The University of West Georgia conferred 849 degrees during two commencement ceremonies Saturday, with keynote speaker Bentina Chisolm Terry imploring graduates to "not let today get in the way of tomorrow."

"Life is filled with nothing but yesterdays, todays and tomorrows," said Terry, who serves as senior vice president of the Northwest Region for Georgia Power. "We're all depending on you, the graduates of the University of West Georgia, to educate the next generation; to create a new way to travel; to make our communities better places to live; and overall to improve our world."

Commencement ceremonies were held at the UWG Coliseum at 9 a.m. for students graduating from the College of Education, the Richards College of Business and the Tanner Health System School of Nursing and at 2 p.m. for students graduating from the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Social Sciences and the College of Science and Mathematics.

Approximately 700 students walked across the stage Saturday. Of the 849 degrees conferred, approximately 250 were at the graduate level, with the remainder at the undergraduate level.

UWG President Kyle Marrero said the fall ceremonies' graduates represent the best graduation rates in their four- and five-year cohorts in the history of the university.

"The time you’ve spent at UWG has given you the opportunity to transform your life, but what it will do for you in the next 50 years will be even bigger," Marrero told graduates before asking them to turn their tassels. "We are truly joined together. Your success in the future is UWG’s success, and when UWG succeeds, the value of your degree increases.”

Joshua Lester, president of UWG's Student Government Association, encouraged graduates to see their physical diploma as just “one small part" of a much larger educational journey.

“Your diplomas prove that with hard work and dedication, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to,” Lester said. “Through life's ups and downs, you can succeed."

Terry's remarks centered on her experience in the first of 17 half-marathons she's run since turning 40 years old.

"During my first race, I got to a point where I fell to the ground in the medical tent and thought I couldn't finish," Terry said. "My entire body hurt. But eventually, I mustered the strength to sit up, then stand up, then walk, then run, and then – finally – cross the finish line."

Terry said she should have trained for months prior to the 13-mile race. However, she did practically no training before the race. The longest distance she'd ever run was a 5K – 3.1 miles.

"I was smart enough to know that this was a monumental feat I should've prepared for, but I still didn't," she said. "I woke up every day for eight months and did very little to prepare myself for that moment because I had more immediate things to do – work and family obligations, things that needed to be done, excuses to be made."

Terry is responsible for Georgia Power's operations, sales, customer service, economic and community development, and external affairs activities for 1.4 million customers across metro Atlanta and the northwest corner of Georgia.

Terry discouraged graduates from being as unprepared for their future as she was for her first big race.

"I let today get in the way of tomorrow," said. "There will always be things that need to be done, and they can get in the way of things that can make a difference. Don't let that happen to you."

Terry closed her remarks by telling the graduates she's glad she got off the grass the day of her first half-marathon.

"As you prepare for your journey, I don't know what's behind you or what's ahead of you, but I know you've got everything you need to run the race before you," she said. "If you stumble, I know you'll have the strength to get off the grass and keep going."