AURORA - For Lisa Webster-Bowes, Saturday was a momentous occasion in more ways than one.

“I feel exhilarated, exonerated,” Webster-Bowes, a Geneva resident and native Auburnian, said after receiving her diploma in English from Wells College at its 141st commencement at the Aurora Inn. “It's nice to breathe a sigh of relief and know that it's over now and I can move on to another chapter.”

It was no easy task for Webster-Bowes to get here. She didn't originally finish high school, opting instead to go to beauty school and be a beautician, which she was for 12 years.

But she decided to finish her education after her mother died. She graduated from high school, spent four years at Finger Lakes Community College and two at Wells, with her husband and three young children at her side.

“It's amazing, it's incredible that she's come a long way for this,” her husband Scott Bowes said. “It's hard to put into words because she's put a lot of hard work into it and she's getting what she deserves.”

A little more than 100 students, 17 of which are from the Auburn area, got what they deserved Saturday after years of hard work and dedication. Wells College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson and commencement speaker Peggy Ryan Williams, recently retired president of Ithaca College, charged each and every graduate to live life to its fullest and “astonish” themselves with all they can do.

And that theme resonated with their audience, as they emerge and fasten themselves into the so-called “real world” and strive to make a difference.

Tonya Willis, 24, of Union Springs, has already made a difference, being the first in her family to graduate college.

“I just feel very accomplished,” she said. “I'm proud of myself that I stuck with it and I was able to do it.”

The same can be said for Victor and Irma Wells, of Brooklyn, who watched their daughter, Crystal, who would like to pursue a career in corporate law.

“It's jubilation,” Victor said, beaming with excitement, “because I know it has been a very, very rough four years for her, and by extension, for me. I know that there were times that were a little difficult, but quitting was not an option.”

This year also marked the graduation for a group of males students who came to the school as freshman in 2005, the year Wells opened its doors to men for the first time after a 137-year history of being an all-women institution.

It's a bit of an unofficial story, because Larry and Mary Marcy, of Lansing, are not exactly sure if it's true, but they were told their son Andrew was the first man to submit his deposit for Wells.

“He's had a really good experience here,” said Mary, who added that Andrew visited Wells during a class trip and it was at that point he knew the school was for him. “We're very proud of him.”

And as for Webster-Bowes, graduating Wells is just another step in her education, as she's planning to go to graduate school to receive a Master's degree in fine arts.

On Saturday she was thinking of her mother and how she would have reacted to her graduation had she been able to see it.

“I think she would have been very happy,” she said. “She would've said, 'I always knew you could do it.'”

Local graduates

Below are the local students who graduated from Wells College on Saturday:

• Linda Balk of Auburn; graduate of Auburn High School; major in history, minor in secondary education (degree expected)

• Nancy Bates of Auburn; non-traditional aged student; major in English with a concentration in creative writing

• Jessica Bevier of Moravia; graduate of Moravia Central School; major in psychology, minor in elementary education

• Ashley Brown of Cayuga; graduate of Union Springs Central School; major in psychology, minor in sociology

• Ashley Butler of Moravia; graduate of Moravia Central School; major in psychology, minor in sociology

• Lisa Hoff of Auburn; graduate of Auburn High School; major in history magna cum laude

• Jillian Kline of Jordan; graduate of Jordan-Elbridge High School; major in mathematical and physical sciences with a concentration in math, minors in theatre and economics

• Robert LoMascolo of Union Springs; graduate of Union Springs Central School; major in visual arts with a concentration in studio art cum laude, minor in book arts

• Hilary Lukas of Genoa; graduate of Southern Cayuga High School; major in environmental studies, minor in anthropology

• Aryn Martin of Auburn; graduate of Auburn High School; major in English with a concentration in creative writing magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

• David O'Neill of Weedsport; graduate of Cato-Meridian High School; major in economics and management (degree expected)

• David Pike of Auburn; graduate of Auburn High School; major in psychology cum laude

• Danielle Rook of Auburn; graduate of Auburn High School; major in sociology/anthropology with a concentration in anthropology/cross-cultural sociology

• Kelly Siegfried of Auburn; non-traditional aged student; systems operator staff member at Wells College; major in biological and chemical sciences with a concentration in chemistry cum laude

• Rachel Singley of Aurora; home schooled; major in environmental studies, minor in history (degree expected)

• Jessica Stanton of Union Springs; graduate of Union Springs Central School; major in visual arts with a concentration in studio art with distinction

• Tonya Willis of Union Springs; graduate of Union Springs Central School; major in psychology, minor in elementary education (degree expected)

In addition to graduating, LoMascolo was awarded the Gertrude H. Freiert Prize in Fine Arts, bestowed upon a member of the graduating class annually that has, in the opinion of the art faculty, produced a body of creative work of high quality during the college career.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net