SPEAKER — West Liberty University Board of Governors member Arlene Brantley, the WLU Fall 2022 Commencement speaker, and WLU President W. Franklin Evans enjoy a moment after Saturday’s ceremony. -- Contributed

WEST LIBERTY — West Liberty University graduates have walked a road less traveled, and a bumpy one at that, Saturday’s fall commencement speaker said. So they should be proud of overcoming the hurdles in front of them. 

WLU celebrated 160 fall graduates at the university’s Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex. The keynote speaker was Arlene Brantley, a member of the school’s board of governors. 

Brantley, a Google strategic account executive who resides in Atlanta, began by referencing the fact that most of the graduates were born about the time of the 9/11 tragedy and also had to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic crisis. 

Brantley congratulated the class for pushing on and adapting to the virtual world of the pandemic. She referred to the poem, “The Road Not Taken,” written by Robert Frost and its reference to “the road less traveled.” 

“It takes a special person born into a world with such challenges to step into your greatness,” she said. 

“To celebrate you, the class of 2022, of West Liberty University. It is a privilege to be here. You are the change agents as you venture on this road less traveled,” Brantley stated. “Every one of you have innate gifts. You are agents of change, grounded in a rich West Liberty Hilltopper experience.” 

Brantley then referred to her childhood in Trinidad and her fear of the water buffalo as she walked to school. But her dad told her, “Focus on your books and it will take you very far. Take advantage of this opportunity.” 

“He instilled in me that education is the door to opportunity. Education challenges new ways of thinking and has the capacity to change lives. 

She concluded by repeating a theme that she made earlier in the speech, quoting the words of Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”