{"id":15679,"date":"2025-12-13T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/?p=15679"},"modified":"2025-12-16T19:01:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T00:01:22","slug":"the-future-doesnt-come-with-a-syllabus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/the-future-doesnt-come-with-a-syllabus\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Future Doesn’t Come With a Syllabus\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Terrell Lawrence of Bowie, Maryland, gives the student commentary during the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s 28th Winter Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. (Joey Gardner Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For the University of Maryland Eastern Shore\u2019s winter class of 2025, various journeys converged to achieve the ultimate goal \u2013 to see years of work pay dividends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, 230 students saw their late nights, intense study sessions, and tough dissertation defenses rewarded as their respective undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees were conferred during UMES\u2019 28th<\/sup> Winter Commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of us in this room have stories filled with stress, laughter, memories we\u2019ll never forget, and even tears,\u201d said Terrell Lawrence<\/strong>, of Bowie, Maryland, a business administration major selected to give the student commentary. \u201cThere were also moments when life outside of school hit harder than anything inside a classroom. But through it all, we persevered, and here we are, ready to take on the world with full force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Lloyd Dunbar<\/strong>, a general studies major from Owings Mills, Maryland, the ceremony culminated what he described as a \u201ctransformative journey<\/a>.\u201d Commencement also had twofold importance for Dunbar since he was a first-generation college student unable to attend his high school graduation due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty big experience,\u201d he said. \u201cI came in as a young kid looking for the option to do better for myself and do something different than what I saw growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Derionah Abner (center) was one of 230 students who had their degrees confirmed during the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s 28th Winter Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center (Joey Gardner Photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Derionah Abner<\/strong>\u2019s path to Princess Anne began as a junior college transfer looking to play volleyball while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology. The Orlando, Florida native and former All-MEAC conference honoree walked across the stage on Saturday for the second time<\/a>, as she received her master\u2019s in rehabilitation counseling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has shown me how far I\u2019ve come and where I\u2019ve come from,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing able to play ball at the level I did, getting two degrees, and being the first in my family to get my master\u2019s, I have a lot of thankfulness and gratefulness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shymir Coakley<\/strong>, of Salisbury, Maryland, was familiar with UMES, even participating in the Upward Bound program on campus in high school. While his collegiate journey started elsewhere, his next destination led back to UMES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coakley said it was at UMES where he found his calling, majoring in finance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUMES is a great place for opportunity if you go looking for it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to put your best foot forward and stay focused, you\u2019ll come out on top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her graduation remarks, UMES President Heidi M. Anderson<\/strong> addressed the newest hawks leaving the nest, letting them know the importance of this day in their journey into making their mark on the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a day that will be remembered because it is a key milestone in your lives,\u201d she said. \u201cThe ideals and traditions you have experienced at UMES will be forever a part of your life. And you will occupy a unique and lasting place in the life and history of this University.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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University of Maryland Eastern Shore students wait to enter the William P. Hytche Athletic Center ahead of the 28th Winter Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Joey Gardner Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Lawrence, in his parting words, told the audience that the lessons he and his fellow graduates have learned are meant to be an aid on their next journey, but not dictate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe future doesn\u2019t come with a syllabus,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, the same strength, discipline, and faith that carried us through these years will continue to carry us forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the University of Maryland Eastern Shore\u2019s winter class of 2025, various journeys converged to achieve the ultimate goal \u2013 to see years of work pay dividends. On Saturday, 230 students saw their late nights, intense study sessions, and tough dissertation defenses rewarded as their respective undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees were conferred during UMES\u2019…Read more \u2018The Future Doesn’t Come With a Syllabus\u2019<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":15682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-15679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15679"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=15679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}