In 2025, Lees-McRae College is celebrating its 125^th anniversary, and on Saturday, May 10 the institution marked another milestone: the largest graduating class in the college’s history. The Class of 2025 celebrated their Commencement ceremony on Tate Lawn with an equally impressive crowd of families, friends, and loved ones that gathered to support their Bobcats as they marked this important milestone and turned their tassels into the next phase of their life.

The journey for the Class of 2025 was not always easy. The cohort began their experience at Lees-McRae amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks to class and social distancing. Due to an extended renovation to The Summit, their first college meals were served under a large tent on the same lawn on which they graduated four years later. And most recently, their senior year was rocked by Hurricane Helene, the record-breaking storm that caused extensive damage to the region that is still being grappled with today.

Despite all these challenges, the Class of 2025 kept their sight trained on their goals and remained dedicated to their studies. President Lee King congratulated them on their accomplishments in his opening speech at the ceremony.

“Four years ago, we stood on this platform and said we need to add the COVID class of graduates to the definition of resilient. And while they deserve that moniker, the Class of 2025 could also give a masterclass in persistence,” King said.

Two graduates who are particularly excellent examples of the excellence that has defined their graduating class are the recipients of this year’s H. C. Evans Jr. Fidelity Awards. Each year, the Fidelity Award is presented to two students from that year’s graduating class, one from the college’s main campus programs, and one from the online and distance learning programs.

The award is named for the college's ninth president and is presented to graduate candidates who exhibit academic excellence, campus citizenship, friendliness, leadership, and service to the college and community. Award recipients are chosen by their fellow graduates, endorsed by the college’s faculty and administration, and presented with the award during that year’s Commencement ceremony.

The recipient of this year’s H. C. Evans Jr. Fidelity Award for the online and distance learning programs is Ahlivia McMillan, an elementary education major whose journey to college graduation was not always easy. Much of McMillan’s childhood was spent moving between the homes of extended family members and foster parents. She began working at 14 years old and continued to do so to support herself throughout high school and college, including a time after high school graduation when she faced homelessness.

“In her own words, ‘I barely graduated high school, not because of my grades, but because of my attendance. With everything I had been through, I had no plans of going to college. Singing in the church became my refuge. I found a community that saw something in me, even when I couldn’t see it in myself. I am a testament to what love, faith, and community can do for someone who has felt abandoned,’” King said of McMillan in his presentation of the Fidelity Award. “We are so glad that Lees-McRae can serve as another treasured community.”

The Fidelity Award recipient from the college’s main campus programs is Genesis Lutsky, who earned her degree in Pre-Veterinary Medicine. Throughout her time at Lees-McRae, she has been a member of Order of the Tower, a resident assistant, a campus tour guide, a peer tutor, and an athlete on the women’s lacrosse team who, after tearing her ACL, took up mountain biking.

“A faculty member said that [Lutsky] is not inclined to mention athletic or academic performance. Her definition of success is manifested by the unending pursuit of knowledge, and a hunger to help. These are the attributes that define her true nature,” King said of Lutsky in his presentation of the award.

After hundreds of their classmates walked across the stage and into their lives as Lees-McRae alumni, two students were tasked with delivering parting words to encourage and congratulate their peers on their journeys. Wildlife Biology major Kayla Barber delivered a Commencement address on behalf of the college’s main campus programs, while Criminal Justice major Emma Bradley delivered a Commencement address on behalf of the college’s online and distance learning programs.

As a final symbol of the ways their time at Lees-McRae has prepared them for success in the world beyond campus, staff from the college’s May Wildlife Rehabilitation Center released a red-shouldered hawk from the roof of Tate Hall during the ceremony.

“As noted by the Center director, the aim of rehab is to give the animal the tools to survive and thrive. This is just like the tools our graduates receive during their time at Lees-McRae,” King said before the hawk was released back into the wild where it took roost in a tree, looking down at the ceremony on the lawn below.

The Class of 2025 will undoubtedly go on to achieve great things. They are primed with the perseverance needed to overcome daily struggles, the knowledge to forge successful professional paths, and the community of friends, family, and peers to support them along the way. While their time as students has come to a close, their time as Bobcats has only just begun.