LWC Awards 287 Degrees, Honors Three Kentuckians at Winter Commencement

 
LWC honored three Kentucky residents with honorary doctorates. From left: LWC
President William T. Luckey Jr.; honorary doctorate recipient and former LWC first lady
Margaret McDonald of Campbellsville, Ky.; honorary doctorate recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer
of Columbia, honorary doctorate recipient; Urban League Of Lexington-Fayette
County President/CEO P.G. Peeples; and Lindsey Wilson Board of Trustees Chair
Allan Parnell of Louisville, Ky.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Today's college graduates are entering a world that is undergoing more change than at any time in human history. But by becoming "the CEO of your life" and "selling yourself to the world," today's college graduates can navigate the challenges created by "the new ballpark" of the world economy.

That's what Urban League Of Lexington-Fayette County President/CEO P.G. Peeples told Lindsey Wilson College's 2011 winter graduates at the college's 94th commencement ceremony, held Saturday morning in Biggers Sports Center.

At the ceremony, LWC awarded a total of 287 degrees -- 154 undergraduate diplomas and 133 graduate diplomas. It was LWC's second largest winter class since the college began the ceremony in December 2004. LWC's largest winter class was 365, which was graduated in 2010.

Peeples received an honorary doctorate from the college. Also receiving an honorary doctorate were former LWC first lady Margaret McDonald of Campbellsville, Ky., and Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer of Columbia.

Peeples, who graduated from college more than 40 years ago, said that while the 1960s may have been a time of great change in the United States, that decade's social and economic tumult pale in comparison with the current technological revolution sweeping the globe.

"The changes we loved to protest about and sing about are minute when you compare them to the changes each of you will be confronted with during your lifetime," said Peeples, a first-generation college student from Lynch, Ky.

Peeples noted that Americans who enter college today at the age of 18 years old are likely to have nine jobs by the time they reach 35, and most college graduates will change careers three times. That's why it is important for college graduates to be lifelong learners and constantly acquire new skills.

"We are in a worldwide marketplace that demands that Americans work more with their minds than their hands," Peeples said. "Education is at the core of this revolution. It is a new ballpark. … The new world is very intolerant of mediocrity."

 Peeples also noted that "while a college degree is critical to success, it is not a free pass."

 As jobs evolve or are reinvented, college-educated workers will have to do the same.

"Most of the jobs you will be hired for (right out of college) will either disappear or change beyond recognition," he said.

In order to succeed in that uncertain environment, it is critical for today's college graduate to cultivate their talents and brand themselves, Peeples said.

"You must change your mindset from being an important employee to CEO of your own life because no big company is going to take care of you for the rest of your life," he said. "It is going to be up to you."

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Click here to see more pictures from 2011 winter commencement.
Click here to see pictures from the 2011 winter pinning cermeonies.