BUIES CREEK, North Carolina – For some new Campbell graduates, the day they received their degrees was also the first time they visited the Buies Creek campus. One hundred and seventy nine degrees were conferred during the Adult & Online Education commencement ceremony Saturday, May 14, in Turner Auditorium. The College of Arts & Sciences, School of Education and the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business were all represented.
Adult & Online Education students hail from the Fort Liberty/Pope field campus, Camp Lejeune/New River campus, RTP campus and Campbell Online. As adult learners and professionals, many of these graduates have pursued higher education while maintaining other important roles.
“Most of us are not only students. We are service members on active duty or in the reserves; we are veterans and military families; we are parents and we are professionals in many different career fields,” said Thomas McDermott, a graduate of the Fort Liberty campus. “School is one of our many responsibilities.”
Commencement speaker David Crabtree, WRAL news anchor and reporter, can attest to the challenge of juggling educational pursuits with full-time professional responsibilities. He is currently working toward a Master of Divinity at Duke University.
Crabtree shared several anecdotes of his experiences as a veteran news journalist and the impact he’s had on the lives of individuals while going about his daily job. Referring to Luke 12, which states that “from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked,” Crabtree encouraged the new graduates to be generous with their time and efforts.
“Whatever you do, be a seed planter. Let that be your generosity,” said Crabtree. “Whether or not you see one bit of fruit in your labor, keep doing it. It is what you are created to do.”