University leaders conferred degrees Sunday afternoon on 58 graduate students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, which for the first time hosted its Commencement ceremony in McCrary Theatre.
Elon University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program graduated its largest class in program history on Sunday in a new venue large enough to accommodate graduates and their families, and with a familiar face whose Commencement address offered parting advice for the future physical therapists.
The Dec. 14, 2014, afternoon ceremony in McCrary Theatre for the DPT program’s 58 graduates featured remarks from Cynthia Lewis, an associate professor emerita of Elon University and a founding faculty member of the Department of Physical Therapy Education.
Lewis encouraged the graduates to “live into their greatness” by not shying from their passion to help others. Citing a passage from author Marianne Williamson’s book “A Return to Love,” Lewis said it doesn’t serve the world to hold back energy or enthusiasm for a cause.
“As we live into our greatness,” she said, “we will unconsciously give permission to others to live into theirs.”
Plus, passion sometimes is the only way to thank those who made your success possible. Lewis said her own passion for teaching is motivated by that belief. “I hope for you the same degree of fulfillment and reward in your career as I have had in mind,” she said.
University President Leo M. Lambert closed the program with a charge to graduates in which he told them to “hold your lamps high” as they “bring light to darkened places” with the core values an Elon education represents – a commitment to excellence that demands they challenge mediocrity, a passion for a life of learning, personal integrity that may mean taking an unpopular road at times, a respect for human difference, and an ethic of service.
“The quality of this physical therapy program and our School of Health Sciences is a point of pride for this entire university and the broader community,” Lambert said. “Your work, along with the contributions of students in our physician assistant studies program, is a powerful example of what can happen when engaged learning and compassionate care come together.
“By sharing your talents, your dedication, and your good minds and hearts, you have left a lasting impact on the quality of health care in our community and on the well-being of its citizens. I cannot think of a more worthwhile legacy.”
2014 DPT honorees:
Outstanding Research Award: Elizabeth Corwin
Outstanding Clinical Performance Award: Rachel Elaine Schaal Wilson
Outstanding Student Award: Jennifer Lynn McGrath
Outstanding Clinical Instructor Award: Michael Sherk G’02 G’05, P.T., D.P.T.
Candidates for the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree:
Keely Ann Ackard
B.S., Clemson University
Grant Allen Banks
B.S., Furman University
Julie Ann Banta
B.S., Ohio University
Lindsey Frances Belliveau
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Maksim Birikov
B.S., Villa Julie College
Caroline Elizabeth Broujos
B.S., Wake Forest University
Matthew Garrott Burress
B.S., Radford University
Jaclyn Nicole Camarato
B.S., Miami University
Adam Ross Carter
B.S., Ohio University
Christopher Ryan Chance
B.S., Appalachian State University
Jennifer Blair Ciucevich
B.S., Texas A&M University
Marcia Ann Cline
B.S., University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Elizabeth JeanMarie Corwin
B.S., University of Oregon
Jaimie Marie Cunningham
B.S., Furman University
Cash Riley DeWitt
B.S., James Madison University
Amy Elizabeth DiTommaso
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Kaylor Elizabeth Drehoff
B.S., University of Maryland
Lucas Hunter Farrow
B.S., Furman University
Marissa D. Fedorcha
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kathryn Anne Freeman
B.S., Appalachian State University
Travis L. Gerrald
B.S., Clemson University
Tezia Sade Gonzales
B.S., University of Central Florida
Jessica Ashley Gulley
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Ashton N. Hardison
B.S., Campbell University
Jackie Lynn Hartig
B.S., The Ohio State University
Robert Lawrence Hensley
B.S., College of Charleston
Bryan Neal Isbell
B.S., Truman State University
Marcus Alexander Ivey
B.S., North Carolina Wesleyan College
Bradley Forest Jennings
B.S., Niagara University
Aron Christian Lippard
B.S., Montreat College
Katherine Anne Long
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kaitlin Ann Luffman
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
John Ryan Magill
B.A., Fort Lewis College at Chicago
Steven M. Marsh
B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tyler James McClurg
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Mandi Lynn McCoy
B.S., University of Idaho
Jennifer Lynn McGrath
B.S., Minnesota State University Mankato
Christy Lynn Oxendine
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kristian André Partney
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Caitlin Elise Penven-Crew
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Kristen Nichole Peschock
B.S., Barton College
Margaret Diana Wantz Phillips
B.S., Warren Wilson College
Hayley Nicole Price
B.S., Texas Christian University
Reneé DeVos Riggs
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Sarah Elizabeth Rodgers
B.S., Appalachian State University
Jeremy Michael Schain
B.S., Furman University
Jesse Dean Scheidecker
B.S., Saint Cloud State University
Jeffery James Scott, Jr.
B.S., Clemson University
Jessica Meredith Sloop
B.S., North Carolina State University
Lauren Ashley Smeltz
B.S., West Virginia University
James Daniel Stout
B.S., Messiah College
Jennifer Lynn Streeter
B.S., East Carolina University
Christiana Lynn Underdown
B.S., Olivet Nazarene University
Kristen E. Unger
B.S., Virginia Tech
Teresa Elizabeth Walsh
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Rachel Elaine Schaal Wilson
B.S., The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Francesco Paul Worley
B.S., Elon University
Andrew Christopher Young
B.A., Hope College