College of Arts and Sciences Holds Commencement Celebration for the Class of 2025
May 12, 2025
On Sunday, May 11, the College of Arts and Sciences held a Convocation for the Conferring of Degrees to 440 undergraduates. Read the Convocation Bulletin.
Interim University Chaplain Nancee Martin opened the service by welcoming the Class of 2025 and noting that Commencement is not just a celebration of past achievement, but also the opening of a new chapter in the graduates' learning. “We celebrate not just the diplomas that you will carry with you,” said Martin, "but the culmination of your work, your labors, your toil, your persistence, and your dedication to being educated in all kinds of ways."
The traditional Latin greeting was offered by McClain Brooks of Virginia, the immediate past president of the Student Government Association.
Provost Scott Wilson announced the awardees for two faculty fellowships. First, Wilson recognized Professor of Classics Stephanie McCarter for receiving a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for her new translation of Ovid’s Art of Love, Cures for Love, and On Women’s Cosmetics. Wilson then announced that the recipient of the James D. Kennedy III, C’73, Endowed Faculty Fellowship is Teri Terigele, assistant professor of psychology. The fellowship, established in 2001 by the Kennedy Foundation of Chattanooga, supports early-career faculty in the College during their formative years.
Wilson then announced the student awards and honors for academic excellence in various disciplines, athletic achievement, and community service. This year's Dean’s Scholars, select seniors who have explored and discovered, pushed boundaries and taken risks, all in the pursuit of learning and growth, are: Konstantinos Andriotis, Ashton Butler, Kamilla Haidaienko, Abdalrahman Najjar, and Taylor Tunstall. See the complete list of 2025 awards and prizes.
Provost Wilson then asked Tony Calderón González to come forward to receive the 2025 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion for character, leadership, and service to the University and the Sewanee community. González, from Washington, D.C., received loud applause from the faculty and his classmates in All Saints’ Chapel as Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen presented the top undergraduate award given during Commencement.
As the winner of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion, González was designated to deliver the Senior Oration. González stepped to the podium and addressed his classmates, reflecting first upon the Class of 2025's role in revitalizing campus life following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. “When we crossed through the gates of the Domain for the first time, we did so at a moment unlike any other in recent memory,” he said. “But perhaps because of that, we understood the value of community more quickly than most. We learned what Sewanee traditions looked like not just by watching, but by reviving them.”
González then noted the ways that a Sewanee education extends beyond the classroom, thanking the College faculty for their mentorship and describing how his time at Sewanee stirred within him a call to serve and a belief in the possibility of contributing to a greater purpose. Noting recent societal turmoil in the form political division, ecological strain, economic disparity, and information overload, González reminded his fellow graduates of how their time at Sewanee has prepared them to navigate complexity and live with character. “We’ve been given something rare: time on a mountain, surrounded by mentors, classmates, and questions that pushed us beyond ourselves,” he said. “Now it’s our turn to bring that experience into the world—to become the kind of people who elevate the spaces we enter, who speak truth even when it’s difficult, and who serve without waiting for recognition.” See González's full remarks here.
Following González's address, Interim Dean of the College Betsy Sandlin read each graduate’s name, and Vice-Chancellor Pearigen presented each diploma.
Vice-Chancellor Pearigen then read the University's charge to the "chosen and now honored youths," followed by the singing of the alma mater.
After the singing of the alma mater, the faculty procession led the way out of All Saints’ Chapel and into the traditional applause line along University Avenue to congratulate the Class of 2025.
See photos and watch the Commencement video.
