by Venus Popplewell
COLUMBIA, KY (04/29/2026) Lindsey Wilson University seniors gathered at sunset to celebrate their undergraduate years ahead of Saturday’s commencement ceremony.
Sponsored by the Lindsey Wilson office of alumni relations, more than 100 graduating seniors came together on April 22 to enjoy an evening of music, food, games and fellowship.
The Class of 2026 seniors also used the evening to present the annual senior class gift to Lindsey Wilson President William T. Luckey Jr. The gift totaling $3,084 will go toward a campus beautification project.
Senior class president Megan Whitson, an English and communication major from East Bernstadt, Kentucky, said she wanted to do something new and memorable for her class.
“We were looking for something to do as a senior send-off,” said Whitson, who received the 2026 President’s Award at Honors Convocation on Tuesday. “We wanted it to be laid-back and relaxing, a stress reliever as we finish out the last week of regular classes. We hope it gets bigger every year and becomes a tradition.”
Lindsey Wilson’s 123rd commencement will be held in three ceremonies May 1-2, in Biggers Sports Center, 360 Spickard Drive, Columbia, Kentucky. For more information, go to www.lindsey.edu or call 270-384-8025.
Junior Tezon Mitchell from Greensburg, Kentucky, helps senior Kyra Engel from Germany make her first-ever smore at Lindsey Wilson University’s Senior Sunset, a senior send-off event held April 22 on the campus quadrangle.
Senior class president Megan Whitson from East Bernstadt, Kentucky and senior class vice president Sadie Kemp from Columbia, present a facsimile check for $3,084 to Lindsey Wilson President William T. Luckey Jr. at Senior Sunset, a senior send-off event held on the campus quadrangle where seniors could gather as a class for the last time before graduating. From left, LWU President William T. Luckey Junior, Whitson, Kemp and LWU Director of Alumni Relations Allison Cross.
Lindsey Wilson University seniors Cody Shepherd from Mount Juliet, Tennessee; Monika Szwarc from Poland; and Zachariah Lawson from Williamsburg, Kentucky, brought a hammock to the inaugural Senior Sunset. More than 100 graduating seniors gathered on April 22 to enjoy an evening of music, food, games and fellowship. The event was sponsored by the office of alumni relations.
LWU President William T. Luckey Jr. plays a game of cornhole with Daniel Sabato a business administration freshman from Louisville during Senior Sunset. The campus quad was alive with energy as graduating seniors and their friends made s’mores at the fire pits, played games and relaxed before the stress of final exams begin.
(Venus Popplewell – Lindsey Wilson University)