Washington and Lee University to Celebrate 238th Commencement, Baccalaureate W&L celebrates its 238th undergraduate Commencement at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 29.

Office of Communications and Public Affairs
May 22, 2025

Washington and Lee University will celebrate its 238th undergraduate Commencement on Thursday, May 29.

University President William C. Dudley will address the graduates at the 10 a.m. ceremony on the Front Lawn of the main campus. Harris Stripling ’25, 2024-2025 president of the Executive Committee of the Student Body, will speak on behalf of the Class of 2025.

Commencement festivities begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 28, on the Front Lawn with the traditional Baccalaureate service, featuring speaker Ansel Sanders ’04. Sanders is the ninth president of the Webb School of Knoxville, a private coeducational day school in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was previously the assistant headmaster and dean of students at his high school alma mater, Woodberry Forest School (Virginia). At Woodberry, Sanders also served as secretary to the Board of Trustees, director of summer programs, senior-level English teacher and lacrosse coach.

Sanders received a Master of Arts in teaching in secondary education at Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts in education in school leadership at Furman University. He went on to earn his doctorate in education leadership at Harvard University in 2015. As part of his doctoral program, he spent a year of residency with the Achievement School District in Memphis, which provides academic intervention in the lowest-performing public schools to improve student achievement.

As an active W&L alumnus and volunteer, Sanders currently serves as a class agent for the W&L Fund and was a committee member for the fifth, 10th and 20th reunions of the Class of 2004. In 2009, he received the Distinguished Young Alumni Award, recognizing his contributions to the university, community service, and personal and professional achievements. His wife, Helen Sanders ’04, is a member of W&L’s Board of Trustees.

Also speaking at the Baccalaureate service is this year’s recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, Shannon Tozier ’25, of Cumming, Georgia. Tozier was selected by the faculty as the individual who best demonstrates high ideals of living, spiritual qualities and generous service to others.

During the Commencement ceremony on Thursday, W&L will recognize 27 retiring members of the faculty and staff, who represent a total of 546 years of service.

Eight graduating seniors have received Fulbright Program grants for postgraduate international work.

• Kristina Ayers, a biology major from Waterford, Virginia, will conduct public health research in partnership with Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
• Mariam Drammeh, a cognitive and behavioral science and German double major from Lawrenceville, Georgia, will work as an English language teaching assistant in Germany.
• Matthew Flynn, a cognitive and behavioral science and music double major from Ashburn, Virginia, will study digital social science at LUT University in Finland.
• Thomas Leggett, an engineering and Chinese double major from Arlington, Virginia, will work as an English language teaching assistant in Taiwan.
• Abby Moore, a neuroscience major from Marysville, Michigan, will conduct biomedical research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
• Lily Nannini, an English major from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, will work as an English language teaching assistant in Germany.
• Tara Trinley, a history and East European and Russian studies double major from Boca Raton, Florida, will work as an English language teaching assistant in Moldova.

Seven seniors also received scholarships for postgraduate work.

• Camryn Bostick, an economics and environmental studies double major from Hellertown, Pennsylvania, received a Gilman Scholarship to study Russian language and Armenian culture in Armenia.
• Lela Casey, a global politics major from Charlotte, North Carolina, received a Critical Language Scholarship to study Arabic.
• Janae Darby, an economics major from Stafford, Virginia, received a Critical Language Scholarship to study Arabic.
• Jack Evans, a global politics and East European and Russian studies double major from Ashland, Kentucky, was named a Grand Strategy Fellow by the Hertog Foundation’s Securities Studies Program.
• Lily George, a cognitive and behavioral science and German double major from Wheeling, West Virginia, earned a U.S. Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Austria.
• Victoria Mittner, an environmental studies and politics double major from Palm Beach, Florida, earned a U.S. Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Austria.
• Katherine Wagner, sociology and German double major from Centerville, Ohio, earned a U.S. Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Austria.

In the event of rain, events will be held at Virginia Military Institute’s Cameron Hall, and the W&L community will be notified by broadcast e-mail, a notice on the university’s website and other means. Full details on all Commencement activities at W&L can be found at https://wlu.edu/commencement. The Commencement ceremony will also be streamed online at https://go.wlu.edu/livestream.