Carson-Newman graduate celebrates memorable silver lining
It was a drive not many would attempt given the circumstances. But this was no ordinary road trip. Shante Agnew had just earned her Master of Education degree from Carson-Newman University, and all the pieces were in place for her to reap her reward at the May 2 commencement ceremony.
However, there was no way Agnew could have known the emotional roller coaster she and her family would experience when they left their home in Memphis that Friday morning. With her husband driving and three small children in tow, they set out for Carson-Newman’s campus in Jefferson City, Tennessee – over 400 miles away.
The journey was the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance – topped off with the birth of their third child during the same time.
“I was just so excited that I finally was able to achieve something that I had wanted to do for so long,” said Agnew. “I just was really determined to finish and do something that I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do.”
As the white lines on the road blurred past, storm clouds gathered around the Agnews—literally. Heavy winds and torrential downpours descended. Throughout the South, weather alerts were popping up. So were interstate traffic jams. Time kept moving while those traveling eastward were decidedly not.
With hours of stressful travel in their rearview mirror, the Agnews finally made it to campus. However, when they walked into the facility, the evening crowd was gone, fellow graduates had already been recognized and departed. The 6:30 p.m. ceremony was long over. Looking to commemorate the moment someway and salvage the experience, Agnew garnered the attention of two faculty members still dressed in regalia to ask if she could at least have her picture taken with representatives of the University.
The two: Drs. David Crutchley and Ryan Stokes, who serve as dean and associate dean, respectively, for Carson-Newman’s School of Biblical and Theological Studies.
“I said, ‘no, we can do one better than that,’” recalled Crutchley.
The two professors quickly performed a spontaneous ceremony featuring the Memphis graduate. Climbing to the stage, each went to the two podiums on opposite ends. That is when Stokes called the name: “Shante Diona Agnew,” prompting the smiling graduate to walk across the platform to receive her degree from Crutchley, who was waiting on the other side.
“Oh, it just brought tears and joy to our hearts,” said the dean.
“I just was really grateful and thankful that I was given that moment,” said Agnew. “Even though it wasn’t a moment in front of everybody, it was the moment that I needed in front of my family.”
With a quick celebration and photos commemorating the occasion, Agnew and her family began the trip home in order for her husband to be at work the next day. With now knowing they were only on campus a total of 30 minutes and didn’t arrive back home until 4 a.m., would the newly minted graduate do it all over again if given the chance?
“I definitely would,” she said without hesitation. “Though I would probably leave the day before,” she laughed.
