Radford confers 580 student degrees during 2025 Winter Commencement

While the first week of this month may have delivered some pre-Christmas surprises to Virginia’s Roanoke and New River valleys – early snow and sleet, specifically – Radford University’s 2025 Winter Commencement activities, held Dec. 11-13, enjoyed a crisp but clear climate in which graduates could congregate and celebrate their successes.

At various events over those three days, 580 Highlanders received degrees, an increase over last winter. Some 388 diplomas were distributed across two undergraduate ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 13, in the Bondurant Auditorium of Preston Hall.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Bethany Usher acknowledged, in her speech, the obstacles all students must face in pursuit of their accomplishments.  

“It hasn't always been easy,” Usher told the new graduates, “but that's good, because we know that the best learning happens when you're challenged. You've been challenged.

“You found your place by applying what you learned."

Radford University President Bret Danilowicz took an opportunity to single out for praise students’ families and friends for their support, as well as the faculty members and staff for their wisdom and guidance. He also saluted the school’s athletes, veterans and several graduates with unique and intriguing backstories before ultimately saluting the collective achievements of the entire winter Class of 2025.

“This is your day to celebrate what you've accomplished,” Danilowicz reminded the audience. “No matter the path you took, no matter how long it took, and no matter whether you took this path online or in person … as you cross this stage, know that at Radford University, all our faculty and staff are extremely proud.”

In her address to the classes, keynote speaker Lara Ramsey ’90, M.S. ’92, confessed that when she first arrived in college, she had no burning ambition guiding what she wanted to do with her life, nor even much of a plan.

“Unlike some people, I did not arrive with a clear blueprint of who I was going to be,” she recalled, adding, “Radford gave me a home, a base and a belief system. Many of you will look back one day and say the same: Radford shaped you, changed you and gave you more than you expected.”   

As a student, Ramsey earned dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and economics, then a master’s in industrial and organizational psychology. In 1996, she began what would become a decades-long tenure with The National Bank of Blacksburg, despite having no background in lending, finance or management.

“But I was eager to learn,” she explained. “As opportunities arose – to lead our marketing, training and even investment area, to take on strategic projects, to oversee new areas – I said ‘yes.’ I stretched myself. I asked questions. I worked hard. Over time, that led to more responsibility, more trust and more growth.”

Her initiative has repeatedly paid career dividends and, on the first of this year, Ramsey became president of the Blacksburg bank. Over the summer, she added CEO to her title. Not bad for a former undergraduate who started freshman year uncertain of her direction.

Ramsey’s speech offered graduates a three-ingredient recipe for potential success.

“Keep learning,” she said in her first charge. “Your diploma is not the end of your education; it is the beginning of a lifetime of learning.

“So, keep asking questions. Keep exploring. Read the book. Take the class. Learn the skill. Have the conversation. Because every step you take toward learning is a step toward becoming the best version of yourself.”

Secondly, she advised the graduates to be positive forces in their communities, to actively follow their interests and channel their talents into philanthropic efforts.

“When you connect with your community, you will find common ground and purpose,” she said. “In these divisive times, we need to get to know each other. Working in your communities will do that for you. It will make you a happier person.

“And third, be proud Highlanders,” Ramsey declared. “As you walk across the stage today, you are not just finishing something – you are beginning something new. You leave here not as students, but as alumni. And that means you now belong to a lifelong community of Highlanders, one that stretches across the country and even around the world.”

"Excitement, relief and deep gratitude"

Friday’s graduate hooding and commencement ceremony saw 173 master’s degrees handed out, 18 doctorates and one post-bachelor’s certificate.  

Tamara Rice, of Cambridge, Ohio, was among those recipients.

She recently completed her Master of Fine Arts in design thinking and said Radford’s program “challenged me intellectually, pushed me to think critically and provided me the mentorship and support I needed to grow both as a scholar and an educator. It played a major role in preparing me for doctoral study.”

Concluding her time here has left Rice with an array of emotions.

