FMU celebrates Spring 2026 graduates, awards honorary degrees

Francis Marion University celebrated its Spring 2026 graduates in ceremonies held Friday evening and Saturday morning in the Smith University Center on campus. A total of 342 students received degrees, including 275 undergraduates and 67 graduate students. South Carolina residents comprised 89 percent of the graduating class – the highest in-state graduation percentage among South Carolina’s public universities.

Graduates from the School of Business and the School of Health Sciences were awarded their degrees during Friday evening’s ceremony. On Saturday morning, students from the School of Education and College of Liberal Arts received their degrees.

FMU President Fred Carter congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments and emphasized the importance of their education.

“You are now a college graduate, a status which provides you with numerous privileges, but also imposes a set of stringent obligations,” he said. “At this level, you are expected to make reasoned decisions and exercise prudent judgement. After sixteen years of formal education, you have reached this threshold. Now sit back and take it in stride, own it. Education is a gift to be shared, not a privilege to be hoarded.”

He also reminded graduates that education helps people recognize what is important in life and that the best hope for tomorrow rests in the quality of the education provided today. 

“A good education also opens your eyes to what is important in life. Sensitivity towards others intensifies that awareness. And reading good literature sustains it,” he said. “But the choice is yours; it is one of the intellectual rights you have earned.”

Carter also praised FMU’s faculty members for their dedication to educating and supporting students.

“Under any circumstance, they are magnificent,” he said. “They are demanding when required; compassionate when needed. The occasional but persistent nudge that you seemed to feel on your back was actually there – it was a faculty member pushing you just a little harder.”

Dr. Harry Lesesne, president of the Darla Moore Foundation, served as the commencement speaker during Friday evening’s ceremony and received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

Lesesne oversees operations and grantmaking for the foundation that is dedicated to improving the lives of South Carolinians through philanthropy in education, environmental conservation, economic and workforce development, and the arts. Before joining the foundation, he served as executive director of the Charleston Parks Conservancy, senior advisor to former City of Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., and South Carolina director for The Conservation Fund. He also served as an officer in the United States Army and South Carolina Army National Guard as a platoon leader and company commander. A graduate of Duke University, he earned both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in history from the University of South Carolina.

In his address, Lesesne reminded graduates that each of them has “won the cosmic lottery by having the opportunity to build our lives and futures in this place, in this time.”

He also emphasized that opportunity comes with responsibility.

“That winning lottery ticket comes with great responsibility, a responsibility that each of us shares,” he said. “We share a duty to serve the society and the communities in which we live. Remember, the Constitution’s preamble says, ‘in order to form a more perfect union.’ The founders knew we weren’t perfect, but each one of us inherits from our founders the duty to make our communities more perfect.”

Dr. Maria Whitehead, senior vice president and director of land for the Southeast at the Open Space Institute, delivered the commencement address during Saturday morning’s ceremony and was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

Whitehead has nearly 20 years of experience in land and water resource protection across the Southeast. She currently leads OSI’s strategic efforts to protect scenic, natural, and historic landscapes. During her decade with the organization, she has helped permanently protect more than 175,000 acres of significant and at-risk landscapes, including the recently conserved 8,000-acre Duck Ponds property in Florence County. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Davidson College, a master’s degree from the University of Georgia, and Ph.D. from Clemson University.

In her remarks, Whitehead acknowledged the uncertainty many graduates feel as they enter the next chapter of their lives, while encouraging them to stay connected and work collaboratively. 

“You will face challenges that are complex, interconnected, and sometimes overwhelming – climate change, economic uncertainty, social division. It can be tempting to believe that these problems are too big, too entrenched, too far beyond your reach,” she said. “But what I’ve learned is no meaningful progress happens alone. The most impactful work I’ve been part of has come from unlikely partnerships – people from different backgrounds, disciplines, and perspectives choosing to work together.”

Michael Hawkins, associate athletic director for communication services at FMU, also received an honorary Doctor of Humanities during Saturday morning’s ceremony. Hawkins will retire from FMU in June after over forty years of service to the university. He served as sports information director and news writer for 21 years before being named associate athletic director for communication services, a position he has held for 41 seasons. Hawkins earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Francis Marion University.

Ten students were honored with the William H. Blackwell award which is named in memory of the founding chairman of the Francis Marion University Foundation. This award, presented each spring, is given to graduates who exemplify excellence in scholarship and who have attained, in all academic work, the highest academic achievement among those receiving the baccalaureate degree. The 2025-2026 Blackwell Award recipients are Skylar Barton (Glen Burnie, MD), Corrine Bispo (Florence, SC), Tytrez Dixon (Darlington, SC), Jacob Edwards (Latta, SC), Matthew Gardner (Latta, SC), Sydney Isenbarg (Fort Mill, SC), Anzy Johnson (Aynor, SC), James Land (Florence, SC), Ansley Martin (Mullins, SC), Jeremiah Poston (Florence, SC), Matthew Simpson (Cheraw, SC), and Cydney Turner (Latta, SC).

