Matt Pulford, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter
Willis J. Potts Jr., former chair of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, will be the guest speaker at the fall commencement ceremony held in the Cage Athletic Center on Dec. 14.
Ninety-five students will be graduating at the ceremony. Of these graduates, 78 students are receiving their undergraduate degree and 17 are receiving their graduate degree, Provost Kathy Richardson said.
As for the address, Potts said the theme is compassion toward others.
“I plan to talk about the human side of life after graduation,” Potts said. “If I were to give it a title, I suppose it would be “Care,’” Potts said.
Richardson said Potts was chosen to speak because of his state and local service.
“Mr. Potts has been an active leader in many nonprofit efforts here in Rome and Floyd County and is a wonderful example of one whose life has been devoted to excellence in work, service and leadership,” Richardson said.
According to a press release from the University System of Georgia, Potts was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue in March 2006 to serve on the board of regents, and he was elected chair of the board in June 2010. He has served the Rome community through his work with the Floyd County March of Dimes, Mercy Senior Care and the Communities in Schools mentoring program.
In 2004, Potts finished his 35-year career in the international pulp and paper industry and retired as the vice president and general manager of Temple-Inland Corporation in Rome, according to the University System of Georgia.
Several members of the Berry College community, including senior Drew Dillard, will share words at the graduation ceremony.
Dillard, a marketing and management double major, said that while his speech is not yet finished, his address is based around a quote by Nelson Mandela—“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
“I will be talking about how we cannot limit ourselves,” Dillard said.
Dillard was chosen from among a group of candidates.
“I feel honored to have been chosen as speaker because there are several other graduates that have excelled during their time at Berry,” Dillard said. “I know that any of them would have done a fantastic job, so it puts some pressure on me to do an equally good job.”
Dillard said he has worked for the success of the KCAB Exam Jam concerts, which have featured Relient K, Gin Wigmore and American Idol winner Phillip Phillips. He has also served as an SGA class officer, while being involved with the Campbell School of Business, he said.
Off campus, Dillard has worked for the last year in the community industry program at SAI Digital, which is a marketing and web development firm in Rome. Dillard said he interned this past summer at the oldest and largest talent agency in the world, William Morris Endeavor, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
He already has plans for a career after he graduates.
“After school, I will be working full time on the online boutique I opened in November,” Dillard said.
The graduation commencement is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. Based on numbers from years past, Richardson said between 800 and 1,000 people are estimated to attend the ceremony.