2022 COMMENCEMENT Graduates Can Boldly Say to the Next Unknown, “Bring It On!”

By Karen Petit

If there was one certainty for the graduates at Lander University’s 166th commencement ceremonies in December, it was that change is an inevitable part of life – and that showing up every day to face those changes is crucial.

Commencement speaker Elizabeth Snipes, a professor of art and Lander’s 2022 Distinguished Professor of the Year, said the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, bringing changes to the graduates’ academic journeys and plans. Snipes was the featured speaker as Lander conferred bachelor’s and master’s degrees to 305 graduates.

During the pandemic’s upheaval, Snipes said she came to the realization that “we cannot change circumstances,” but the circumstances do change –and how a person grows from these circumstances is optional for each individual.

Calin Wharton, of Abbeville, who earned a master’s degree in business administration, said her quest toward graduation included the deaths of four family members over a three-month time span, the burning of her church, and “doing all of this, the studying and working, during the pandemic.” Yet, the adversity helped her “prove to myself that I was worth it, that I could challenge myself and be proactive. I could do this,” said Wharton, who is a data analyst for Self Regional Healthcare.

Evan Hatch, of Columbia, who also earned his master’s degree in business administration, said overcoming obstacles gave him the opportunity to “change myself, or adapt.” He did so because earning his degree was the opportunity to fulfill a dream his mother had for herself and a goal, too, of his grandmother. “I finished this out for them.”

Snipes’ encouragement that graduates “show up” rung true for Honors College graduate Gabby Rogers, of Greenwood. Showing up on difficult days was a habit formed while earning her bachelor’s degree in biology with a genetics emphasis. Taking organic chemistry classes online during the pandemic shutdown “was not the easiest thing to do.” But she showed up for those classes, and the ones held on campus when she returned in August 2020. Now, Rogers is looking ahead and plans to apply for medical school in the fall.

“Today is the start of something new. I’m finishing this part of my life and moving on to something else,” Rogers said.

When nursing student Lydia O’Neal showed up for a pediatric nursing internship in Arusha, Tanzania, she faced culture shock. Patients were being treated for severe malnutrition, typhoid and malaria, which are rare in the United States. But the welcoming reception from the community’s people made her feel at home within a couple of days. O’Neal, of Hanahan, said she was looking ahead to a career as a labor and delivery nurse at Self Regional, but her study abroad experience helped her envision a life as an international travel nurse.

Alexis Stone said she was ready to put her science degree to use when she began working at the Greenwood Genetic Center after graduation.

Thayer Award

Eric Olle “Samuel“ Maardh, of Stockholm, Sweden, received the Fall 2022 Thayer Award, Lander’s highest academic honor recognizing the student graduating with the highest GPA. Maardh, who also earned a 4.0 Medalist designation, earned a B.S. in Business Administration, Management/Marketing.

Her undergraduate education forged a sense of independence and self-reliance. “Today means I did it. I will be working in my dream job,” she said. She’s ready, too, for whatever lies ahead. “I’m very OK with jumping in full speed.”

Snipes told the Class of 2022, “Appreciate the hard work that you have done. Celebrate … so that you can show up again and again and again.”

That way, the new Lander alumni can say boldly to the next unknown, “Bring it on!” 