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Mars Hill College Confers Degrees on 128 Graduates
Spring commencement exercises were held at Mars Hill College, Saturday, May 7, 2011, in Moore Auditorium. Dr. Dan Lunsford, college president, handed out degrees to the class of 2011 in front of an audience of family and friends, Mars Hill College faculty and staff, and – for the first time – viewers of live streaming video on the college website.
Of the 128 graduates eligible to participate in commencement ceremonies: 106 were traditional-age students, while 22 were continuing education/adult students. The majority of the students, 86 in all, were from North Carolina, while 36 were from out-of-state and 6 were from countries other than the U.S. The top two majors among graduating seniors were: Business Administration and Elementary Education.
Speaker Patrick Cash, a senior history major from Morganton, NC, told his fellow graduates that his years at Mars Hill had given him more than a diploma. “It is about the people I have met, the things I have been lucky enough to experience, the knowledge I have gained, and the passion I feel for this place that has become my home,” he said.
Cash called on his classmates to remember those things that had made their experiences at Mars Hill individually special, saying those memories would continue to ground them as they moved forward. “It will be these memories that will stay with us as we continue to grow intellectually as our lives take us further away from our friends and our campus,” he said.
Senior sociology major Lacey Davis of Hickory, NC, expressed gratitude to faculty and staff of Mars Hill, her parents, and to her fellow students for making her college experience one that produced a growing maturity. “For me, and as for many others, I would suspect, the past four years have been a time of learning, growing and serving. It has especially been a time of truth and reconciliation during my time here,” she said.
She also credited her Mars Hill education with giving her a fuller understanding of the world, and the future before her. “We came in not knowing exactly what to expect from our college experience and thanks to our liberal arts education, we’re graduating with a better understanding of the world around us and our contribution in that world,” she said.
Speaker Lisa Coomer of Marshall, NC, said that the Mars Hill College Adult and Graduate Studies program offered her the opportunity to continue her education at a point in her life that was right for her. With a degree in elementary education, Coomer said she hopes to use her education to inspire her own students to become leaders.
“Education can be viewed as a very powerful tool, which is capable of touching all aspects of our lives,” she said. “When wielded properly, this tool, education, can shape or form ideas, theories, policies and procedures that affect our lives each day. Through higher education, we can and have broadened our minds.”
The graduation invocation was given by senior Breanna Mason, a senior biology major from Brevard.
Mars Hill College Spring, 2011 Graduates, by Hometown
Bakersfield CA : Carson James Fackler
Jacksonville FL : Travis Emory Prince and Marzarius Sherrod Samon
Maitland FL : Chad Eric Fekany
Orlando FL : Brittany Mauna Downs, Chappell Shnor Rose
Port Charlotte FL : Ashley Ruth Varga
Weston FL : Clinton Daniel Lawing
Alpharetta GA : Jonathan Jeffrey Lukes
Comer GA : Rachel Mellika Buller
Sowanee GA : Lauren Kole Dogariu
Tiger GA : Allen Carey Woerner
Dameron MD : Calvin Michael Brien
Flint MI : Matthew Markus Willing
Jerome MI : Allison Michelle Curtis
Manchester MI : Adam John Wheeler
Alexander NC : Crystal C. Pike
Andrews NC : Faydra Laine Frahmann
Arden NC : Paul Prescott Blair, Barbara Lisa Hall
Asheboro NC : Ashley Lynn Seawell
Asheville NC : Alena Petrovna Androsenka, Rachel Elizabeth Arends, Heather Michelle Buckner, Catherine Duke Cobbs, Jacqueline Nicole Lovik, Leigh Anne Morauer, Dwight Charles Williams
Ayden, NC: Kristina Hope Miller,
Barnardsville NC: Emory Edward Hensley
Black Mountain NC: Stephen Glenn Mason
Brevard NC: Breanna Lee Mason, Franklin Eugene Waters Jr.
