W&L Celebrates 463 Graduates at 238th Commencement The ceremony included remarks by President Will Dudley and Harris Stripling ’25, president of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Student Body.

By Office of Communications and Public Affairs
May 30, 2025

Washington and Lee University celebrated 463 graduating seniors at its 238th Commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 29. A custom since the 1930s, University President William C. Dudley gave the Commencement address, along with Harris Stripling ’25, president of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Student Body.

Dudley teaches a philosophy course on Virtue Ethics and Liberal Arts Education, in which his students first read Aristotle on virtue and then examine the W&L mission statement. Both he and Stripling, who was a student in his class this year, reflected on the value of higher education and the impact of Washington and Lee on the graduates’ futures.

“Higher education really matters, and I hope that you all feel that deeply because you have benefited from it,” Dudley told the graduates. “As George Washington knew, it is essential to a healthy democracy.  It prepares citizens to think critically about complex issues, and to work constructively with those who see things differently.  Our world needs people with these abilities – people like you – more than ever.”

He went on to charge the graduates to make a difference in their communities beyond Lexington, Virginia.

“Washington and Lee has prepared you for leadership and service and citizenship,” he said. “You are ready to make significant contributions wherever you go, for the benefit of yourselves and your families, but also for the benefit of the less fortunate and the communities in which you live. By investing in you, W&L has made a long-term investment in the public good.”

Read the full transcript of Dudley’s address

Stripling, a double major in business administration and politics, with a minor in philosophy from Charleston, South Carolina, was elected as EC president in the spring of 2024. He was inducted into Phi Sigma Tau, the international honor society in philosophy, and received the 1749 Senior Medallion Award, which recognizes graduates who demonstrate outstanding leadership and service throughout their time at the university.

Stripling served as an analyst for the student-run Williams Investment Society and was a member of the Institute for Honor Advisory Board, the Senior Class Gift Committee and Kathekon, W&L’s student-alumni relations organization. He participated in the W&L London Internship Program, working with Thim Ventures, an investment group focused in early-stage tech companies. And after Commencement, he heads to New York City where he will work as an investment banking analyst at Lincoln International.

In his address, Stripling pondered the existential question of how to live a worthwhile life. He recalled the late W&L President John W. Elrod’s quote above the fireplace in Elrod Commons that says, “It seems to me that nothing can be more satisfying than a life well lived. It is surely in living a life of intellectual integrity and moral virtue that we should ultimately judge the quality of our own lives.”

Stripling remarked that Washington and Lee’s greatest gift is providing its individuals with the tools and values to discover the answers to that question, pointing to the university’s mission statement, its Honor System and its community. He said that President Dudley’s class allowed him to fully appreciate the university and its ability to execute its values.

“Let us remember President Elrod’s wise words on what it takes to live a rewarding life,” he said. “This entails leading our own lives with the values of Washington and Lee, specifically the values found in the mission statement, Honor System and the notion of community. I am confident that if we, as soon-to-be W&L alumni, carry out our obligation in encompassing these values we’ve learned here, our lives will certainly be well-lived.”

During Thursday’s ceremony, W&L conferred degrees upon 463 students. The Class of 2025 set a new record for the number of Bachelor of Science degrees at 272, with 191 receiving Bachelor of Arts degrees. Altogether, graduates completed 53 distinct majors, with 35.2% of the class completing more than one major. Fifty-four percent of the class completed at least one minor.

Ten students were named valedictorians for the Class of 2025: Caroline Evans, Olivia Langhorne, Sarah Lathrop, Caroline Linen, Austin Molitor, Virginia Sparks, Katherine Wagner, Michael Wang, Creighton Wright III and Lydia Yang.

Evans, of Metairie, Louisiana, graduated summa cum laude, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and earned a bachelor’s degree in cognitive and behavioral science.

Langhorne, of Pensacola, Florida, graduated summa cum laude, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history with honors, with a minor in cultural heritage and museum studies. Langhorne was awarded the Mapleson Award, the Gerard M. Doyon Prize and the O’Mara Prize in art history.

Lathrop, of Dayton, Maryland, majored in mathematics, with minors in computer science and data science, graduated summa cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Linen, of Greenville, South Carolina, double majored in cognitive and behavioral science and French, and a minor in physiology, graduated summa cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Molitor, of Lockport, Illinois, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in mathematics with honors, minoring in computer science. Molitor was awarded the Robinson Award in Mathematics and Science and the Williams Prize in Mathematics.

Sparks, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude, majoring in history and minoring in poverty and human capability studies and education policy. She was a Senior Bonner Scholar in the Shepherd Program in Poverty and Human Capability. Sparks was awarded the Mapleson Award and the Robinson Award in English Literature, History and Social Sciences. Sparks also earned the S. Cullum Owings Jr. Fellowship from Alumni Engagement and the William A. Jenks Scholarship from the History Department.

Wagner, of Dayton, Ohio, double majored in sociology and anthropology and German, minored in education, graduated summa cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Wagner was awarded an U.S. Teaching Assistantship in Austria and was accepted into the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in Germany.

Wang, of Marietta, Georgia, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude with a major in neuroscience and minors in poverty and human capability studies and environmental studies. Wang was awarded the Nabors Service League McLoughlin Award for Volunteerism.

Wright, of Park Hills, Kentucky, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, graduated summa cum laude and earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and anthropology with honors, with minors in poverty and human capability studies and data science. Wright was awarded the Edward Lee Pinney Prize by the Student Affairs Committee, the Mapleson Award and the Emory Kimbrough Jr. Prize for Excellence in Sociology and Anthropology.

Yang, of Rolesville, North Carolina, double majored in computer science and sociology, minored in studio art, graduated summa cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Yang earned a Certificate of International Immersion.

Also during the Commencement ceremony, W&L honored 27 retiring members of the faculty and staff, who contributed collectively to 546 years of service to the university.

A recording of the 2025 undergraduate Commencement Ceremony can be found at https://go.wlu.edu/livestream.