Twenty-six students graduated Summa Cum Laude (“with greatest praise”) after completing degree requirements with a cumulative GPA of 3.9 or higher. They were Skylar Nicole Barton (Glen Burnie, MD), Robert Zachary Brown (Clio, SC), Breanna Leigh Clark (Latta, SC), Shannoi Kay-Monique Dixon (Blythewood, SC), Tytrez Robert Dixon (Darlington, SC), Kinsley Kay Elrod (Anderson, SC), Ashton Robert Fitzwater (Florence, SC), Matthew Ronald Gardner (Latta, SC), Madelyn Rose Golka (Wesley Chapel, FL), Kaylee Grace Hewitt (Florence, SC), Halie Shea Hightower (Surfside Beach, SC), Dylan A. Howanich (Pamplico, SC), Sydney N. Isenbarg (Fort Mill, SC), Anzy L. Johnson (Aynor, SC), James Allen Land (Florence, SC), Sarah Elizabeth Lynch (Lake City, SC), Logan Elizabeth Moore (Florence, SC), Jeremiah Luke Poston (Florence, SC), Sadie Elizabeth Price (Lugoff, SC), Sophia Rosa Rameizl (Bluffton, SC), Samuel Pressley Reeder (Florence, SC), Madison Grey Rholetter (Florence, SC), Matthew Ian Simpson (Cheraw, SC), Lian Johanna Antoinette Timmermans (Nederweert, The Netherlands), George Clinton Triplett (Lake Lure, NC), and Cydney J. Turner (Latta, SC).

Twenty-two students graduated Magna Cum Laude (“with high praise”) in recognition of a cumulative GPA between 3.75 and 3.89. They were Caroline D. Anderson (Latta, SC), Isabel Grace Ashley (Kannapolis, NC), Savannah Elizabeth Beasley (Hartsville, SC), John Malcolm Bryant (Marion, SC), Tallulah Lee Civoniceva (Brisbane QLD, Australia), Tehya Davé (Pittsburgh, PA), Matthew R. Dixon (Hartsville, SC), Chelsea N. Hancock (Georgetown, SC), Sebastian Michael Harding (Florence, SC), Sydney Blake Hardwick (Conway, SC), Savannah Leighann Harrell (Florence, SC), Kaylee Rose Holladay (Kingstree, SC), Matthew Evan Huggins (Timmonsville, SC), Jamison Nathan Lynch (Effingham, SC), Evelyn Mahaffey (Florence, SC), Niklas Plath (Baden-Württemberg, Germany), Taylor Nicole Rodgers (Kingstree, SC), Richard Jackson Stokes (Timmonsville, SC), Piper Reese Stricker (Rock Hill, SC), Connor J. Walters (Florence, SC), and Lillian Grace Williamson (Sumter, SC).

Forty-six students graduated Cum Laude (“with praise”) after completing degree requirements with a GPA between 3.5 and 3.74. They were Tyhir Damani Alston (Florence, SC), Braeden Thomas Barnett (Galivants Ferry, SC), Denton R. Boykin (Darlington, SC), Emily R. Buddin (Sumter, SC), Emily Olivia Casey (Charlotte, NC), Christopher Clay Castro (Florence, SC), Mikayla Naiya Lauryn Cherry (Rock Hill, SC), Delaney Cross (Society Hill, SC), Tyree Mehki Davis (Florence, SC), Abigail Grace Doke (Florence, SC), Brionna Leshay Douglas (Florence, SC), Sarah L. Emanuel (Ruby, SC), Josie Michelle Feagin (Salters, SC),Miguel Jaquon Funderburk (Jefferson, SC), Hannah Lynn Fuson (Florence, SC), David Alehandro Guevara (Guayaquil, Ecuador), Mia Nicole Hanson (New Port Richey, SC), Britney Leah-Ann Harrison (Hartsville, SC), Cassandra T. Hitch (Florence, SC), Ashley Denise Howle (Darlington, SC), Andrew Jeremiah Lance (Columbia, SC), Johnny Ray Lane (Sellers, SC), Veronica A. Latora (Conway, SC), Caroline Marie Lucas (Easley, SC), Shawn Alexander McMichael (Fort Mill, SC), Eden Gabriella Miller (Newberry, SC), Christopher S. Moore (Florence, SC), Brittany Moranchel (Florence, SC), Devan Schott Murphy (Florence, SC), Herman Esteban Fernandez Ortega (Sogamoso, Colombia), Jordyn Elizabeth Perry (Florence, SC), Tania Dykia Peterson (Sumter, SC), Jaelyn Lamar Ryans (Aiken, SC), Ian Eric Milla Schneider (Lima, Peru), Makayla Leighann Sheppard (Coward, SC), Carolyn G. Supple (Florence, SC), Amelia Sue Tennis-Shock (Pickens, SC), Brooklin Rose Thompson (Sumter, SC), Anderson Benton Thrower (Hanahan, SC), Charity Lee Turner (Effingham, SC), Abigail Marie VanHouten (Lugoff, SC), Adaiah Shaperaea Vereen (Longs, SC), Sophie Rebecca Chambella Videla (Bluffton, SC), Madalyn Grace White (Burgaw, NC), Selena Renee Wimbish (Chula Vista, CA), and Abigail Morgan Zeis (Florence, SC).

Eleven students also graduated with University Honors. To graduate with University Honors, students must complete twenty-one credit hours in Honors courses and maintain an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher. This year’s University Honors graduates are Denton R. Boykin (Darlington, SC), Olive J. Challa (Florence, SC), Matthew R. Dixon (Hartsville, SC), Ashton Robert Fitzwater (Florence, SC), Kaylee Grace Hewitt (Florence, SC), Halie Shea Hightower (Surfside Beach, SC), Sadie Elizabeth Price (Lugoff, SC), Sophia Rosa Rameizl (Bluffton, SC), Charlotte Ruth Sellers (Hamer, SC), Amelia Sue Tennis-Shock (Pickens, SC), and Lillian Grace Williamson (Sumter, SC).