Gettysburg College prepares our graduates with the knowledge and enduring skills to lead lives of consequence.
Gettysburg College held its Midyear Graduates Recognition Ceremony on Dec. 11, recognizing the achievements of a group of students ready to embark on their own consequential lives beyond campus. Their path to graduation was marked by countless interactions and relationships with faculty and staff across our campus, each serving to inspire and embolden the graduates as they continue their personal and professional pursuits.
“Every day, your Gettysburg experience sparked innumerable tiny collisions between the person you were when you arrived here and the one you are today—a leader prepared to walk across this stage and rightly light up this room with pride,” said President Bob Iuliano.
Addressing the gathered crowd of graduates, families, and friends inside the College Union Building Ballroom, Iuliano compared those collisions on campus to the recent display of the northern lights seen across the nation in mid-October. The bright array of colors dancing across the sky above nearby Glatfelter Hall resulted from a series of collisions of particles in the atmosphere, small and messy at a micro level, but awe-inspiring when viewed from afar.
During their time at Gettysburg, the graduates enjoyed their own “beautiful collisions,” meeting and learning about new people and cultures, while gaining a breadth and depth of knowledge and enduring skills from first-class faculty and supportive staff. These consequential interactions built the foundation for the graduates’ experiences at Gettysburg.
“In the years ahead, you’ll come to see just how formative these years have been for you, how much you’ve grown, how much you all are ready for what’s ahead, and all the ways these beautiful collisions changed you, so you can be the change our world needs,” Iuliano said.
Each year, the Midyear Graduates Recognition Ceremony honors students who have completed or are set to complete their academic requirements toward their liberal arts and sciences degrees by the end of the fall semester. This year’s Midyear Graduates Recognition Ceremony celebrated 45 graduates prepared to continue their path beyond Gettysburg.
“This recognition ceremony is a meaningful experience not only for you, but also for all those who have supported you on your journey—your family, professors, advisors, mentors, and friends,” said Associate Provost Michelle Schmidt. “It is a joyful celebration, yet we will miss having you among us on campus.”
Schmidt introduced Prof. Gokcer Ozgur from the Economics Department as the featured faculty speaker. Ozgur was quick to highlight the incredible journey the newest Gettysburg graduates had endured, often turning moments of adversity into opportunities for growth.
“Our graduates have not only earned degrees; they have undergone profound personal and intellectual growth, and emerged as accomplished scholars,” Ozgur noted. “This significant accomplishment will forever be a part of their legacy, guiding their future endeavors and motivating those who follow in their footsteps.”
“Your legacy will be marked not only by your individual achievements, but also by the positive impact you make on the lives of those around you.”
– Economics Prof. Gokcer Ozgur
The path ahead would be difficult, noted Ozgur, filled with challenges and possible setbacks, but equipped with the knowledge and skills gained through hard work in classrooms, labs, playing fields, and performance spaces across campus, the graduates would be prepared to make a difference in the world.
“Beyond your accomplishments, you possess the innate ability to uplift others, guiding them through their own challenges and inspiring them to reach their full potential,” Ozgur said. “Your legacy will be marked not only by your individual achievements, but also by the positive impact you make on the lives of those around you.”
Following Ozgur’s remarks, Vice President of College Life Anne Ehrlich called each midyear graduate in attendance to the stage and recognized some of their achievements in front of family and friends, calling out academic awards, study abroad experiences, and co-curricular activities. The ceremony concluded with the singing of the alma mater by one of the midyear graduates, Marissa Duggan ’25, a health sciences major and music minor who will attend medical school after graduation.
“Gettysburg College has allowed me to experience a full liberal arts education where I was able to pursue both my passions of science and music equally,” Duggan said. “Developing unique skills in both of those passions has helped me to become a more well-rounded individual which will be extremely helpful for my future in the medical field.”
With one final address to the gathered crowd, President Iuliano issued a charge to the graduates, reiterating Ozgur’s own advice to make a positive impact on society.
“Graduates, this is your time,” Iuliano said. “Take all that you’ve learned here and go forth and Do Great Work out in the world.”
All midyear graduates are invited to participate in Commencement Weekend for the Class of 2025, which will take place May 16-17, 2025.
Read President Iuliano’s full remarks from the 2024 Midyear Graduate Recognition Ceremony
View the gallery from the Midyear Graduates Recognition Ceremony.
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By Corey Jewart
Photos courtesy of Jason Minick, Abbey Frisco
Posted: 12/16/24