Randolph-Macon graduates 201

A juggler and a dog aren't common sights at commencement ceremonies.

But yesterday's graduation of 201 students at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland contained a bit of levity with the pomp and circumstance.

Commencement speaker Thomas R. Morris, secretary of education for Virginia, told the graduates that they now join the one-third of adults in Virginia who hold a baccalaureate degree.

"You've learned how to learn," he said. "You'll now be able to do it without syllabi or assignments. You now understand the importance of self-evaluation." After hitting his personal benchmark of a 10-minute speech -- which included a reference to Bill George's best-selling book, "True North" -- Morris closed his appearance with a visual.

As he stepped from behind the podium, the Galax native pulled out three small red, white and blue basketballs to represent the "three S's of a successful life" -- self-education, self-evaluation and self-awareness.

Morris juggled them for a few seconds and told the assembled throng, "Find and follow your true north."

The two-hour ceremony was held in the university's Frank E. Brown Fountain Plaza; a cloudless sky and shade from the plentiful maple and oak trees cast a peaceful aura over the proceedings.

The graduation also included an unofficial mascot.

Hudson, a toy fox terrier, chewed quietly on a stick while showing off his red and yellow striped jacket and antennae. Randolph-Macon's sports teams are known as the Yellow Jackets.

He was brought to the ceremony by Ryan Bailey, whose sister, Carter Bailey, graduated yesterday with a degree in history.

Another R-MC graduate, Laura Eister, showed her affection for the university in a different way -- by writing a song. Eister, 21, a philosophy major, has been penning songs since high school.

She said she was inspired to compose "Neverending" this spring when she realized how much R-MC meant to her.

"It's like your own little network. You feel safe here," she said.

Eister recorded the mid-tempo song, which she performed at the school's baccalaureate worship service on Friday, at Ashland's Slipped Disc studio.

Eister wasn't far from her family roots during her tenure at R-MC -- her father, Ronald, as well as a brother and sister are alumni -- but it was a different situation for Ioseb "Soso" Mamukelashvili.

A native of Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, the 21-year-old accounting major came to the United States as a Rotary exchange student in high school and met an R-MC alumnus who advised him to check out the university.

"I really liked the opportunity to form personal connections with professors. That was really important to me," Mamukelashvili said as he walked down the processional line.

His family resides in the Republic of Georgia; the graduate hopes to return there, but he first will continue his studies at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

Also during yesterday's ceremony, an honorary doctor of humanities degree was given in absentia to Betty Jean Seymour, who was unable to attend because of illness.

A religious studies professor who retired in 2003, Seymour is noted for becoming the first full-time faculty member of the college in 1971, as well as the first woman at R-MC to attain tenure, chair a department and be granted full professor rank.

Receiving honorary doctor of laws degrees were Macon and Joan Brock, longtime philanthropists for R-MC.

Macon Brock, an alumnus, has served as a chair on the university's board of trustees since 1999. He is the co-founder of Dollar Tree Stores.

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or .