Mars Hill graduates 86 in ceremony Friday night

MARS HILL, NC --

It was the mountains that sealed the deal.

Being from Antigo, Wisconsin, Christopher “Kit” Powell said he had never experienced being in the mountains until he came to Mars Hill College as a cross country recruit over four years ago.

In his graduation speech on Friday evening, Powell, a music performance major, described how the mountains had drawn him to Mars Hill College, and then had become a metaphor for the struggles of college life. During practice each day, he said, he had run up the slopes of western North Carolina, accepting the toil as the price of success.

“The parallels proved simple and poignant,” he said. “I dedicated the dauntingly steep climbs to big papers and performances, the hills to daily musical practice sessions and homework, and the dips and bumps in between to my own personal ebb and flow. Each run I completed solidified my ability to succeed in all parts of my life.”

Powell shared these thoughts with his fellow graduating seniors at Mars Hill College’s December graduation ceremonies, held in Moore Auditorium on Friday evening. Powell was one of 74 December graduates and 12 August graduates who were eligible to participate in graduation.

Adult student Tenise Smith, a special education major, described the special challenges and joys of those students who receive a college education beyond the “traditional” college age. “Over the past three years, I’ve gotten to know people who were pursuing an education in spite of being employees, in spite of having families to care for, in spite of tragedy, in spite of financial problems, and in spite of other bumps in the road,” she said. “To put it bluntly, being a dedicated student is not for wimps.”

Especially for adult students, graduation is a difficult but rewarding milestone that would have been all but impossible without tremendous motivation and support from family, as well as the faculty and staff of Mars Hill College.

Physical education major Luis Cruz, a resident of Anaheim Hills, California, spoke of boarding a plane for North Carolina after being recruited as a quarterback for the MHC football team.

“This was one of the toughest and scariest decisions I have ever had to make, but ended up being one of the best,” he said.

Cruz described the community feel of the Mars Hill campus, and the closeness he feels to faculty and fellow students. He also said he felt truly blessed to have been part of Mars Hill’s very successful athletic year, which included being part of the first MHC football team to ever win the SAC championship and advance to the NCAA playoffs.

The invocation at Friday’s ceremonies was given by Britney Acosta, a mathematics major from Glenville, NC. The musical selection was Etude in E Major, performed on piano by Sarah Grace McCoy, a junior music performance major.

The top majors for Mars Hill’s December and August graduates were: business administration, business management, education (elementary, middle, special) and sociology.

Graduates included a husband and wife from Marshall, NC: Megan Scott, an elementary education major and December graduate; and Shawn Scott, a business management major and August graduate.

Of the 86 graduates, three were double majors: Qing Lu of Wuhan City, China, double-majored in business administration and mathematics; and Amanda Fisher of Asheville, NC, double-majored in political science and sociology. Nikola Milanovic, of Belgrade Serbia, actually earned two degrees, graduating with honors and earning both a bachelor of arts degree in International Studies and a bachelor of science degree in business administration.

The following December graduates received their bachelor’s degrees from Mars Hill on Friday evening: