On Saturday, more than 220 graduates will embark on their lives after Transylvania—whether that be furthering their education, joining the workforce or taking a little time to reflect on their true calling. Whatever their path, they can benefit from the illumination of professors and alumni who have been there before—and are more than happy to pass on the light.
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Sherry Holley ’88, senior wealth advisor and member of Board of Trustees
“Network with the alumni, because we’re all here to help each other. We love our community. We love passing on the light, and so I would really encourage them to engage with alumni. I would also encourage them to be a part of their communities wherever they may end up—whether it be a small community or large community, find a place where they can feel they can gain personal growth as well as helping their community grow.”
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C. Shawn McGuffey ’98, professor of sociology and African and African diaspora studies at Boston College
“Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. There’s something special about college, and I think there’s something special about Transylvania University. Continue to nurture those relationships that you’ve built at Transylvania. I’ve been surprised about how much I still lean on the relationships that I built at Transylvania in my professional life, in my personal life. You just never know where life is going to take you and how those relationships will help you.”
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Christi Hayne ’03, assistant professor of accounting
“Challenge yourselves to be that lifelong learner. Lifelong learning should continue regardless of what you’re doing. Learning should never stop when you graduate—whether that be from here or some type of graduate school. Most importantly, what a lot of us fail to do is pursue what it is that we’re passionate about. It doesn’t have to be a job that makes money. If it’s your passion, you will love it, and you will find a way to make money doing it, and it leads to some pretty exciting things.”
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Kerri Hauman, assistant professor of writing, rhetoric, and communication
“Remember that the people at Transy—the faculty and the staff who remain here after the students leave—are still resources. We think about this long after they leave here, and we continue to root for their success. We want to be able to help them. So they should reach out to us and remember to come back and see us and ask us questions and talk to us about how they’re doing.”
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Palmer “Gene” Vance ’87, attorney and member of Board of Trustees
“I think you have to be clear in what you’re looking for in the future, but you don’t necessarily have to be in a hurry to get there. I think you need to take stock of what you have done in the four years that you have been here; think about where you want to be and what is the best path for you to get there. Is it taking some time off? Is it going directly to graduate school? Is it going out in the world of work right away? Is it working and then doing graduate school? Take the time to do a unique personal assessment of yourself and your goals and make those decisions.”