BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The 2026 West Virginia Wesleyan College Commencement Ceremony was the first to include participants in two of the college’s newest master’s degree programs, the eMBA and the Master of Counseling.
Those participants walked in the May 9 ceremony along with students representing 38 bachelor’s degree programs, five master’s degree programs and the Doctor of Nursing Practice.
President Dr. James Moore said, “Thank you, graduates for the relationship we have all been able to build with you. You are our calling. You are the reason we are here. Our mission here at this college is you. Graduates, we really do love you very, very much.”
Moore introduced jazz mentor and friend Bob Thompson, who received one of the college’s highest honors, the President’s Medal, and served as commencement speaker.
“What makes him extraordinary is not just his mastery of music, it’s his humanity,” Moore said. “His journey reflects the values and attributes that this College wants to instill in its graduates. To reach the level he has reached in music takes grit, determination, discipline, creativity, humility, sacrifice, and a lifelong commitment to growth. And maybe that is the lesson.
“The truly remarkable people among us don’t stop learning. They never stop listening. They never stop growing into fuller versions of themselves. Bob has spent decades elevating other people, including me. He has brought joy to audiences across this state and far beyond it. He has mentored generations of musicians and humans. He has preserved and advanced an art form that is fundamentally about conversation, collaboration and finding beauty together, and he has done it all with an extraordinary amount of generosity.”
Thompson encouraged graduates to be themselves and maintain their unique voice, lessons that transcend whether a person is a musician or not.
“Sometimes, being who you are can be the easiest, or it can be the hardest thing to do,” he said. “Self-exposure can sometimes be a scary thing. Have the courage to be who you are.”
Thompson also encouraged the graduates to consider making a difference in West Virginia.
“Some of the most successful people in business are the ones who find a need and go about filling that need,” he said.
“I think we are in a perfect position here to leapfrog the rest of the country, leap out ahead of everybody and lead the way with innovation and new ideas,” he said. “If we want to put that record out, we have to have you. You with your confidence to be who you are, you with your individual voices being heard, you with your energy and enthusiasm and now you with your degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College.”
Senior Class President Lou Masi Lott ’26 presented the Exemplary Teaching Award to Dr. Greg Popovich, professor of exercise science.
Lott also announced that more than $2,600 had been raised for new signage at the East Main Street intersection with College Avenue.
Lott encouraged graduates to go explore, but remember the Upshur County roads that would always bring them back to their Home Among the Hills.
“Congratulations to the class of 2026,” she said. “We didn’t just make it. We became something more along the way.”
Of the just over 200 participants in the May 2026 commencement ceremonies, 19 states and 10 international countries were represented. Two-thirds of the participants call West Virginia home, with 31 counties represented. Twenty-six percent of the participants are West Virginia PROMISE scholarship recipients and 22 percent are first-generation college students. Twelve percent are Service Scholars.
Michael Bush ’10, president of the alumni council, welcomed the new graduates to the Orange Line, joining a network that is more than 15,000 strong.
“Today, you join a fierce group of Wesleyan alumni who are changing the world, beginning in the far corners of our communities and starting with the smallest causes that ripple out beyond our wildest dreams,” Bush said. “Your active participation in our alumni association is essential. Through it, you further the work of our College and our alumni, extending our reach and shining light where perhaps there is none.”
