ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Colleges and universities across western North Carolina celebrated their 2026 graduating classes Saturday, May 9, with commencement ceremonies.
Blue Ridge Community College
Blue Ridge Community College, located in Hendersonville, celebrated 388 spring graduates with two commencement ceremonies Saturday.
During the second ceremony, the college honored its 2026 Academic Excellence Award winner, Victoria Dmytryszyn, who graduated with an associate in science college transfer degree as an honors graduate, earning a GPA above 3.9.
A link to the graduation ceremony video and the college’s photo gallery will be posted on the Blue Ridge website the week of May 11, 2026.
Brevard College
Brevard College saw one of its largest graduating classes May 9, with 144 bachelor’s students and a record 41 master’s students walking across the stage at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
Ivelysse Leighton, a double major in business and English from Florida, was awarded the Presidential Award for Distinction. Kelly Lawson was honored with the C. Edward and Brona N. Roy Good Citizenship Award.
The college said eight graduates earned the Presidential Award for Scholarship after achieving a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Mars Hill University
Mars Hill University honored nearly 200 graduates at Moore Auditorium on Saturday who received their bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
Wayne Higgins of Weaverville, a retired businessman and longtime university trustee, received an honorary doctorate during Saturday’s ceremony.
UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville honored more than 400 graduates Saturday, May 9, during its spring 2026 commencement ceremonies…