Graduates take many academic and life lessons with them after Commencement. During their time at the University of Georgia, the Class of 2024 learned both inside and outside the classroom.

Lisa Godbey Wood, U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of Georgia and a Double Dawg — a 1985 First Honor undergraduate and 1990 graduate of the UGA School of Law — reflected on the lessons she learned at UGA and shared some of the lessons she’s learned since then as the keynote speaker at the fall 2024 undergraduate Commencement ceremony.

“This class is one of the most academically talented, one of the most exquisitely educated, one of the most service-oriented classes to ever graduate in the 240-year history of our beloved alma mater,” Wood said. “So, Class of 2024, it’s only proper that we take a moment to savor your accomplishments and peek ahead.”

The most important lesson Wood shared with the graduates was to find what matters to them and don’t let go.

“I know this about every one of you: I know it’s not your destiny to squander your miracle. I know it’s not your destiny to settle having come this far,” she said.

A second lesson Wood imparted on the graduates was the value of being prepared and holding on to what matters to them. She spoke about how preparation was paramount as she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with friends. Because they were prepared, they were able to overcome the challenges they faced.

“Class of 2024, honor your Bulldog pedigree. Find your authentic passion, and as long as you breathe, don’t let go,” Wood said.

Hunter Fankhauser, who earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and served as the student speaker during the undergraduate ceremony, shared some of the lessons that he teaches the first- and second-graders he coaches in basketball.

First, he tells them to just start dribbling.

“We are much more effective in motion than we are stationary,” Fankhauser said. “You don’t have to be fast or make a beeline either, but when you don’t know what to do or where to go, listen for where your heart is beating, and start by taking that first step toward it. You will know where the basket is, but the ball will never get there if you don’t start moving it.”

Second, it’s important to pass the ball.

“In other words, life is better shared. Our successes and joys are best experienced and amplified within camaraderie. And the things that weigh us down are lifted when we invite others into our lives,” Fankhauser said.

And third: learn to rebound. Each missed shot is a chance to bounce back and perform better.

“So now, UGA fall Class of 2024, it’s our turn to take the court. We’ve done the practice, and we know what to do, now go forth with confidence and know that we will always have a home court here under the Arch,” Fankhauser said.

John Maltese, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, University Professor and associate dean of the School of Public and International Affairs, delivered the address at the graduate Commencement ceremony and shared two lessons he learned from his father.

When Maltese was a child, his father taught him to keep an eye out for loose change. As he grew, his father encouraged him to look for more valuable things.

“If you’re curious and observant and look for those things and make an effort to learn about them, then you will be far richer than you will ever be picking up pennies and nickels. You’ll be a millionaire of the mind,” Maltese said.

Second, Maltese’s father encouraged him to take risks and not let fear stop him from doing things.

“Don’t let the fear of failure or the fear of the unknown keep you from doing things,” Maltese said. “Do your best and aim for success. When failure comes, as surely it will at some point, learn from it and move on.”

Maltese ended with three pieces of advice — find a passion outside of work as a source of inspiration, keep a journal as a way to reflect in the years to come, and listen to music every day.

“Your discoveries, your creations, your innovations, your service and your impact as leaders and teachers and healers and defenders and entrepreneurs and visionaries are what will make an indelible mark in the years to come,” Maltese said. “The heights you reach in all of your many fields are what will be honored and remembered in ways that I can only begin to imagine.”

A total of 3,187 students — 1,773 undergraduates and 1,414 graduate students — met requirements to walk in the university’s fall Commencement ceremonies. Of the graduate students, 296 were doctoral candidates, and 1,118 received their master’s or specialist degrees. UGA President Jere W. Morehead conferred their degrees during the ceremonies, held Dec. 13.

“The late Dr. Louise McBee, a revered UGA administrator and state representative, once said, ‘We are born obligated to pour back into the stream that nourished us — to replenish it for others. To the extent that we do that, we have lived a good and full life.’ Class of 2024, I hope that all of you will go forward from today and live good and full lives — creating opportunities for others to succeed, just as you have,” Morehead said.

Twenty-six students were recognized as First Honor Graduates during the undergraduate ceremony for maintaining a 4.0 cumulative GPA in all work completed at UGA, as well as all college-level transfer work done prior to or following enrollment at the University. Additionally, posthumous degrees were conferred on Sofia Marie Araujo (Bachelor of Science in psychology) and Zachary Robert Brown (Bachelor of Business Administration in management).

“To our graduates, you represent tangible and inspiring evidence of the wisdom and foresight of those who drafted the charter of the University of Georgia and thus began in 1785 the great American tradition of public higher education,” Morehead said. “You leave here as the next generation of leaders of our state, nation and world. Whatever your future holds for you, your time here preparing for life and citizenship gives special meaning to the words in the University’s charter that call the young people of this state ‘the rising hope of our land.’”