Leland F. Drake, of Sewickley, PA received a Bachelor’s Degree  during the 2012 Commencement Ceremonies of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, held on Sunday, May 17.

Drake, the child of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Drake , majored in Media and Society  .

Savannah Guthrie, co-host and chief legal analyst of NBC's TODAY show, gave this year's Commencement Address during which she told HWS graduates "Now is not the time to settle."   

Advising students to dream big and reach for goals that may at the moment seem unattainable, Guthrie said: "The problem with all of us sometimes is we think of all the reasons we can't do something before we even try. We think small, so that we might succeed at that small dream we set out for ourselves, in order to avoid failure."

In his Valedictory Address, President Mark D. Gearan noted the Classes of 2012 have "lived in remarkable times." He cited such significant events as 9/11; technological advancements and the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression as changes that have taken a toll on society in recent years.  In doing so, he urged graduates to "fight the forces of skepticism and cynicism," in part by looking at the exemplary lives of the honorary degree recipients.

Commencement 2012 marked the 187th graduation for Hobart and the 101st for William Smith. The Classes of 2012 included 225 Hobart and 245 William Smith undergraduates, as well as eight MAT students and one Ontario ARC College Experience Certificate.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges are prestigious liberal arts colleges offering an array of imaginative, largely interdisciplinary degree programs to more than 2,000 undergraduate students.