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West Virginia Senate Majority Whip. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, will give the keynote address at West Liberty University's spring commencement, a group of four ceremonies to be held May 7-8 at the university's Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex.
A graduate ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. May 7, while three undergraduate ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. May 8. Weld will give his address virtually, and it will be displayed on the ASRC's video board.
WLU President W. Franklin Evans will preside at the ceremonies and faculty will participate in the ceremony for their respective colleges.
Weld grew up in Weirton and Wellsburg. He graduated from Brooke High School in 1998 and from Fairmont State University in 2003, receiving his law degree from Duquesne University in 2015.
In 2005 he was commissioned into the Air Force Reserve and spent several years on active duty in the U.S. Intelligence Community. In 2010 and 2011 he served as the Staff Intelligence Officer to the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Prior to that, he served as the executive officer to the Director of Congressional Affairs of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Weld was elected to represent the 1st Senatorial District -- which includes Hancock, Brooke, and Ohio counties as well as a portion of Marshall County -- in 2016. Prior to that, he served one term in the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 2nd House District.
Weld is an attorney with the law firm of Spilman Thomas & Battle in their Wheeling office. He and his wife, Alex, reside in Wellsburg.
Each ceremony also has a student speaker who is chosen by merit of grade point average. The 9 a.m. ceremony for the College of Education & Human Performance and the College of Liberal Arts student speaker is Abbey Bauer of Moundsville; the noon ceremony for the College of Sciences student speakers are Breanna Sayre of Wheeling and Kendall Souder of Elletsville, Indiana.; the 3 p.m. ceremony for the College of Arts & Communication, the Gary E. West College of Business, and the School of Professional Studies student speaker is Rebekah Teter of Shanks.
The graduate ceremony student speaker is Anna Malone of Clarksburg.
Due to pandemic safety concerns, graduates are limited to two guests each and no receptions will follow the ceremonies. The ASRC will be cleaned and sanitized after each ceremony. All guests and graduates, speakers and staff will be masked and socially distanced. The 2021 Commencement ceremonies also will be streamed live on Topper Station (topperstation.com) and will be broadcast live on social media.