Hailey Mark, an English (professional writing) major from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was named Waynesburg University’s valedictorian for the Class of 2025.
The theme of Mark’s valedictory to her fellow graduates focused on the act of doing difficult things and overcoming life’s challenges, not only for personal growth but for the betterment of others and the world.
“You can do difficult things. You can do them without being perfect, sometimes without even being ‘ready.’ And life will demand that you rise to the challenge when you’re not ready, especially when you’re not ready,” she said.
As a student, Mark was involved in the Public Relations Student Society Association (PRSSA), serving as the director her junior year. She also worked as a tutor in the Writing Center, where she helped students of all disciplines with their writing projects.
In 2023, Mark was awarded a certificate of outstanding academic achievement by the Department of English and Foreign Languages.
She hopes to attend graduate school in the near future, with plans to secure a position where she can further pursue her love for editing and writing.
Quoting Earnest Hemingway, she closed her speech by encouraging her classmates to face defeat with confidence and embrace success with humility, reminding them that each person is more capable than they think.
“It is my hope that each of us can take what we have learned here and become the people we wish to know, wish to meet and wish to see out there in the world. To become worthy leaders when we are called to lead and to strengthen one another when we are called to follow... Let us go forward and do the difficult things,” she closed.
Waynesburg University honored the Class of 2025 Sunday, May 4, on the Lawn of Miller Hall. Nearly 300 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students were honored.