“It feels like a mixture of excitement, relief and deep gratitude,” she said. “Finishing this degree marks the end of an intense season of growth and the beginning of a much larger academic journey. I feel optimistic and ready for what’s next.”

For Rice, that next step involves attending the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to pursue her Ph.D. in design.

“That has always been a dream school for me, so really, I just prepared my application for about a year, reached out to form a committee, which I have, wrote a big research proposal that was supported by my team, and got accepted,” Rice said.

A lifelong community of Highlanders

While the majority of this semester's graduates are Virginians, nine other states were also represented – California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.

Internationally, the winter Class of 2025 also includes graduates with foreign citizenship from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Sudan and the United Kingdom.

Ages within the classes range from 20 to 65, with two graduate students celebrating birthdays on the same day they received their degrees.

Some 110 graduates are first-generation college students, which represents just under 20% of the total.

Culture of care

Commencement figures make clear that Radford's longtime culture of care remains vital and ongoing.

The university’s top undergraduate major this semester was nursing, with 161 graduates representing 40% of the class total.

Within graduate levels, physician assistant and occupational therapy held the top two spots, showing 41 and 35 graduates, or 21% and 18%, respectively.

The physician assistant (PA) white coat ceremony was held Thursday, Dec. 11, at Roanoke's Taubman Museum of Art. Thirty-nine graduates received their honorary clinical lab coats, representing their rise to the level of healthcare professionals.

Class president Leigh Maxwell gave the student address, while recognitions presented included Vistar Eye Center, winner of the Partnership Award; Farrell Adkins, M.D., and Emma Lustig, M.S., PA-C, who were named Preceptors of the Year; and Mecarra Gray, D.M.Sc., M.S. ’21, PA-C, won Alumnus of the Year. The Anne T. Dale Award was given to Mary Colleen Peters; the Clinical Excellence Award was given to Jessica Lee; and the Pi Alpha Honor Society inductees were Bailey Bennett, Mackenzie Tewksbury, Jessica Lee and Lindsay Crow.

Just under 100 graduates were celebrated at the College of Nursing’s pinning ceremony on Friday afternoon in Bondurant Auditorium. During the event, 99 nursing graduates took the Nightingale Pledge, an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath, and also received the Radford University College of Nursing pin, presented to them onstage by friends, family members or faculty.  

Heidi Mock was the guest speaker, while Sarah Keaton offered the acknowledgement of student leaders.

Also on Friday, 34 graduates were recognized during the Master of Occupational Therapy pinning ceremony at the Artis Center Main Stage. Fifteen of those completed the program on Radford’s main campus, and 19 attended Radford University Carilion in Roanoke. The student addresses were presented by graduates Sydney Ayers, of Roanoke, and Skyler Petty from Austinville, Virginia.                      

A deposit on success

Radford’s Honors College held its medallion ceremony Friday morning, Dec. 12, in the Scartelli Atrium of the Douglas and Beatrice Covington Center for Visual and Performing Arts.

This biannual event recognizes graduating seniors who have undertaken and completed honors coursework and a capstone project while also achieving high grade-point averages. This semester, six students earned commendations.

Biology student Miranda McGrady was named a Highlanders Honors Scholar, which signifies that she concluded a 27-credit honors curriculum and presented a capstone project while maintaining a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Four others earned the Highlander Honors Distinction: Taylor Conner, in nursing; Randi Dillow, in political science; Autumn Langlois, in elementary education; and Maria Massana Herrera, in criminal justice.

Miranda Epley, a double major in marketing and management, was awarded for completing an honors capstone.

Fall semesters typically see smaller Honors College graduating classes – 46 were recognized during last spring’s ceremony – but the academic program’s director, Niels Christensen, praised this year’s students and said they were forging a path for more to come.

“We are very excited for our small-but-mighty cohort of winter graduates,” Christensen said. “They represent a deposit on the success of our record-setting spring 2026 cohort. Seventy seniors have already submitted honors capstone proposals and are on track to walk across the Moffett Lawn graduation stage with the Honors College medallion next semester.”