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Ninety-six Bluefield College seniors received baccalaureate degrees during the school’s 21st Annual Winter Commencement, Saturday, December 15, in a program that featured a keynote address from former Virginia governor and U.S. senator-elect Tim Kaine.

Chris Shoemaker

December 19, 2012

Bluefield College president Dr. David Olive welcomed the nearly 600 family and friends who filled Harman Chapel to capacity to celebrate with the graduates. The president congratulated the seniors and challenged them to live a life of faith and service.

“Our hope is that you have been prepared for more than success in a career,” said Dr. Olive, “but that you have been prepared for an enjoyable and meaningful life, one grounded in faith and in service to others. We challenge you now to live out your faith in service to God and your community.”

Dr. David Bailey, chair of the BC Board of Trustees, offered similar greetings and recognized special guests in attendance, including Virginia senator PhillipPuckett. Dr. Bailey also joined Dr. Olive in presenting an Honorary Doctorate degree to Senator-Elect Kaine for his “outstanding professional accomplishments” and his “consistent faithful service to the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

“Governor Kaine has served people throughout his entire adult life,” said Dr. Olive in presenting the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, “as a missionary, fair housing attorney, teacher and elected official. He has had a distinguished career as a public servant in the Commonwealth, including service on the Richmond City Council, as mayor of Richmond, as lieutenant governor, and as Virginia’s 70th governor.”

In his Commencement address to students, Kaine spoke about the intentional purpose of Bluefield College to be a Christ-centered institution and to graduate students who go on to live Christ-centered lives. He challenged the students to consider what it means to be Christ-centered.

“If you’re Christ-centered, you’re not going to be just a Sunday Christian or an Easter and Christmas Catholic,” said Kaine, who last month defeated former Virginia governor and onetime U.S. senator George Allen in a bid to become a U.S. senator for Virginia. “If you’re Christ-centered, Christ should be at the center of everything you do. It’s about how you live, how you treat other people.”

A onetime chair of the Democratic National Committee, Kaine also spoke about the measure or the value of the degrees being presented to the BC graduates. The value, he said, is still to be determined.

“You have worked hard to obtain your degree, but the measure of your degree will be your life,” said Kaine, a graduate of the University of Missouri and Harvard Law School. “Will that life send a message to others that you have absorbed what Christ-centered means during your time here?”

The Winter Commencement program also included the presentation of the school’s Wampler-Caudill Distinguished Faculty Award to the inSPIRE degree-completion professor who exemplifies “classroom excellence, Christian character, and professional and community involvement” and the Wampler-Caudill Student Leadership Award to the inSPIRE degree-completion student who demonstrates “academic excellence, Christian character, and leadership ability.”

Dr. Betsey Summerfield, an instructor in management and leadership, earned the faculty award for her “integrity,” “courage,” “generosity,” and “energetic passion to serve God by helping students reach their full potential.” Senior Ashley Reese of Atlantic, Virginia, received the student award for “Christian character,” “ethical leadership,” and “servant leadership.”

The 2012 Winter Commencement ceremony also included special music by graduating music major Jackie Boyer of Chesapeake, Virginia; a scripture reading from Dr. Martin Offield, associate professor of biology; formal induction for the class of 2012 into the BC Alumni Association, led by Alumni President Sharon Knick; the singing of Christmas hymns and the BC alma mater, led by music professor Bryant Moxley; and the conferring of degrees, led by President Olive, vice president for academic affairs Dr. Robert Shippey, faculty president Mimi Merritt, and registrar Leslie Trescot.

Candidates for graduation for winter 2012 included:

