take a selfie in their regalia and then told them to send it to two people: one person who did not believe in them and one person who did. She said to send the same message to both: “I could not have made it here without you, thank you.”
“The only people who can hold you back are the ones you allow to do so,” Bond said. “By contrast, when you are determined to prove them wrong, even the naysayers can motivate and inspire your greatness. Forgiveness, grace and gratitude will set you free and allow you to accomplish even more than you can imagine, but all that we on the board know that you are capable of.”
Life is like [the game] Jenga, when the stack falls on the ground, you are motivated to try again, maybe from another perspective. If you take your time, go slow, you can accomplish anything.
Senior Class President Gabrielle Sehlhorst ’24 Tweet This
In welcoming fellow graduates, Senior Class President Gabrielle Sehlhorst ’24 talked about their transformation into citizen leaders committed to lifelong learning during their years at Longwood. She encouraged her classmates to be humble enough to ask for help and advice when needed, and to understand that sometimes failure is inevitable.
“Life is like [the game] Jenga, when the stack falls on the ground, you are motivated to try again, maybe from another perspective,” she said. “If you take your time, go slow, you can accomplish anything.”
Over Commencement weekend, Longwood recognized a total of 1182 degrees: including 374 awarded at Friday’s graduate ceremony and 643 awarded at Saturday’s undergraduate ceremony.
At Saturday’s undergraduate ceremony, five seniors shared the Sally Barksdale Hargrett ’21 Prize for Academic Excellence, Longwood’s top academic award given annually at Commencement: Abigail Grace Bowden ’24 of Portsmouth (B.S., liberal studies), Sandrah Marie Burrill ’24 of Concord (B.S., psychology), Rachel Grace Cannon ’24 of Chesapeake (B.A., English, B.A., modern languages), Kendall Grace Magee ’24 of Glen Allen (B.S., psychology) and Emily Christine Robertson ’24 of South Hill (B.A., communication studies).
Katya Elisabeth Pratt Mayer '24 of Falls Church received the prestigious Dan Daniel Senior Award for Scholarship and Citizenship, which recognizes the Longwood senior who exhibits a commitment to a life of public service and leadership. Mayer, who received a bachelor of science in business administration, was a founding member and president of Lancers Vote, an initiative founded to increase civic engagement on campus by promoting the importance of voting. Mayer has been a leader within the Student Government Association and served as statewide chairperson of the Student Leadership Council for Virginia21.
Dr. David Carkenord, professor of psychology, was awarded the Student-Faculty Recognition Award, annually given to one faculty member for professional excellence and service to students.
The graduate ceremony was held Friday evening in the Joan Perry Brock Center—marking the first Commencement exercises to be held in the 3,000-seat arena that opened last fall. Of the 374 graduate degrees conferred, 101 were to double Lancers who also received their undergraduate degree from Longwood.
The graduate ceremony address was delivered by Howard, a constitutional scholar who was a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black and was at Black’s elbow when he wrote the opinion in Griffin v. School Board of Prince Edward County, which ordered the public schools to be reopened and funded, ending Massive Resistance. This year marks the 60th anniversary of that decision.
Howard is a member of the law faculty at the University of Virginia, where he has taught students for more than half a century, including Reveley. In his remarks, he encouraged graduate degree recipients to nurture democratic attitudes, which include weighing evidence, questioning their own opinion, reaching outside of their partisan bubble and respecting people with whom they disagree.
“Learn negotiation and learn compromise,” Howard said. “Life is full of compromises. Good marriages, good businesses, good government all depend on some ability to negotiate.”
Several annual student and faculty awards were conferred at Friday’s Graduate Commencement ceremony:
- Graduate Faculty Research Award: Dr. Alison King, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders
- Graduate Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award: Dr. Shannon Salley, professor of communication sciences and disorders
- Longwood Graduate Innovation Award: Jamal Henderson '24, M.S., counselor education — school counseling
- Graduate Citizen Leader Award: Lucas Baker '25, M.S., counselor education — mental health counseling
- Graduate Young Alumni Award: Shannon Bailey ‘20, M.Ed., school librarianship
- Graduate Alumni Award: Tia Javier ‘19, M.S., communication sciences and disorders
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