LEXINGTON (WSLS 10) - The Washington and Lee University Class of 2016 hails from 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and 12 other countries. The 229th undergraduate commencement Thursday, May 26, when it will award bachelor's degrees to more than 440 students.
University President Kenneth P. Ruscio will address the graduates at the 10 a.m. ceremony on the Front Lawn of the main campus. Lauren R. Howard, Class of 2016 representative to the Executive Committee of the Student Body and a graduating senior from South Glastonbury, Connecticut, will speak on behalf of the Class of 2016.
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During the commencement ceremony on Thursday, W&L will recognize 28 retiring members of the faculty and staff, who represent a total of 670 years of service. The University will also award an honorary doctor of humane letters degree to Dr. Robert C. Vaughan III, president and founding director of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and a 1966 Washington and Lee graduate.
The following is information from Washington and Lee on some of the graduates:
Three graduating seniors have been awarded Fulbright Grants for postgraduate international work.
- Anna Paden Carson of Roanoke, Virginia, will teach English at a public college or university in Colombia, followed by an internship or volunteer position in her field of interest, human rights and immigration.
- Ijezie Ikwuezunma of Richmond, Texas, will conduct research while pursuing an MRes (masters of research) in biomedical sciences and transnational medicine at the University of Liverpool.
- Meera Kumar of Portland, Oregon, will travel to India to pursue her project titled "Artistic Depiction and Womanhood in Village Bengal."
Four other seniors also received scholarships for postgraduate international work.
- Blaise Buma of Cameroon was named a Schwarzman Scholar for graduate study at Tsinghua University in China.
- Charlie Zachariades of Chatham, New Jersey, received a Ransome Scholarship for a program in global health implementation at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
- Hannah Wilson of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been awarded a Princeton in Asia Fellowship, providing support of transformative, service-oriented experiences in Asia.
- Patrick Wright of Tampa, Florida, has been awarded a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals Fellowship for study and internship experience in Germany.
In the event of rain, events will be held at Virginia Military Institute's Cameron Hall, and the University community will be notified by broadcast e-mail, a notice on the University's website and other means. Full details on all commencement activities at W&L can be found at www.wlu.edu/commencement. The commencement ceremony will be streamed live online at http://livestream.com/wlu/ugrad-2016.