Myra Nolen Adams, Riner, Virginia
Ashley N. Alley, Dublin, Virginia
Lauren I. Anderson, Lynch Station, Virginia
Liberty Jewel Angel, Buena Vista, Virginia
Kelsey Michelle Arthur, Lynchburg, Virginia
Nicole Elaina Ayoub, Bluefield, West Virginia
Sharon Bane, Draper, Virginia
Cynthia Kay Bentley, Bumpass, Virginia
Samantha Nicole Bloomer, Roanoke, Virginia
Brandon Ryshad Bond, Newport News, Virginia
Jacqueline K. Boyer, Chesapeake, Virginia
Elton L. Broadnax, Freeman, Virginia
Alexander Brown, Jr., Richmond, Virginia
Jason Scott Burcham, Hillsville, Virginia
Donna A. Burks, Woodbridge, Virginia
Sheranda Vanieta Burwell, Richmond, Virginia
Madiline T. Byrnes, Woodbridge, Virginia
Isabel Calangi, Tagkawayan, Quezon, Phillippines
Cassandra Carter, Palmyra Virginia
Kayse Lynn Carter, Goodview, Virginia
William H. Cartwright, Chesapeake, Virginia
Rebecca Carville, Barboursville, Virginia
Tammy Lynne Cash, Cedar Bluff, Virginia
Antonia Cataldi, Warrenton, Virginia
Jack Chambers, Palmyra, Virginia
Dewey Lee Clemons, Jr., Wytheville, Virginia
Jacob Adam Coleman, Falls Mills, Virginia
Joanna L. Cortes, Richmond, Virginia
Amanda Marie Craig, Bedford, Virginia
Mia LaTrese DeJohnette, Richmond, Virginia
Kevin M. Elder, Forest, Virginia
Kathryn B. Ely, Richmond, Virginia
Johnthan F. Evans, Sr., Fredericksburg, Virginia
Catherine Louise Faulconer, Lynchburg, Virginia
Jeffery D. Fernandez, Lorton, Virginia
Denise A. Fletcher, Manassas, Virginia
Joseph Richard Gatewood, Jr., Poughkeepsie, New York
Patricia Michelle Gee-Bright, Lawrenceville, Virginia
Karen Jarrell Gent, Orange, Virginia
Lorrie Ann Graybeal, Wytheville, Virginia
Rosalind Gail Grevious, Richmond, Virginia
Jordan Dean Griffith, Richlands, Virginia
Larry E. Hagerman, Jr., Falls Mills, Virginia
Shannon Elizabeth Tobey Hairfield, Chesterfield, Virginia
Matthew Hall, Powhatan, Virginia
Marilyn Marie Harvey, North Chesterfield, Virginia
Christopher Allen Hayes, Tampa, Floridia
Kevin Helton, Richlands, Virginia
Shelia M. Herron, Roanoke, Virginia
Paula J. Hevner, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Curtistina Hostetter, Roanoke, Virginia
Cameron Louis Hynes, Richmond, Virginia
Hylea Marie Johnson, Rural Retreat, Virginia
Kimberly France Johnson, Woodbridge, Virginia
Jeremiah Brett Jones, Roanoke, Virginia
Faraji A. Jordan, Richmond, Virginia
Ethan Alan Lewis, Powhatan, Virginia
Bethany Ann Liddle, Galax, Virginia
Michael S. Lossner, Gwinnett County, Georgia
Debora Lynn Mahan, Richmond, Virginia
Steven Duane May, Concord, Virginia
Jennifer Clay McCoy, Pearisburg, Virginia
Rhonda L. McCroskey, Narrows, Virginia
Melissa Stafford Meador, Bedford, Virginia
Timothy Esmono Michaels, Rockledge, Flordia
Katana Shalese Mullen, Hinton, West Virginia
Tracey Hager Newman, Orange, Virginia
Derick Dewayne Norris, Portsmouth, Virginia
Britny Noel Paynter, Montpelier, Virginia
Paul Anthony Perry, Milford, Virginia
Allen James Phelps, Mechanicsville, Virginia
Jacqueline Puglisi, Winchester, Virginia
Gregory A. Purvis, Rural Retreat, Virginia
Isaac Benjamin Reed, Frederickburg, Virginina
Ashley Nicole Reese, Atlantic, Virginia
Robin E. Riddle, Tazewell, Virginia
Robert Ridout, Midlothian, Virginia
Benjamin Joseph Riffe, Falls Mills, Virginia
Latasha Marie Robinson, Farmville, Virginia
Vanessa Rojas-Warren, Richmond, Virginia
Felcia Deone Rufus, Richmond, Virginia
Suzanne Michelle Scott, Williamsburg, Virginia
Lisa Baldwin Shaffer, Elk Creek, Virginia
Lindsay Sizemore, Covington, Virginia
Carrie Elizabeth Smith, Fincastle, Virginia
Jessica Leigh Sorensen, Jessica Leigh Sorensen
Heather Lee Surface, Bluefield, Virginia
Walker Ray Suthers, Wytheville, Virginia
Vittoria Leigh Maria Tripp, Midlothian, Virginia
Gregory Underdue, Occoneeche Neck, North Carolina
Stephanie Tynesha Valentine, South Hill, Virginia
Allison Grace Lunsford Wade, Concord, Virginia
Charles David Warnock, St. Mary's, Georgia
Joshua Brandon Webb, Blacksburg, Virginia
Rachel Lyn Wylie, Roanoke, Virginia
Miranda Snead Yates, Lebanon, Virginia.

Watch Senator-Elect Kaine's Commencement Address

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