For the 2025-2026 annual year, which runs summer 2025, fall 2025 and spring 2026, Virginia Western welcomed 1,041 people to its growing alumni network. These students earned a total of 1,304 awards.*
More than 400 graduates attended Virginia Western’s 60th commencement, held Friday, May 15, 2026, at the Berglund Center in Roanoke. The ceremony honored graduates who completed their degrees and certificates during fall 2025 and spring 2026, as well as students projected to complete during the summer 2026.
Dr. Laura Treanor presided over her first Commencement ceremony as President of Virginia Western. “Each graduate seated before us represents determination, sacrifice, resilience, and hope for the future,” she said. “We gather not only to recognize academic achievement, but also to celebrate the journeys, challenges, and accomplishments that have brought our graduates to this important moment.”
Three Virginia Western students participated as speakers in Commencement events.
Maureen Arthur, a 2026 graduate who received an Associate of Science in Business Administration, addressed graduates before the ceremony as Student Rehearsal Speaker. Hagar Atef Youssef, a 2026 graduate who received an Associate of Science degree in Science, was Student Welcome Speaker during the ceremony, and Demetrice Peerman-Forrest, a 2026 graduate who received an Associate of Applied Science in Human Services, gave the keynote address.
Addressing graduates at the pre-Commencement rehearsal, Arthur said, “The concept of time is something we all have taken for granted. 525,600 minutes. Regardless of circumstance, we all have the same amount of time in a year.” She encouraged the class not to let time slip away and to let mistakes guide them as they move forward to new opportunities.
In her welcome speech, Youssef shared lessons she learned as a first-generation college student. “Here at Virginia Western, we aren’t defined by our accents or our past, but by our effort, our courage, and our willingness to keep going,” she said.
Youssef encouraged her classmates to reflect on their Virginia Western journey with gratitude. “Thank you, Virginia Western, for proving that one year can truly change a life. Just look at our college president, Dr. Treanor, and everything she has accomplished in such a short time.”
Peerman-Forrest spoke with lessons from the “hard road” she had taken in the years before receiving her degree. “When I first started at Virginia Western, my life looked very different than it is today,” she said. “I started here homeless. I came here in a wheelchair. Some mornings, when I got off the city bus, there was a police officer waiting at the bus stop just to push me up the hill so I could make it to class.”
Speaking of how faith and resilience — and many supporters at the College — carried her to this day, Peerman-Forrest exhorted her classmates. “Don’t give up just because it’s taking time. Don’t quit just because it’s hard. And don’t count yourself out just because you feel out of place. Because sometimes the very places where you feel like you don’t belong are the places where you are growing into who you’re meant to be.”
* Spring 2026 awards have not yet been conferred; a graduation application query was used to provide Spring 2026 graduate demographics. Official AY 2025-26 graduate data will be available in summer 2026.
