This Saturday, 217 Wabash seniors received their diplomas and proudly walked under the Senior Arch during the 188th Commencement ceremony.
In the fall of 2022, the Class of 2026 gathered for the first time at Ringing In. This weekend, they came together one last time — with friends, family, trustees, and faculty — to celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
“Now and for the rest of your life, you can say that you chose the road less traveled; persevered through times of triumph and tragedy with brothers who loved and supported you; and spent four years discovering who you are,” President Scott Feller told the graduates. “Indeed, you are Wabash men.”
In keeping with long-standing Wabash tradition, two graduating seniors were featured speakers at the event. The Class of 2026 Commencement speakers were Precious Ainabor and Quinn Sholar.
Ainabor, a biochemistry major with a minor in theater from Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria, reflected on the uncertainty he faced before arriving at Wabash after being denied a U.S. visa and missing the opportunity to join the Class of 2025.
“It was my mother who pulled me out of that moment,” Ainabor said. “She simply reminded me that there is a time for everything.”
Ainabor recalled arriving on campus in August 2022 for his first trip outside of Africa and recognizing a shared uncertainty among the members of the Class of 2026.
“We were people with different stories — but with that same quiet fear on all of our faces,” he said. “Our sitting here today means we never stopped showing up — for ourselves, for our friends, for our teammates, for faculty and staff, or for the families seated here today.”
“There was a time to arrive. There was a time to struggle. There was a time to grow,” he continued. “And now is a time to begin the rest of our lives.”
Quinn Sholar, an art and economics double major from Indianapolis, Indiana, reflected on the responsibility graduates carry as Wabash men and encouraged his classmates to embrace growth beyond graduation.
“We are leaving this place today not as finished products but as works in progress,” Sholar said. “Wabash was never meant to make us perfect. It was meant to prepare us to enter the world willing to learn, adapt, fail, and grow.”
Sholar urged graduates to remain present and connected to one another after leaving campus.
“Focus on your now, focus on right where your feet are,” he said.
“Today, I do not want to say goodbye,” Sholar continued. “Goodbye feels too permanent for a place that thrives on connecting. Instead, I say see you later.”
Feller echoed the theme of responsibility and service in his remarks to graduates. Quoting author Richard Reeves, Feller described “a good man” as “one who contributes more than he takes.”
“Thank you, gentlemen, for the many ways you have contributed to your classrooms, living units, sports teams, and each other,” Feller said. “Wabash is better because of you.”
Feller also reflected on the College’s motto, “Scientiae et Virtuti” — knowledge and virtue — encouraging graduates to pursue lives defined by courage, integrity, justice, and wisdom.
“Our charge to you is simple,” Feller said. “Go forth and do exactly that.”
During Commencement, the College awarded three honorary doctor of humane letters degrees to Anne B. Walsh, William Thomas Luckey Jr. ’82, and the Reverend John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
Walsh, the chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, was recognized for her leadership in finance and her support of liberal arts education at Wabash. Together with her husband, Tom Walsh ’73, she helped establish the College’s interdisciplinary philosophy, politics, and economics major and endowed the Tom and Anne Walsh Professorship of PPE.
“Anne, you have modeled disciplined judgment, a commitment to your colleagues and clients, and an abiding faith in the transformative power of liberal arts education,” Feller said. “In your generosity to this College, you have invested in those ideals and our students.”
Luckey, a biology major and first-generation college student, was honored for more than four decades of leadership in higher education, including his transformative tenure as president of Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky.
“Today, roughly two-thirds of Lindsey Wilson’s students receive Federal Pell Grants, and over one-third are first-generation students,” Feller said. “Luckey has spent 43 years making sure the door would be open when they arrived.”
Jenkins, the president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, was recognized for his leadership in higher education and his work as a philosopher, teacher, and Holy Cross priest. Earlier in the day, Jenkins delivered the Baccalaureate sermon in Pioneer Chapel.
“At Wabash, we understand something about the power of a close community of learning, about the bond between teacher and student, and about what it means to educate the whole person,” Feller said. “In you, Father Jenkins, we recognize a person and a life that reminds us why it matters.”
Commencement day opened with a Baccalaureate sermon delivered by Jenkins.
In addition to the Baccalaureate and Commencement ceremonies, 26 students were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honorary society.
The seniors inducted this year are Evan Baker, William Boswell, Tobey Condon, Braeden Cooper, Mark Davletov, James Day, Caleb Everson, Safal Ghimire, Isaac Grannis, Benedict Grill, Min Heo, Dalton Kuhn, Dominic Litchfield, Aidan Mason, Jerry McBee, Thomas Price, and Samuel Vogel. Inductees from the junior class are Hadyn Ball, Andrew Baugh, Christopher Board, Zachary Geleott, Bryce Kinnaman, Malachi McRoberts, Ike O'Neill, Prasun Panthi, and Gregory Powers.
Before ringing out the Class of 2026 with the bell Caleb Mills once used to call Wabash students to class, Feller had one last reminder for the graduates.
“Today is the beginning of the rest of your lives,” Feller said. “Our prayer for you is that you will be men of substance and virtue, and that you will change the world.”