December to Remember

More than 1,000 grads celebrated across pair of commencements

By West Virginia University

December 23^rd, 2024

More than 1,000 West Virginia University students walked the Coliseum floor during a pair of commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024 — celebrating those who completed their degree requirements in August and December of this year.

Our goal, as the WVU photo team, is to capture the pomp, capture the circumstance and capture our students as they make the transition into alumni. It's impossible not to reciprocate their smiles from behind the lenses as well. So many of these individuals are people our team has gotten to know over their time on campus.

We're in the classrooms, on the fields, in the libraries, dining halls, club meetings and wandering the streets alongside this group. It's such a joy to see them take their next steps, but a bittersweet joy knowing that a knowing nod as we capture them leaving the stage is the last of its kind.

Let's take a look through some of the photo team's favorite images from the day. Highlighted by mortarboards, smiles, hugs, tears and "Country Roads" embraces, enjoy an intimate look from the Coliseum floor.

For more coverage from the ceremonies, visit WVUToday to read about the day.

Honored to be Here

The morning graduates heard from alumnus Hoppy Kercheval, the longtime host of "Talkline" on MetroNews, who received a Presidential Honorary Degree along with world history and special education math teacher at Tyler Consolidated Middle School, David Riggle. The afternoon session included a Presidential Honorary Degree presented to Nitin Kumbhani, who was inducted in to Statler College Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Distinguished Alumni Academy in 2023.

Degrees Delivered

In Memoriam

Bryson Wilt and Hannah (Wilt) Tusing received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture on behalf of their late sister and WVU student, McKenzie Wilt. Wilt passed unexpectedly in North Dakota while working at a ranch on an internship to pursue her Animal Science studies.

Penultimate Presentations

President E. Gordon Gee conferred degrees on Saturday for the penultimate time as he is set to retire from WVU at the end of the fiscal year — making the spring graduation his final at the University.

Take me Home

The "Country Roads" part of the ceremony is the one that gets the attendees on their feet. It gets the tears flowing as memories of other "Country Roads" take over and the realization that one road is coming to an end. It's the one that gets our students shoulder-to-shoulder, arm-around-arm, for a swaying serenade the end the program and send them into the congratulatory embrace of friends and family in attendance.