Graduates crossed the stage Thursday evening as University of South Carolina Upstate leaders delivered a clear message to the Class of 2026: opportunity may be closer than they think, beginning right here in the Upstate.
The university celebrated its 50th undergraduate commencement ceremony May 7, honoring the achievements of the Class of 2026 while also recognizing longtime Greenville Mayor Knox White with an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.
Chancellor Bennie L. Harris opened the ceremony by reflecting on the meaning of an undergraduate education and the persistence required to earn a degree.
“This is a moment of completion, but also of beginning,” Harris told graduates. “Your degree is not the end of your education. It is the beginning of your impact.”
The ceremony featured processional music by the City of Greenville Pipes and Drums and the presentation of colors by cadets from the Army ROTC Southern Guards Battalion. USC Upstate student Aleena Acosta performed the national anthem and alma mater.
In his commencement address, White encouraged graduates to embrace reinvention, pointing to Greenville’s transformation from a textile-based economy into one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.
“When textiles failed, it felt like rejection,” White said. “But that rejection led to redirection. And that redirection led somewhere far better than what came before.”
White also urged graduates to recognize the opportunities surrounding them in the Upstate, particularly in industries experiencing significant growth.
“You are not graduating into uncertainty,” White said. “You are graduating into demand.”
During the ceremony, Harris and Provost Pam Steinke formally conferred White’s honorary degree. The university cited his leadership in revitalizing downtown Greenville and his commitment to civic engagement and economic development throughout the region.
Student Government Association President Madisen Robinson-Miller encouraged graduates to remain confident as they enter their next chapter.
“Be the one who keeps going,” Robinson-Miller said. “Be the one who chooses growth when it’s hard.”
Greetings were also shared on behalf of the Spartanburg County Commission for Higher Education by Chairwoman Cathy McCabe, who praised the university’s role in supporting regional workforce development and economic growth.
Following the conferral of degrees, graduates participated in the traditional tassel-turning ceremony before officially joining USC Upstate’s alumni network of more than 35,000 graduates.
“Your story is now and will forever be intertwined with the story of this institution,” Harris told the Class of 2026. “You are always welcome to come home.”
USC Upstate also celebrated a standalone graduate hooding ceremony, recognizing 50 students who earned master’s degrees across the university’s academic colleges.
The formal ceremony honored graduate candidates as faculty members placed academic hoods over each student, symbolizing the completion of advanced academic study and welcoming them into the next chapter of their professional and academic journeys.
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