Journalist Barbara Hamm Lee encourages self-discovery; Alumni Awards are presented at 2015 Fall Convocation
By Stephanie Smaglo | September 3, 2015
"Good morning, and welcome to the rest of your life," journalist, broadcaster and keynote speaker Barbara Hamm Lee told members of the Virginia Wesleyan College community—and more specifically the Class of 2019—at Fall Convocation on Sept. 3. Guests gathered in the Convocation Center inside the Jane P. Batten Student Center for the annual event, which ceremoniously marks the beginning of the new academic year.
Lee, who serves as executive producer and host of the local radio talk show Another View, shared her own experience as an undergraduate at Bennett College, describing it as the year she found herself.
"I learned confidence, humility, honesty, self-reliance, true friendship, faith—and that I have a whole lot more to learn,” she said. “It was, as one of my Bennett sisters put it, a time when the girl I was, met the woman I became.”
She also encouraged self-discovery as a path to success.
“Let this be your year for growth, for inspiration, for wonder, for amazement, about you,” she continued. “Look inside and find out who you are, because understanding yourself is the key to understanding anything else in your life."
Lee referenced the College’s 2015 summer read, Bad Feminist, a collection of essays by cultural critic, novelist and professor Roxane Gay that explores race, politics, gender, privilege, and popular media as they relate to feminist ideology. Incoming students were required to read the book as part of “First Year Experience,” a course that explores the nature of liberal arts learning.
Recipients of the 2015 Alumni Awards were also celebrated during Convocation. Honorees included J. Tim Bailey ’83 (Distinguished Alumnus Award); Christine A. (Langsam) Williams ’97 (Alumni Service Award); and Matthew H.C. Ryan ’09 (Graduate of the Last Decade Award).
The afternoon featured music by the Eastern Virginia Brass and performances by the Wesleyan Singers, led by Director of Choral Music Bryson Mortensen. President Scott D. Miller also shared remarks.
“To all of our students, new and returning,” he said. “Welcome, and the best of luck this year. You are a part of a rich and thriving tradition here, embracing an atmosphere of first class academics and a spirit of service, values and community—just as our founders envisioned.”