Class of 2026 urged to build meaningful lives through service, courage, and community
Beneath gray spring skies and the stirring sound of bagpipes echoing across Vance Plaza, graduates of Presbyterian College crossed the stage Saturday morning as members of the college’s 143rd graduating class — a class repeatedly praised for rebuilding community through challenge, uncertainty, and change.
The College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony on May 9 blended longstanding Presbyterian College traditions with deeply personal reflections on perseverance, service, and the courage required to create meaningful lives.
From the ringing of the historic bell by Class of 2026 president Lyle Jones to the skirl of the Aiken Sheriff’s Pipes and Drums leading the academic processional, the ceremony emphasized continuity between generations of Blue Hose while celebrating students whose college years began during the lingering disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her welcome address, PC president Dr. Anita Gustafson reminded graduates that they inherited both opportunities and responsibilities from those who came before them.
“I’m not sure if you have ever noticed the statues of children outside the library,” Gustafson said. “Or if you have paid careful attention to the book that they are reading. It’s from Deuteronomy 6.”
Drawing from the biblical passage, Gustafson reflected on the idea that each generation inherits blessings it did not create.
“Likewise, all of us here, at Presbyterian College, in this moment, at this place, have inherited a beautiful campus that we did not build, the shade of oak trees that we did not plant, and the knowledge found in books that we did not write,” she said. “We are here because of the generosity, and the vision, and the faith of those who went before us.”
Now, she told graduates, it is their turn “to go. To build. To plant. To write. To create.”
A Class Shaped by Disruption and Resilience
The Class of 2026 arrived at Presbyterian College during a uniquely unsettled moment in higher education and society. For many students, traditional campus rhythms and social experiences were still recovering from the pandemic’s disruption.
That shared experience became a defining theme throughout the ceremony.
Outstanding Senior Hallie Cohen told her classmates that the path to commencement looked different for every graduate seated before her.
“As I look back to those days, I think about how PC has always taught me that it isn’t the destination that matters, but the way that you got there,” Cohen said. “And if you look around to all of us today, you will see that every single person has had a different path to get to this moment, and all that are worth celebrating.”
Cohen, who graduated with two Bachelor of Science degrees in biology and psychology along with a major in public health and honors in biology and psychology, centered her address on a simple question her parents repeatedly asked her after disappointments or setbacks:
“Did you try your best?”
“It’s such a simple idea, but it’s powerful,” Cohen said. “Because the truth is, life isn’t always going to go the way we planned. We are going to face setbacks. We are going to doubt ourselves. There will be moments when things don’t work out the way we hoped.”
Still, she said, genuine effort and integrity remain something worth carrying forward.
“As we leave Presbyterian College, I hope we carry that mindset with us,” she said. “Not just in our careers, but in how we live our lives.”
Cohen also reflected on the close-knit relationships that shaped the class’s experience.
“Look around — you will see all of the people who have seen you at your best and your worst,” she said. “They’ve been your lab partners, your roommates, your teammates, your study group, and your biggest supporters. We made it here together, and that’s what matters.”
She thanked faculty members who challenged and encouraged students throughout their time at PC, specifically naming professors who helped her grow academically and personally.
“Presbyterian College has given us more than just a degree,” Cohen said. “It has given us a community.”
Presbyterian College has given us more than just a degree. It has given us a community.”
Hallie Cohen ’26, Outstanding Senior
‘While We Live, We Create’
The ceremony’s second major address came from Professor of the Year Dr. Austin Shull, associate professor of biology, director of the Center for Inquiry, Research, and Scholarship, and a 2011 Presbyterian College graduate.
Introduced by Gustafson as a cancer researcher and mentor whose work has been published in leading scientific journals alongside undergraduate collaborators, Shull delivered a philosophical reflection on vocation, creativity, and fear.
His address, titled “Dum Vivimus, Creamus: While We Live, We Create,” expanded on the college’s motto, “While We Live, We Serve.”
“I first want to tell the Class of 2026 something,” Shull said. “If you hear nothing else today, hear this. I am incredibly proud of you.”
Shull praised graduates for rebuilding campus culture after inheriting what he called a “fractured experience” during the pandemic.
