Columbia State Community College celebrated 162 degree and certificate candidates as they crossed the stage during the fall commencement ceremonies in the Webster Athletic Center on Saturday, December 13. In total, 478 students are anticipated to graduate in Fall 2025.

Dr. Janet F. Smith, Columbia State president, opened the ceremony by welcoming degree and certificate candidates, faculty, staff and guests.

“Today is a special day for several reasons,” Smith said. “First and foremost, it is a day of celebration of accomplishments. It is a day of recognition that these soon to be graduates set a goal and accomplished it.”

Smith introduced Robert Rogers as the guest speaker for the fall commencement ceremony. Rogers, a Columbia native, attended Columbia State before transferring to Middle Tennessee State University, where he graduated cum laude in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a major in marketing.

He currently serves as the dealer principal for Parks Motor Sales, continuing the dealership’s seven-decade-long legacy of being in the Columbia community. 

Rogers serves on the Columbia State Foundation Board. His previous service includes the board of directors for the Maury Alliance, chairman of the Frontier District of the Boy Scouts of America — where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout — and has an active membership in the Columbia Kiwanis Club.

He began his speech by saying he was going to share details of three stories and experiences that impacted him, and that he hoped would impact the graduates as well.

The first story was one that Rogers had heard from a preacher years ago, around the term “skylarking.” Skylarking, defined literally as to run up and down the rigging of a ship in sport, is used by the U.S. Navy to describe sailors having fun, both on and especially off the boat when docking somewhere. That was the preacher’s advice in the speech, “Go do a little skylarking.”

“And I still think that is the coolest way to describe this chapter of your life. So, I’ll pass on the same advice to all of you: With this new freedom you’re stepping into, with all these possibilities in front of you, ‘Go do a little skylarking,’” Rogers said.

For his next story, Rogers recounted learning about a race called the Last Annual Vol State 500K, where runners compete to see who can make it the 300 miles from the Tennessee-Missouri border to the Tennessee-Georgia border. However, the race and its test of endurance wasn’t the message; the volunteers, called “road angels,” who offer food, water and other support during the race were.

“These angels aren’t winning the race,” Rogers said. “They aren’t getting medals. They aren’t getting their name in the paper. They’re just showing up for people they’ve never met. We’re so obsessed these days with achievement, accomplishment, success, résumés, titles — being the runner. But what if more of us chose to be the angel instead?”

His final story centered around a retelling of a demonstration with 100 pennies. The pennies symbolize a person’s life and doing the most with the time (pennies) you have.

“You’re not promised tomorrow,” Rogers said. “Don’t waste a minute. What you’ve got left on the table — that’s your time. Invest that time. Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t take any relationships for granted. Don’t waste that time being mean, or being ugly, or doing anything ill. Do well with that time. Make your pennies count. And even better — make them count in a way that affects the world after you’re out of pennies.”

He ended his speech with a challenge for each graduate to change the world, one day at a time.

“Every single one of us has the ability — and the responsibility — to change our world,” Rogers said. “One act of kindness. One act of empathy. One moment where you choose connection instead of being right. One time finding common or neutral ground with someone who isn’t like you. Making one smiley face where there wasn’t going to be one today. And when you spend them making smiley faces — when you stop looking at people as transactions and start seeing them as human beings, you can impact — your little world gets better. And when your world gets better, the people in your world make their world better.” 

Closing the ceremony, the alumni induction of new graduates was presented by Dr. Amy Spears-Bridges, Columbia State executive director of communications and Columbia State alum, and Kiara Simerly, Columbia State one stop customer service representative for Enrollment Services and Fall 2025 graduate.

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President’s Leadership Society graduates were also honored with a medallion at the commencement ceremony.

“The establishment of this society was based on the belief that leadership is inherent to our lives and that we all have leadership roles,” Smith said. “The President’s Leadership Society is open to all students at Columbia State and requires only their commitment to involvement for learning, participation and helping others.” 

Formed in spring 2011, PLS is a free leadership training program focused on developing a student’s unique leadership skills from their first semester through graduation. The program focuses on participation in college-sponsored programs that promote educational attainment, career choices, volunteerism and civic responsibility. 

During the course of the program, students attend a leadership retreat, enjoy exposure to the arts, participate in workshops and campus life, develop civic understanding and give back to the community through volunteerism.