University of Mary Washington Holds 114th Commencement Exercises
More than 900 students graduated on Saturday.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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More than 900 members of the Class of 2025 graduated during the University of Mary Washington’s 114th Commencement on Saturday.
The university awarded 457 Bachelor of Science degrees, 291 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 40 Bachelor of Liberal Studies degrees, 49 Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, and 43 Bachelor of Science in Education degrees.
It also awarded six Master of Geospatial Analysis degrees, 59 Master of Business Administration degrees, 20 Master of Education degrees and one Master of Science in Elementary Education degrees.
The Commencement Address was delivered by Melanie Kay-Wyatt, a 1992 and 2007 graduate of UMW—once with a bachelor’s degree and once with a master’s degree— who is the superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools. Kay-Wyatt also worked in human resources in Spotsylvania Public Schools, and as a principal, assistant principal, and special education teacher at Fredericksburg City Public Schools.
During her address, Kay-Wyatt expressed her pride in “the deep commitment this University has towards shaping not just scholars, but empathetic leaders in a diverse world.”
Among the graduates were seven who completed their undergraduate degree programs with perfect 4.0 GPAs, the most ever to earn this achievement in recent history, according to a press release from the university. These students—Bonnie Butler, Kathleen Conner, Thomas Held, Austin Moore, Jessica Oberlies, Kelsey Payne, and Maria Werner—received the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award for their achievement.
The graduates also gave out an award of their own, selecting Associate Professor of Computer Science Ian Finlayson to receive the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award for having had the greatest impact on the lives of the Class of 2025.
The Pinschmidt Award, named in honor of a longtime biology professor, was established in 1999 and is the only faculty award selected specifically by students.
A full list of graduates is available for download at UMW’s Commencement website.
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