“You re-created and redeemed a community that rivals any class that has ever graduated from Presbyterian College,” he said.
He also referenced Hurricane Helene, which affected the campus community during the students’ time at PC.
“When Hurricane Helene came through our campus and tested that community you created, you showed that the renewed spirit of PC you all helped create can weather many storms,” Shull said.
Throughout the address, Shull argued that a liberal arts education does not merely prepare students for careers, but teaches them how to wrestle with life’s most difficult questions.
“It does not hand you answers wrapped in neat packages,” he said, “but equips you to address deep truths.”
Drawing from theology, philosophy, literature, and mythology, Shull told graduates that human beings are fundamentally called to create — not merely consume or follow predetermined paths.
“We are inherently created to create,” he said.
Yet meaningful creation, he argued, also requires courage.
“Creating something good is terrifying,” Shull said.
He acknowledged the anxieties many graduates face as they step into adulthood — uncertainty about careers, relationships, belonging, and purpose.
“You are excited for the life you are about to create,” he said. “And also very afraid.”
Rather than avoiding those fears, Shull urged graduates to embrace meaningful work and service anyway.
“The motto is not while we succeed or while we are comfortable or while we are happy or celebrated or remembered,” he said. “The motto is while we live.”
Near the conclusion of his address, Shull quoted Presbyterian minister and writer Frederick Buechner:
“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.”
“So go,” Shull told graduates, “and do not be afraid. Go create a life that serves in a world where terrible things will happen, but beautiful things will too.”
You re-created and redeemed a community that rivals any class that has ever graduated from Presbyterian College.”
Dr. Austin Shull, Professor of the Year
Honoring Service and Faith
The ceremony also included the conferring of an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree upon the Very Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, a 1987 Presbyterian College graduate and former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
During the presentation, college leaders highlighted Foster-Fulton’s decades of ministry, advocacy, and humanitarian service, including her leadership of Christian Aid Scotland, an organization dedicated to combating global poverty.
They also reflected on her student involvement in service organizations at Presbyterian College, particularly her work with Thornwell.
“Throughout her life, she has lived out PC’s college motto, ‘Dum Vivimus Servimus,’ through her ministry, advocacy, service, and commitment to faith seeking understanding,” the citation read.
Foster-Fulton later delivered the ceremony’s invocation.
Turning the Tassel
As the ceremony drew to a close, Gustafson led graduates through one of commencement’s most symbolic traditions: the turning of the tassel.
“For generations of graduates, the ‘turning of the tassel’ has symbolized the transition from ‘student at’ to ‘graduate of’ a college,” she said.
“For those of you receiving your diplomas this morning, I am happy to ask that you now turn your tassel to the left of your cap, as you are officially a graduate of Presbyterian College. Congratulations!”
Moments later, graduates joined together for the singing of the alma mater before the academic recessional exited Vance Plaza to the sound of “Scotland the Brave.”
Faculty Honors and Valedictory Awards
Earlier in the ceremony, PC provost and vice president of academic affairs Dr. Erin McAdams recognized several faculty members for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.
Dr. Clay Wright, assistant professor of physics, received the 2026 Kenneth B. Orr Faculty Research Fellowship.
Dr. Giovani Briguente, associate professor of music, received the 2026 Robert H. Freymeyer Award.
McAdams also recognized Dr. Eli Owens for his promotion to full professor of physics.
In addition, the college honored retiring faculty members Dr. Walter Ott, associate professor of chemistry, and Dr. Douglas Smith, associate professor of education, for their years of service to the institution.
The ceremony also included the presentation of valedictory awards to five co-valedictorians for the Class of 2026:
- Jonathan Warner Bush of Smyrna, Ga., Summa Cum Laude
- Jennifer Godinez-Perez of Greenville, Summa Cum Laude, Honors in Biology
- Ashley Elizabeth McAtee of Algonquin, Ill., Summa Cum Laude, Honors in Business Administration
- Vanessa Lynne Palisin of Myrtle Beach, Summa Cum Laude, Honors in Business Administration
- Ella Grace Williams of Dacula, Ga., Summa Cum Laude, Honors in Biology
