SPRINGFIELD, OH - A weeklong celebration of the Class of 2025 culminated with Wittenberg鈥檚 175th Commencement Exercises today, Saturday, May 17, in picturesque Commencement Hollow. On a sunny, yet windy day, speakers shared with the 323 students who crossed the stage that although they have reached the finish line, today is actually the starting point 鈥� a new beginning for the next chapter in their lives.
- Watch Video Feed Of 2025 Commencement Exercises
- Commencement Program
- Commencement Photo Gallery (Coming Soon)
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 yet understand that I wasn鈥檛 actually 鈥榓t a finish line,鈥欌�� explained keynote speaker, successful business leader, author, and visionary entrepreneur Gina Schaefer, Wittenberg class of 1993 and founder of 13 ACE Hardware stores. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 understand that it was merely the 鈥楽TARTing point.鈥� Not the start of a race, but the start of a life that would be well lived and loved 鈥� a life perhaps born from the hopes, dreams, and goals I made on this very campus.
鈥淢y graduation speaker was Marian Wright Edelman, founder of The Children鈥檚 Defense Fund, and a woman who had been a long-time idol of mine,鈥� Schaefer said. 鈥淎nd Marian, this force of change, offered us all a challenge, 鈥業f you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it.鈥� My starting point, the day where you all are now, was my decision to take that one step and move to Washington, D.C. I鈥檇 simply follow in Marian鈥檚 footsteps with all the tools Wittenberg gave me the tools to succeed.鈥�
Referencing this new 鈥榮tarting point,鈥� the importance of 鈥榖eing you,鈥� embracing change during uncertain times, and remembering to keep passing the light, served as the main themes during the many celebratory events leading up to today鈥檚 ceremony.
鈥淚 feel uneasy about what's to come, and I know a lot of you feel that way, too,鈥� said Grace A. Hehman, Class of 2025 co-president and a nursing major from Cincinnati, Ohio, in her remarks to her classmates. 鈥淪ome of us are moving to exciting new cities, living alone or with friends, and some of us are moving back to our hometowns, living with our parents, in our childhood bedrooms, with three dogs, and our 18-year-old brother. Regardless, this is a time of uncertainty. But, throughout this uncertainty, I want you all to remember how much we got through these past years. If we can pass that critical care final exam, pass intermediate accounting, and certainly if you can pass the ED-TPA, we can CERTAINLY handle anything the real world hands us. I mean it can't POSSIBLY be that bad... right?! Please take care of yourselves because I really don't want the next time I see some of you to be in the hospital.鈥�
Victoria G. Pipinich, senior co-president and chemistry major with a math minor from Fort Worth, Texas, also addressed the class.
鈥淎s I gaze out onto this crowd today, I cannot help but think of how proud I am to be a part of this class,鈥� she added 鈥淚 see future doctors, lawyers, scientists, coaches, teachers, nurses鈥�.and then, some of us have also figured out how to avoid the real world altogether: graduate school. But ultimately whatever your next step is in life, and wherever you all go after today, I challenge each of you to become the very best at whatever it is you choose.鈥�
Kicking off the ceremony, David P. and Carol Matevia Endowed University Pastor Tracy Paschke-Johannes offered a special invocation and graduation litany. Wittenberg President Michael L. Frandsen then followed, congratulating the class of 2025 in his opening remarks and thanking them for making him an honorary member of the class.
鈥淭o everything, there is a season. Today marks the end of a season for the Class of 2025, and, almost, for Sharon and me,鈥� he said. 鈥淵es, we are 鈥榞raduating鈥� today, too, and looking forward to stomping the Seal. I hope our graduates share with me the feeling that your time at Wittenberg has been a wonderful season. Sure, there have been bad weather days, but there have been many, many more terrific days.
鈥淎s you leave Wittenberg, know that your life will have many more seasons,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭hroughout those seasons, there will be joys and sorrows, times of moving forward, and of moving backward, and of moving sideways. There will be times when everything clicks, and others where nothing seems to work. Your Wittenberg education has been an important part of your preparation for the changing seasons. You鈥檝e learned in classrooms, in dorm rooms, on stages, on courts and fields, and, I hope, everywhere, really. You鈥檝e learned from each other, from faculty and staff, from people in the community, and from observing the events in our world. All of that learning was building on the foundation you brought with you from your families.鈥�
Frandsen, who will conclude his service as president on June 30, 2025, also reminded graduates that today is not only an ending, but also a beginning, a commencement.
鈥淲e are here today to mark the ending, and the beginning, and to celebrate our graduates and all their accomplishments,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s you celebrate this life milestone, leave here confident in your abilities, but with the humility to know that there is always more to learn and that the unexpected will happen. Know the importance of passing your light and working to make your communities better. In the face of life鈥檚 challenges, remember that you know how to Tiger Up! Remember, too, that you are Wittenberg Tigers for life, and that means you do not have to go it alone. Keep in touch with each other and with this place. As you leave here to do great things, use your head and listen to your heart. Keep making us proud.鈥�
Chair of the Wittenberg Board of Directors William 鈥淏ill鈥� Edwards, class of 1989, also shared remarks with the graduates.
鈥淲ittenberg is an institution rooted in a mission that speaks to helping students discover their respective callings, being responsible global citizens, and leaving this place to lead personal, professional, and civic lives of creativity, service, compassion, and integrity,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ittenberg has helped inform the ways you engage the world and challenged you to dig deep and think big. I know Wittenberg helped shape my life, and I hope that it has shaped yours, so today we celebrate with you 鈥� the amazing Class of 2025.鈥�
Edwards then introduced the honorary degree presentation.
鈥淗onorary degrees from Wittenberg are bestowed on those who have passed their light on in extraordinary ways,鈥� he said. 鈥淕ina Schaefer has empowered communities and used business ownership as a tool to combat inequality. In the process, she has changed lives forever. I wish to thank Gina for being with us today and for showing our soon-to-be alumni the power of a Wittenberg education in the world.鈥�
Schaefer was then presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters following a reading of a citation by Heather Wright, professor of political science and director of women鈥檚 studies at Wittenberg.
鈥淥ver the course of your 22 years in business, you transformed a single Ace Hardware store in a neglected neighborhood into the thriving enterprise lovingly referred to as A Few Cool Hardware Stores with 13 locations across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia,鈥� Wright read.
鈥淵our business not only provides essential services, but it daily empowers the community, including the recovery community, all while ensuring supportive and inclusive workplaces. Your passion for business ownership as a tool to combat inequality recently led you to sell your $50-million business to your employees, creating more than 130 co-owners. Your incredible journey is chronicled in your book Recovery Hardware, which highlights the power of second chances and community revitalization.鈥�
Honored by several organizations for her leadership and contributions to business and community development, Schaefer has routinely delivered a message that resonates strongly with those who defy the odds in the pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors, especially women.
In her address, she also provided graduates with her 鈥榯op five ways to build your life鈥� 鈥� 鈥渂e curious, do hard things, be the CEO of your life, experience a four to understand a 10, and remember you鈥檙e not JUST anything,鈥� she said.
