SPRINGFIELD, OH - A weeklong celebration of the Class of 2025 culminated with Wittenberg’s 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 – a new beginning for the next chapter in their lives.
“I didn’t yet understand that I wasn’t actually ‘at a finish line,’” explained keynote speaker, successful business leader, author, and visionary entrepreneur Gina Schaefer, Wittenberg class of 1993 and founder of 13 ACE Hardware stores. “I didn’t understand that it was merely the ‘STARTing point.’ Not the start of a race, but the start of a life that would be well lived and loved – a life perhaps born from the hopes, dreams, and goals I made on this very campus.
“My graduation speaker was Marian Wright Edelman, founder of The Children’s Defense Fund, and a woman who had been a long-time idol of mine,” Schaefer said. “And Marian, this force of change, offered us all a challenge, ‘If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it.’ 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’d simply follow in Marian’s footsteps with all the tools Wittenberg gave me the tools to succeed.”
Referencing this new ‘starting point,’ the importance of ‘being you,’ 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’s ceremony.
“I feel uneasy about what's to come, and I know a lot of you feel that way, too,” said Grace A. Hehman, Class of 2025 co-president and a nursing major from Cincinnati, Ohio, in her remarks to her classmates. “Some 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.”
Victoria G. Pipinich, senior co-president and chemistry major with a math minor from Fort Worth, Texas, also addressed the class.
“As I gaze out onto this crowd today, I cannot help but think of how proud I am to be a part of this class,” she added “I see future doctors, lawyers, scientists, coaches, teachers, nurses….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.”
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.
“To everything, there is a season. Today marks the end of a season for the Class of 2025, and, almost, for Sharon and me,” he said. “Yes, we are ‘graduating’ 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.
“As you leave Wittenberg, know that your life will have many more seasons,” he continued. “Throughout 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’ve learned in classrooms, in dorm rooms, on stages, on courts and fields, and, I hope, everywhere, really. You’ve 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.”
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.
“We are here today to mark the ending, and the beginning, and to celebrate our graduates and all their accomplishments,” he said. “As 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’s 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.”
Chair of the Wittenberg Board of Directors William “Bill” Edwards, class of 1989, also shared remarks with the graduates.
“Wittenberg 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,” he said. “Wittenberg 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 – the amazing Class of 2025.”
Edwards then introduced the honorary degree presentation.
“Honorary degrees from Wittenberg are bestowed on those who have passed their light on in extraordinary ways,” he said. “Gina 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.”
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’s studies at Wittenberg.
“Over 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,” Wright read.
“Your 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.”
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 ‘top five ways to build your life’ – “be curious, do hard things, be the CEO of your life, experience a four to understand a 10, and remember you’re not JUST anything,” she said.
