Commencement marks beginning of new journey for Lipscomb graduates
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Click here for photo feature of three days of Graduation
Over three days in December, the Lipscomb community has experienced a season of commencement, celebrating the accomplishments of hundreds of new graduates and marking significant milestones in the history of the university.
As the word commencement literally means a beginning or start, the season also marks the beginning of a new journey for the graduates.
The celebration began Thursday, Dec. 17, when the College of Education celebrated its inaugural awarding of certificates in career exploration studies to the first cohort in the IDEAL (Igniting the Dream of Education and Access at Lipscomb) program designed for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A.T. Banks, Matthew Loveland and Rashaad Harrell proudly walked across the stage of Stowe Hall to claim their certificates, which reflect the mastery of career, academic, independent and living skills.
Mallory Whitmore, IDEAL program director, challenged the students to remember three things in her charge during the ceremony.
“This is an opportunity for a new beginning to create many ‘best days’ with this certificate,” said Whitemore. “I want you to remember three things as you leave here. Be yourself — be true to who God made you to be; be honest; and be brave. You are at a point when you are going to have more independence. I want you to be brave enough to ask for it and brave enough to accept it, because you are totally ready.”
IDEAL is a two-year certificate program, accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, designed to encourage and support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to experience college as their peers do. Launched in January 2014, the IDEAL program includes academic and skill-building classes, exercise sessions, daily internships, leisure time and a daily study period. The initial cohort included three students. This fall, 19 students comprising three cohorts, including the three graduates, were enrolled in the program.
On Friday, Dec. 18, seven women who are part of the Lipscomb LIFE (The Lipscomb Initiative for Education) program at the Tennessee Prison for Women received Associate Degrees in a special commencement ceremony that took place inside the prison. The ceremony replicated the one that took place in Allen Arena for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral candidates on Saturday.
The women, most of whom may not be identified per the Tennessee Department of Corrections, have been working to complete the academic requirements for the degree for the last seven years. They attended class every Wednesday night at the prison. Each of these nights, professors from Lipscomb University, along with traditional students who are also enrolled in these classes, travel to TPW where they are scanned in through security and sit side-by-side the inmates for class. Both the "inside" students and the "outside" students earn college credit for each course.
“On this glorious day, your faculty surrounds you to testify to not only your academic accomplishment, but also to triumph your resilience,” said Richard Goode, professor of history who founded the program in 2007. “We are here to bear witness to you and to our world that you are intelligent, compassionate, resourceful and intelligent scholars.”
The first cohort of nine Lipscomb LIFE students received Associate Degrees on Dec. 13, 2013.
“It means everything in the world to me,” said Michelle Martin, TPW resident and LIFE program graduate. “All of my hope, and dreams I never thought I’d get to have are realized today. No matter what life throws at you and no matter how far down you are. If you think you are dead in the grave. You can come back up. You can fight and claw and stand with your head held high.”
View Tennessean coverage here and WTVF (CBS) coverage here.
On Saturday, Dec. 19, more than 400 students gathered, along with their families and friends, received Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Degrees during winter commencement in Allen Arena.
Charlie Peacock, artist-in-residence in the contemporary music and industry outreach program in the College of Entertainment & the Arts, gave the faculty charge during the ceremony.
“Go and make a world you want to live in.,” Peacock challenged. “Use your hard-earned knowledge go affect the world positively. Commit to be a lifelong learner. Let you higher education be a rocket to an even loftier, lifelong education, learning and implementing good wherever and whenever you go.”
Lipscomb president L. Randolph Lowry also addressed the graduates.
“Your lives are filled with stories, and we are proud to have walked with you on your journey,” said Lowry. “As you graduate today, you join the Bison Herd, made up of 35,000 graduates of Lipscomb University. No matter what happens in life, you will always be part of this community. We are proud of you, and we congratulate you.”
— Photos by Kristi Jones; Video by Josh Shaw