Aurora, N.Y.--An off-and-on drizzle made it hard to distinguish the tears from raindrops during the final commencement ceremony at Wells College on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
The final diploma was handed out after the school’s financial struggles of 15 years finally forced the 156-year-old liberal arts college to close its doors. Students requested the president of the school, Jonathan Gibraltar, to take a back seat for commencement activities for this final ceremony, said spokesperson Kristopher LaGreca, VP of Marketing and Communications at the school, and that is just what he did, as the popular and close-knit faculty were front and center much to the graduates’ glee.
Gibraltar did come to the podium to open up the conferring of degrees officially and was met with some boos from the audience and graduates, who then broke into a chant of “We are Wells!” That spread to many members of the faculty as well.
“I am trying not to cry,” said alumna Dr. Kristy Lee Parkim, who was there to support her school and show her 15-year-old daughter where she would have gone to school when it was time to go to college.
Bailey Hamm, a junior who helped out with robing the graduates, would be graduating next year had the school not closed, but now is researching options to continue her education elsewhere. “It’s frustrating, but you know what? I’m here for my friends who are graduating today. It’s time for celebration.”
The school has reached out to several area colleges and universities like Le Moyne College and Hobart and William Smith Colleges among others to help its students continue their education opportunities in the future.