Class of 2024 Fall Commencement

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Class of 2024 Fall Baccalaureate & Commencement

As the mirror image of matriculation, commencement is the end of your four years, but in the same place in which you started. In the beginning, you walked into this community with the Pipe band and were greeted by faculty and staff as you entered the Brown Chapel. Now, you will be leaving the Brown Chapel from the opposite side and you will be again greeted by the faculty and staff as you leave the community physically. It is set up as a mirror to allow you to look at yourself now and see the immense change that has come from the four years of success, failure, redemption, community, and tradition.

Baccalaureate
(Livestream Available Here)
Class of 2024 Fall Baccalaureate Photo Album

Commencement
(Livestream Available Here)
Class of 2024 Fall Commencement Photo Album

Lyon College confers 26 degrees to the fall graduating class of 2024

Lyon College conferred 26 degrees to the fall graduating class of 2024 on Saturday, December 16, during the College’s Fall Commencement Ceremony.

Senior Class President Kaytlin Wheeler shared reflections from the senior class, congratulating the graduates and highlighting the tremendous accomplishments they have made, “When first approached about speaking at commencement, I was a bit intimidated. I wasn’t sure what I could say that could possibly encompass all of the thoughts and feelings that we’ve had at Lyon. There is no one certain thing I can say to relate to everyone graduating today.”

Wheeler continued, “Instead, I’ll just say this, the one common thread connecting all of us is the time we spent here at Lyon College. No matter what our future plans are, or aren’t yet, we will forever have existed here together.”

“Our future lives will not be without obstacles, stumbling blocks, and uncertain choices. Do not forget the challenges that you have conquered and the achievements you have accomplished in order to get to graduation. We are coming to a big chapter in our lives, and it is with the utmost excitement that I say, ‘Congratulations graduates; we did it!’”

Keynote speaker Dr. Terrell ‘TK’ King, ’00, Chief of Human Resources at Spring Independent School District, offered encouragement to the graduating class through his keynote speech, “Commencing on a Lifetime of Perseverance.”

King said, “As members of the Lyon College family, we are all familiar with our motto, ‘Perseverance Conquers All, God Willing,’ and I stand before you today to tell you about the bedrock of perseverance; hope and determination. Life, as you’re about to experience, is an intricate tapestry of challenges and triumphs, it is the unwavering belief in oneself coupled with relentless determination that is the crux of our ability to persevere.”

He continued, “Despite the struggles during the Great Depression, the damage sustained from the Tornado of April 1973, the loss of our beloved Edwards Commons to a tragic fire, or a global pandemic that upended the world, Lyon still stands today stronger than ever. Lyon College has taught us all not just how to survive, but thrive in the face of challenges. Lyon College’s journey mirrors the very essence of the message I want to deliver to you today; the importance of hope and determination in navigating life’s uncertainties and emerging victorious.”

Lyon College President Dr. Melissa P. Taverner announced Dale Cole, Chairman and CEO of First Community Bank, as the recipient of Lyon College’s Friend of Education Award. The award is presented each year to honor an individual who has made an important contribution to the cause of education in the Batesville area.

Cole, of Batesville, joined the Lyon College Board of Trustees in 2016. He graduated from the University of Texas with a business administration degree in 1970 and started his banking career in 1974. He founded First Community Bank of Batesville in 1997 and has grown it to 30 locations in Arkansas and southern Missouri.

Active in numerous community and civic endeavors, Cole previously served on the boards of the Barret School of Banking in Memphis, Tennessee, the Board of Visitors of the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville, the Batesville area Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Foundation in Batesville, Lyon College Advisory Council and White River Medical Center.

The following graduates were awarded Bachelor of Arts degrees: