Virginia CEO welcomes 562 winter graduates into the next stage of their lives and careers

In her speeches to Radford University’s Winter Commencement graduates, Nicole Gwanzura ’12, MBA ’13, glanced back to her past, when she and her family got on a plane in 2004 and left Zimbabwe for Northern Virginia.

“My parents dropped everything they knew and looked for new opportunities, better educational opportunities for my siblings and I,” she recalled. “I had never even visited the United States, and all of a sudden, it was now home.”

Today, Gwanzura is the CEO of Education Advancement Consulting (EAC) LLC, a Virginia company that focuses on workforce development; she’s advised hundreds of students and professionals along their individual career paths.

But two decades ago, when she was an eighth grader still new to the U.S., it was Radford’s College Partnership Program that she said helped her navigate into her own future.

“If anybody has ever worked with Rebekah LaPlante, she was the person responsible for the program that brought me here to stay on campus for 10 days so I could get a feel for what life could look like for me to be the first in my family to get a degree here in these United States,” Gwanzura said.

“Little did I know I would get not one but two degrees here,” she added.

She would also meet her husband, a fellow Zimbabwean, Brian Gwanzura ’12, MBA ’14, on Radford’s campus, just outside the Bonnie Hurlburt Student Center, and he’s not the only alum who remains important to her, she said. Her best friend, her lawyer, and even her insurance agent are Highlanders as well.

“I'm now a part of this incredible community,” she told new graduates, “and I am so honored to be a part of this with you.”

Gwanzura urged them to keep their graduations in perspective: “First of all, you need to just be taking a time, a beat, to breathe. Take a breath. What you have done today is incredible.”

But she also urged them, moving forward, to be decisive, strategic and selective in their job searches, to formulate educated opinions and to be advocates for themselves: “What does that old adage say? Closed mouths don’t get fed.

“Please make sure you’re asking questions of the people who hired you,” she continued. “Don’t walk in on the first day and feel like, ‘Well, I’m new. I don’t know.’ You got the sauce. They hired you for a reason.”

“My fellow Highlanders … you are sitting here because you’re worthy and worthwhile of this position,” Gwanzura concluded.

“Perhaps you were made for such a time as this.”

Radford University conferred degrees upon 562 students across three ceremonies – its graduate commencement and hooding on the evening of Dec. 13, plus undergraduate events on Dec. 14, in the morning (for Artis College, the College of Humanities and Behavioral Studies and the Davis College of Business and Economics) and the afternoon (the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the College of Nursing and Waldron College).

Nearly 500 of those graduates are Virginia residents, but they also came from North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and West Virginia.

Internationally, the classes included graduates who hailed from India, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Poland and Zambia.

Ninety-one members of this year’s class, or about 16% of them, are first-generation college graduates.

In his addresses during the ceremonies, President Bret Danilowicz shared stories of some of the departing students who excelled in their scholarship and research endeavors in such fields as accounting, biology, dance, education, nursing, political science and psychology.

“This is your day to celebrate what you have accomplished, no matter what path you took, how long it took or whether you completed your degree in person or online,” he said.

He also praised another factor that made each graduation possible as well – the educators.

“Our culture is one that purposefully cultivates connections between and among faculty members and fellow students,” Danilowicz said. “And one of our strengths as an institution is that our faculty members deeply care about the success of each and every student.”

Here is a sampling of some of the graduates of 2024 and their stories:

Amiya Williams – College of Visual and Performing Arts

McKenzie Perkins – College of Nursing

C.J. Garland – College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences

Ashlee Owens – College of Business and Economics

Michael Ziegenfus – Artis College of Science and Technology

Frank Fleming – Waldron College of Health and Human Services

Will Wohlford – College of Education and Human Development

Honors College Medallion Ceremony

Six graduates were recognized at the Honors College Medallion Ceremony in the Scartelli Atrium of the Douglas and Beatrice Covington Center for Visual and Performing Arts on Friday, Dec. 13. 

“These are some of Radford’s most talented and interesting students,” Honors College Director Niels Christensen said in his opening remarks.

Three honors graduates were named Highlander Honors Scholars, the highest academic distinction bestowed upon Radford’s undergraduates for completing a 27-credit honors curriculum and for presenting their capstone project while maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or greater.

The students were Brianna L. Holland (psychology and political science), Samuel Luke Quesenberry (political science) and Lakayla A. Swann (music therapy).

Three others received Highlander Honors Distinctions. Those recipients were Marshall Colon (music therapy), David William O’Neal (chemistry) and Sydney R. Salyers (nursing). 

Each completes a yearlong honors capstone project under the mentorship of a faculty member in their major. “It is the honors capstone experience that really unifies all graduates of the Honors College,” Christensen explained.

The Friday morning celebration was a “chance for us to reflect on the incredible growth, accomplishments and meaningful lives of these graduates,” Christensen said. “These students have not only excelled academically but also demonstrated a passion for learning and an intrinsic motivation to explore the world of wonder.”

Nursing pinning ceremony

The College of Nursing celebrated and honored its upcoming graduates at a pinning ceremony Friday afternoon in Bondurant Auditorium.

In all, 92 students received pins. Many selected family and friends to do the honor.

In her opening remarks, College of Nursing Dean Wendy Downey said the students sitting in the audience before her have “weathered the ever-changing landscape that is nursing and nursing education. 

“These soon-to-be nurses,” she continued, “are still standing, still strong, and we’re all very proud of them.”

As keynote speaker, Kristi Hall, senior director of nursing at Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, reminded the graduates that they were entering the profession because nursing is their calling.

“Your journey here was full of sacrifices and challenges that were too great to overcome if this were anything less than what you were called to do,” Hall said. 

– Chad Osborne

RUC physician assistant white coat ceremony

On Thursday afternoon, family and friends gathered at the Taubman Museum of Art in downtown Roanoke for the Physician Assistant (PA) program white coat ceremony.

The event recognizes PA graduates with a presentation of a clinical lab coat, an emblem of their ascension to becoming healthcare professionals. Forty-one students received their coats during the event.

The ceremony also included recognition for several healthcare professionals who supported the students in the program, including PA program alum James Gills, PA-C ’15, as Alumnus of the Year; Karlie Shurina, PA-C, at the Preceptor of the Year; and Express Family Care as the Partner of the Year. 

In addition, several students were singled out for awards. Frank Fleming received the Anne T. Dale Award for Outstanding Service, and Kara Clapp received the Clinical Excellence Award. Four PA students were inducted into the Pi Alpha Honor Society — the national physician assistant honor society organized for the promotion and recognition of PA students and graduates. These students were Braden Mills, Genevieve O’Donnell, Caroline Parrott and Joel Watson.

– Mark Lambert