Centre News

The Centre tradition of Honor Walk was featured in a segment
about commencements across the nation on NBC Nightly News.
Above, Grant Sharp ’12 honors Chemistry Professor Preston
Miles at Honor Walk 2012.

Traditions have always played a major role in life at Centre—and one beloved tradition recently received attention on the national stage.

NBC Nightly News featured the Honor Walk in its annual segment on commencement addresses and traditions across the country. To watch the segment, click here. Look for mention of Centre around the 2:57 mark.

Over 200 colleges and universities submitted tapes to NBC Nightly News of their own college traditions and commencement speeches, and Centre was one of roughly twenty schools chosen to be featured in the segment.

“Centre College graduates in Danville, Ky., walk through an iconic campus building to present a coin engraved with the Centre seal to the person who has made the greatest impact on their senior year,” an article accompanying the video on NBC’s website says.

Honor Walk has been a Centre tradition since 2002, when President John Roush gave each member of the class of 2003 a talent—a coin with Old Centre on one side and the College seal on the other. Seniors have all year to deliberate which person—or more than one person—to give their talent to. On the evening before Commencement, seniors walk through Old Centre—from the front door, through the foyer, out the back door and down the steps, stopping in front of the seal. There, the tribute is passed to the honoree, someone who made an indelible impact on that student’s college career.

Seniors in the past have chosen to give their talents to parents, professors, coaches, loved ones and classmates. The unique tradition allows students to publicly acknowledge those that had the biggest effect on their success at Centre.

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail elizabeth.trollinger@centre.edu with your feedback.

Centre College, founded in 1819 and chosen to host its second Vice Presidential Debate in 2012, is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges, at 42nd in the nation, and ranks 27th for best value among national liberal arts colleges. Forbes magazine ranks Centre 34th among all the nation’s colleges and universities and has named Centre in the top five among all institutions of higher education in the South for three years in a row. Centre is also ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News for its study abroad program. For more, click here.