Class of 2016 bids farewell to UMO
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on December 18, 2016 1:45 AM
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Michael Douglas Mitchell, Jr. is presented with his hood as he walks across the stage to receive his masters of business administration degree on Saturday during fall commencement at the University of Mount Olive.
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Ashley Jarman dances after she and her fellow graduates turned their tassels during commencement.
MOUNT OLIVE -- The University of Mount Olive announced the names of 280 graduates during the fall commencement ceremony Saturday afternoon.
Families filled the Kornegay Arena to watch their loved ones walk across the stage to receive diplomas for their hard work and accomplishments.
After opening remarks, the university's president Philip Kerstetter, Ph.D. introduced the graduation's guest speaker -- Wayne Community College president Thomas Walker Jr., Ed.D.
"Embrace this moment at graduates," Walker said. "Keep learning and make good decisions. Be compassionate with others and know that transforming the world can help transform your own life."
Members of the faculty asked military students to rise, with 16 of the students from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
People gave them a standing ovation.
Brandon Lee then received the Dr. Thomas R. Morris Award for Academic Excellence and a check for $3,000 before students lined up.
Students walked across the stage after hearing their names called, but one student called his own name.
Erisa Malik Chune of Gambia, West Africa, stood at the podium and rattled off his name -- sending laughter throughout the arena.
"It was a good sense of accomplishment," he said, who enrolled at the university on a soccer scholarship. "It's been a long four years, and I enjoyed every last bit of it."
Chune graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, and he plans to attend graduate school.
Other students looked at their futures and felt confident.
Ashley Dixon and Chantel Smith said they were nervous before they walked across the stage, but they both said they have concrete plans after graduation.
Ms. Dixon of Greenville said she will attend graduate school after receiving a bachelor's degree in general studies.
Ms. Smith of Goldsboro received a degree in business administration and human resource management, and she will launch her human resource payroll business in the upcoming months, she said.
Tiffany Newman graduated with a degree in business administration as well, and she said she wants to pursue employment in human resources.
"It's amazing," Ms. Newman. "It's a milestone in my life that I didn't ever think I would accomplish."