Mars Hill Graduates 168 and Awards Honorary Doctorate to Oralene Simmons By Mike Thornhill Director of Communications
Mars Hill University conferred 168 degrees during its spring commencement ceremony on May 21, 2022. In addition to the bachelor’s and master’s degrees awarded, the university also presented an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons, who broke the color barrier at Mars Hill in the early 1960s. Student speakers were Joshua Hager of Statesville, North Carolina, a music education major who was student body president for the 2021-22 academic year; and Shequita Haley-Ross of Charlotte, North Carolina, a business management major in the Adult and Graduate Studies program. Music education major Amy Vang of Morganton, North Carolina, sang a solo. The university presented the diploma of Daniel Hudgins to his parents. Hudgins was a nursing major who died from cancer during his senior year. Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons is a Mars Hill native who has become a well-known figure in the Asheville area for her decades of work in the community and in the civil rights arena. Among many 8 Mars Hill, the Magazine | Fall 2022
