Kaitlyn D. Jerden of Littlefield, TX, and Caleb B. Wilson of Sudan, TX, has graduated from Wayland Baptist University.
Kaitlyn graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fitness Management and Caleb graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science.
Ninety-eight Wayland graduates received their diplomas during ceremonies held at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hutcherson Center on Wayland’s Plainview campus. Dr. Cindy McClenagan, Vice president for Academic Affairs, presented the candidates for degrees to Dr. Bobby Hall, President, who conferred degrees.
He was assisted by Mark Jones, chair of Wayland’s Board of Trustees.
Hall gave the President’s Charge, and Luke J. Brockway, a graduating senior from Kilgore, presented the Student Address. Dylan Lee Jerden, a graduating senior from New Deal, read Philippians 1:6 from the Bible.
Dr. Sarah Herrington, Assistant Professor of Music Education and Director of Choral Studies, directed the singing of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing and then later the sing of the Alma Mater. Following an invocation by Paten Czarina Denton, a graduating senior from Conway, AR, Hans Christian Doughtie, a graduating senior from Houston, led the “Pledge to the United States Flag” and the “Pledge to the Christian Flag”. Aubrey Jaramillo, a graduating senior from Clarendon, gave the benediction.
Graduates included seven students receiving doctoral degrees, 17 students receiving master’s degrees, and 74 students receiving bachelor’s degrees. There were 66 graduates from Texas, including 12 from Plainview.
Among the graduates were 16 students from 14 others states and one student from American Samoa. In addition to the United States, 12 countries were represented among 15 candidates for graduation.
Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging, learningfocused, and distinctively Christian environment for professional success and service to God and humankind. The university was established in 1908 by pioneer physician Dr. James Henry Wayland, who believed that education should be accessible to all and that it should be grounded in faith in Christ. Wayland is the oldest institution of higher education in continuous existence on the High Plains of Texas and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. In addition to the home campus in Plainview, Texas, Wayland operates campuses in Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls and San Antonio, Texas; Phoenix and Sierra Vista, Ariz.; Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska; and Mililani, Hawaii. The university also offers full degree programs online, as well as a nursing program through Wayland’s San Antonio campus.