Submitted photo Officials are preparing to welcome families of graduating students to Davis & Elkins College’s 117th Commencement Weekend.

ELKINS – Officials are busy preparing for annual graduation ceremonies ahead of Davis & Elkins College’s 117th Commencement Weekend.

D&E is set to welcome family members of graduates to the Nurses’ Pinning Ceremony, Baccalaureate Service, and Commencement Ceremony, which will take place on Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9.

Commencement Weekend activities will kick off with the 48th annual Nurses’ Pinning Ceremony on Friday, May 8 at 4 p.m. in the Senate Commons. The traditional ceremony, featuring the pinning of all ASN, BSN, and RN-BSN graduates, along with rose presentations and the Florence Nightingale pledge, will be led by keynote speaker and D&E alumna Robin Stillwater, ’13 and ’14. Stillwater currently serves aboard the USS Sterett.

On Friday evening, D&E’s Baccalaureate Service of Praise and Worship at 7 p.m. in Harper-McNeeley Auditorium. The evening service will be led by the Reverend Dr. Scott Ramsey.

Ramsey has served Lewinsville Presbyterian Church since 2015, “believing the church is called to live intentionally at the intersection of God’s grace and the world’s pain,” a D&E press release states.

The 117th Commencement Ceremony is set to celebrate the Class of 2026 at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 9 in Harper-McNeeley Auditorium. This year’s keynote speaker is senior vice president for human resources, strategy, and administration at General Dynamics, Shane Berg.

Berg also serves on the board of his alma mater, the University of Jamestown, a small, liberal arts, and Presbyterian (USA) affiliated college in North Dakota.

“The Nurses’ Pinning Ceremony, Baccalaureate Service, and Commencement are the celebration of years of hard work and determination by the graduate, his or her family, the faculty, and the staff of Davis & Elkins College,” D&E President Chris A. Wood said.

“While this weekend is a milestone for certain, it is also the beginning of a lifetime of opportunity and experiences made possible by our gradates’ years on the Davis & Elkins College campus. We are so proud of each member of the Class of 2026, and it is a high honor for me to hand each of them their well-deserved diploma.”