Massie-Legg weaves a ‘Tapestry’ of farewell for Class of 2025 at MC Baccalaureate service
May 2, 2025
With the heart of a teacher and the cadence of a musician, Senior Lecturer Dr. Alicia Massie-Legg took the stage at Friday afternoon’s Maryville College Baccalaureate service to deliver “The Tapestry of Your Life,” a gentle meditation on how joy, sorrow, faith and resilience weave their way through the lives of graduating seniors.
A long-held tradition taking place the evening before Commencement, the Baccalaureate service in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts featured remarks from Senior Class President Hannah Lee ’25, as well as music by the Maryville College Concert Choir. Massie-Legg, who has been a part of the Maryville College community since 2002 and is retiring at the end of the 2024-25 academic year, was selected to deliver the sermon.
Amid the ceremony’s quiet reverence, Massie-Legg — a musician and mentor — shared a meditation on the intricately bound patterns of achievement and challenge that graduates will encounter once they leave the safe haven of College Hill. Each success and failure in her own life, she pointed out, provided her with experience and wisdom with which to always move forward.
“Life is a journey of continuous travel, and the road is not always a smooth one,” she said. “All of us in this auditorium are following our unique paths. Not a soul present here today has it all figured out. And yet, there are some truths that I humbly offer in hopes that you will find something I say today that resonates with your own experience as you navigate your journey.”
Some ‘may you’ advice for the Class of 2025
Massie-Legg began her sermon by thanking faculty members and the seniors who will take part in the annual Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 3, and set a tone of humility by pointing out that although she may have experience, strength and hope to share, she’s far from an expert on the navigation of life’s vagaries. The only certainty, she added, is that the threads weaving together individual tapestries eventually produce a “final design” that’s a culmination and capstone of lives well-lived.
“It’s a tapestry woven of heartbreak, laughter, tears, triumphs, defeats, successes and failures,” she said. “Each of these threads contributes to the final design, and none is wasted. Sometimes, we have the liberty of choosing the colors we will use, but other times, we are forced to continue weaving with what is available to us, what life has served us.
“Some sections of our tapestry will be characterized by rich jewel tones of joy, sunshine and happy experiences. Others will perhaps be more muted in tone, shadowed by the sorrows and difficulties that may come our way. One thing we can be certain of, however. Our tapestry will always change, moment by moment, as we navigate the phases of our lives.”
In times of uncertainty, she continued, she draws upon her faith for guidance, and in introducing passages from Scripture, she told the soon-to-be graduates, her intention was to provide them with certain “may you” subjunctives that offer a framework “that will be helpful as we contemplate this learning journey, this ongoing tapestry,” she added.
“… May you learn to be content by appreciating those intangible gifts that every day brings to us,” she continued. “May you open your heart to others and seek the understanding that can lead to kindness toward others and create harmony in your relationships. May you cultivate the art of moderation and restraint, even when doing so puts you at odds with current societal trends.”
Lee: ‘Remember the lessons’
In her remarks, Lee reflected on the unique experience of being part of the Maryville College community and the bonds forged among members of the Class of 2025, from the first days of wide-eyed wonder to the ties that bind many closer to one another than family members. She encouraged her fellow graduates to embrace individual pursuits of excellence while maintaining the ideals and values instilled during their transformative journeys as Maryville College Scots.
“Hold on to those connections,” she said. “Remember the lessons, embrace the unknown, and never forget how far you’ve come. You are ready — even if you don’t feel it yet. Let’s go into the world with courage, curiosity and the same hope we carried into our very first day here. We made it through together — and we’ll take that spirit with us wherever we go.”
Lee, a Psychology (Counseling) major from Knoxville, is one of approximately 230 graduates who will receive diplomas during the following day’s Commencement ceremony, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on Humphreys Court, located between Fayerweather and Anderson Halls on the MC campus — although the rain plan is to move the ceremony indoors to the Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center, with overflow seating in the Cooper Athletic Center.
In addition to remarks by Lee, Isabella “Izzy” Wright ’25, past president of the MC Student Government Association and a Biochemistry major from Walland, Tennessee, read Scripture passages from Romans 15:1-7 before Maryville College President Dr. Bryan F. Coker introduced members of the Maryville College Board of Directors. Chair Mike Davis was joined on stage by Jane Carl, Dr. Peggy Cowan, Steve Diggs ’88, Jennifer McCafferty-Fernandez ’94, Wayne Kramer ’74, Dr. Karla Beard Heidelberg ’88, Don Hickman ’70, Jenny Erwin ’68 and Marissa McInnis ’04.
In addition, Coker called special attention to members of the MC Board of Church Visitors who were present in the audience: the Rev. Bill Booth of First Baptist Maryville, the Rev. Jean Davidson (PCUSA, retired), the Rev. Rick Ohsiek of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Maryville, and Suzanne Rushworth, a member of Second Presbyterian of Chattanooga.
Micayla Clark ’25, a History (with licensure) major, MC softball player from Plano, Texas, fifth-year senior and Isaac Anderson Scholar, read the Prayer of Thanksgiving and The Lord’s Prayer as the service came to a close, and two members of the MC Concert Choir — which provided music for the ceremony — were featured soloists: Olivia Hill ’25, a Writing/Communication major from Union City, Tennessee, and Colin Hood ’25, a Theatre Studies major from Maryville. MC Chaplain the Rev. Jessica Kitchens Lewis ’07 provided both the Opening Prayer and the Benediction, and Dr. Gabie Kerr, assistant professor of management, served as the macebearer.