Burnsville NC: Christopher Michael McCraw, Kristina Nicole Rathburn, Christina Marie Robinson, Benjamin Aron Rosseter Candler NC : Seraja Armande Hodges, Bradley Clinton Hughes
Canton NC : Lucas Stephen Kruk, Ronald Lee Putnam
Cedar Mountain NC : Stefanie Tomlin
Chapel Hill NC : Cindy Yuan
Clyde NC : Tyler Marcus Stephenson
Danbury NC : Jade Elizabeth Bullins
Dobson NC : Tiffany Michelle Golding
E Flat Rock NC : Alecia René Davis, Raymond Harold Featherstone Jr.
Enka NC : Charlene Blount Rumfelt
Fairmont NC : Ava Lyne Lewis
Fairview NC : Stefanie Kropelnicki Edwards
Fletcher NC : Angela C. Pace, Tabitha Pope Trainor
Forest City NC : Ashley Rockell Bridges
Franklin NC : Joshua Moses Corbin, Hannah Elizabeth Moore
Granite Falls NC : Bradley Ray Bassinger
Greensboro NC : Zakia Nadira Allah, Brittany Allen Hewett, Artavia Sadé Murray
Hendersonville NC : Patrick Samuel Davidson, Maurice Jimill Harris, Jacqueline Marie Watts
Hickory NC : Lacey Brittany Davis
Horse Shoe NC : Maria Georgia Williams
Indian Trail NC : C. Travis Hayes
Mars Hill NC : Myriah Ciera Clifton, Douglas Lee Green, Derek James Hernandez, Rainer Jared Stidham,
Marshall NC : Shannon Fender Boyd, Tyler Dale Coates, Lisa McGraw Coomer, Emily Grace Fox, Audrey Michelle Franklin, Savannah Copeland Garrison, Lady Kimberly Westmoreland
Mills River NC : Eleanor Rachel Irene Alexander
Morganton NC : Patrick Shane Cash, Ciara Lashawn Felder, Julian C. Mack
Ramseur NC : Brittini Morgan Young
Rutherfordton NC : Elisa Robinson Flynn
Saluda NC : Jennifer LeAnn O’Rear
Sanford NC : Hailey Lauren Jones
Shelby NC : Seth Adam Clark
Spruce Pine NC : Emily Dawn Carpenter, Whitney Elizabeth Hughes
Star NC : Kaitlyn Roseanne Allen
Statesville NC : Hilary Susanne Bunch, Clifford Eugene Mayberry III
Swannanoa NC : Sarah Denise Paquette
Sylva NC : Monica Renee Green, Wanda Jean Moore
Trinity NC : Jonathan James Lanier
Valdese NC : Sable Nichole Adams
Weaverville NC : Vickie Ann Hollifield, Lacy Michelle Hyatt, Savannah Pauli Teresa Price, Zachary L. VanderElzen, Megan Michelle Weaver
Wilmington NC : Mason Byron Huffman
Bellevue NE : Paul Mitchell Webb
Livonia NY : Kellie Erin Wheaton
Webster NY : Michael Thomas Eagan
Urbana OH : Tara Jo West
Tunkhannock PA : Corey Timothy Rau
Aiken SC : Samantha Lee Rybicki
Elgin SC : Josiah Jeffrey Becraft
Greer SC : Phillip LaMar Bronson, Barbara JoAnne Holland, Abby Nicole Martin
Leesville SC : George Edward McCain III
Mauldin SC : Blake Edward Sanders
Murrells Inlet SC : Gregory Charles Smith
Rock Hill SC : William David Barber
Travelers Rest SC : David Alan Broadnax, Jr. Jr.
Thompson Station TN : David Philip Moore
Genola UT : Yonatan Andrey Arnold
Gloucester VA : Paula Michelle Arangio
Leesburg VA : Russell Warren Smith
Roanoke VA : Justin Howard Mabry
Newmarket, Ontario Canada : Kevin William Alexander Woods
Wuhan, China : Yi Lu
Niederkassel Germany : Frithjof Hoegener
Osaka 594-1111 Japan : Aki Masunaga
Lisbon Portugal : Igor Cohen Catran
Herceg Novi Serbia : Stevan Stankovic