Erika Combs of Waynesburg and Megan Yocum of Stanford were among gradates receiving bachelor’s degrees from Berea College during commencement exercises on May 7.

The Honorable John R. Lewis, Representative of Georgia’s 5th Congressional District and Civil Rights Leader, challenged the 2017 graduating class of Berea College to use their education to “find a way to get in the way” of social injustices at the 145th Commencement.

At the Commencement ceremony, over 200 graduating seniors, along with several dozen others who will complete their degree requirements in August, were encouraged by Rep. Lewis as he encouraged the graduates to honor Berea College’s heritage of equality for all people.

“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you must stand up, speak up, and speak out,” Lewis stated. “You are a duty and moral obligation given to you by the visionary founders of this college, who saw the need to build an inclusive interracial, coeducational community in 1855, before the end of slavery and the beginning of the Civil War. We are still struggling against those same enemies of justice today.”