St. Augustine's students earn degrees as university battles financial crisis
Saturday marks a nationwide celebration for college graduates, with hundreds of thousands stepping onto the stage to claim their hard-earned degrees.
However, the joy is tinged with sorrow for St. Augustine's University students.
It's a day that some thought would never come, and others worry it will never come again as the University continues to fight for its accreditation and its survival.
Students like Selia Mather are celebrating both their degrees and a return to campus.
"It was kind of refreshing," Mather said. "But sad at the same time,"
Saturday's graduation ceremony comes exactly a month after students were asked to leave the University and finish the semester virtually, a bid to save money amid St. Augustine's months-long financial crisis.
During the ceremony, speakers, including interim president Marcus Burgess, alluded to those issues, taking time especially to thank staff, who sometimes have had to wait months between paychecks.
"You've all seen the news," Burgess said. "But they have continued to show up, and show out."
Most of the focus remained on the students and their accomplishments, including 54% graduating with a 3.0 GPA or better.
Burgess has been using that figure to pitch St Augs to the General Assembly this week, lobbying for state funding - funding could be approved during the ongoing short session.
"Continue to pray for SAU, shed tears to SAU and give generously to SAU," Louis Keenan Mclean Lowndes, Outgoing Mister Saint Augustine's University, Class of 2024
By the time the ceremony wrapped up, all those troubles were a thing of the past for these students - filled with hope for their futures, and the future of the University they've all called home.
