For her, that moment came during the traumatic birth of her youngest child two years ago. Perez, a graduate of EMU at Lancaster’s Leadership and Organizational Management (LOM) program, shared that she failed out of her studies during that experience. But rather than quit, she pushed forward and kept fighting. She came back stronger, enrolling in the next cohort and earning Dean’s List honors throughout her time in the program. The road didn’t become easier, she said, but her resilience grew stronger.

That same resilience, she told the Class of 2026 graduates, lies in every single one of them. Many of them, who are nontraditional adult learners, balanced their coursework with jobs, families, and other responsibilities. “We showed up tired, we showed up overwhelmed and stretched thin, and sometimes we showed up broken,” she said. “Regardless, we still showed up.”

When her mother was hospitalized and passed away in January, Perez said her classmates, who had become a support system, showed up for her. “In one of my hardest seasons,” she said, “it was this community that reminded me I wasn’t alone.”

Graduates recess following the Commencement ceremony.

Angelita Perez (left) was one of three graduates who shared their perspectives at Commencement. Dr. Jamie Mak (right), assistant vice president of academic and program growth for EMU at Lancaster, opens the ceremony. 

Perez was one of 21 graduates of EMU at Lancaster’s degree and graduate certificate programs who walked across the stage and were joyfully sent off into the world during the annual Commencement ceremony at Forest Hills Mennonite Church on Friday, May 8. This year, EMU at Lancaster awarded 21 undergraduate degrees, 13 graduate degrees, and 13 graduate certificates.

Dr. Jamie Mak, assistant vice president of academic and program growth for EMU at Lancaster, welcomed the family members, friends, and guests gathered in celebration and commended the courage and commitment shown by the graduates.

“As you leave today, you carry more than just credentials,” she said. “You carry the values that define this community: peacebuilding, social justice, service, and compassion. You are entering a world that needs those values more than ever.”

EMU at Lancaster awarded 21 undergraduate degrees, 13 graduate degrees, and 13 graduate certificates.

Graduates Will Stover (left) and Alejandro Ulloa (right) share their perspectives.

In addition to Perez, graduates Will Stover and Alejandro Ulloa shared their reflections.

Stover, a graduate of the aviation program, highlighted his cohort’s accomplishments—accumulating over 7,000 hours of flight time in their four years together—and shared some of the lessons they learned in the program. He encouraged graduates to “take the first step” when presented with challenges and opportunities, continue supporting one another and “keep ’em flying,” and find the positive in times of adversity. Echoing the mantra of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight squadron, he called on graduates to embrace being “glad to be here.”

“There are days that are difficult, when we feel defeated, lost, and unsure of what’s next,” he said. “There are also days that feel easy, motivating, and full of hope. The phrase ‘Glad to be here’ is a reminder that, regardless of the day, resiliency ultimately wins.”

When Ulloa was growing up, he often heard his mother say, “cada cabeza un mundo entero.” That phrase, he said, translates to “each head is a whole world.”

“My mom’s words are a consistent reminder that God created each of us with uniqueness and complexity and finds each of us worthy of love,” said Ulloa, who graduated with an MA in education with a concentration in Trauma and Resilience in Educational Environments (TREE).

After teaching at Lancaster Mennonite High School for 11 years, he said God called him to a different setting about four years ago. That’s when he applied to the program at EMU at Lancaster to “stay in touch with these faith-infused tenets of education and daily practice.”

“I’m so thankful for this program and its professors, who encouraged us to view our students in their entirety, to approach them with care and empathy first and foremost, and to remember that there’s an entire world in their heads,” he said. Ulloa added that he leaves the program “more committed than ever” to meet his students where they are, get to know them, and support them however he can.

EMU at Lancaster’s Class of 2026 graduates celebrate after walking across the stage.

Lancaster Mayor Jaime Arroyo (left) delivers the Commencement address. Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus (right) offers welcome remarks during the ceremony.

Lancaster Mayor Jaime Arroyo delivered the Commencement address. A first-generation college graduate and avid runner who became the first Latino mayor in the city’s history, he spoke about the process of training for a marathon and connected it to broader lessons in life.

Preparation, he told the graduates, is both a choice and an ongoing process. “Sometimes that means taking a step back and readjusting your training plan,” he said. “Sometimes it’s just a check-in with yourself that brings you back to the basics. It’s about questioning your choices and making sure you’re on the right path.”

“Think deeply about your choices, find a way to quiet the noise, listen to what truly matters, and make sure the commitments you make are for the greater good,” Arroyo added.

In her remarks to the graduates, Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus expressed appreciation for the ways they have shown up for one another and for the EMU community. “You’ve wrestled with hard questions, you’ve listened across differences, and you’ve continued to pursue rigorous learning in a way that reflects both care and conviction,” she said.

Kirk Shisler ’81, vice president for advancement, welcomed the graduates as new members of the EMU Alumni Association. “You join some 21,000 fellow alumni who distinguish themselves as people who serve and lead with distinction locally, regionally, nationally, and around the world,” he said.

Dr. Tynisha Willingham, provost and vice president of academic affairs, presented and commissioned the graduates. Dr. Dycus conferred the degrees and offered the closing blessing. Jess King ’96, an EMU parent and member of the EMU Board of Trustees, led the opening invocation. Derek Kline, director of the aviation program, and Dr. Mak recognized the graduates.

In addition to King, board members Janet Lind, Gloria Diener ’76, and Jane Hoober Peifer ’74, MDiv ’97, attended the ceremony.

Perhaps the greatest love in his life—other than his wife, Frances, and their children—was aviation. Hartman, an instrument-rated pilot since 1959, managed a small airfield east of Charlottesville in the 1960s. He enjoyed flying through the skies above his home “low and slow” in his 1966 Cessna 172, recalled his friend and legal adviser Marshall Yoder. Hartman delighted in taking his family on his flights and seeing the scenery from a fresh perspective.

“Len was a skilled pilot,” Yoder said. “He would float down and there would barely be a ‘thump’ when he’d land.”

As he entered his 90s, Hartman stopped flying his plane as often and began talking to Yoder about parting with it. He wanted to leave it in the right hands, where it could do the most good. But, he hadn’t yet found the right cause.

When Yoder told him about the burgeoning aviation program at EMU Lancaster and how his plane could greatly impact the next generation of pilots, Hartman found his answer. Before his death in February 2022, Hartman ensured that his beloved Cessna, as well as 25 percent of his estate, would be gifted to EMU. Because the gift was unrestricted, the university and its advancement division could decide how best to use it.

“Len knew there was a worldwide shortage of pilots, and he knew there would always be people interested in flight,” said Braydon Hoover, who worked with Hartman and Yoder on establishing the endowment. “And so, to honor his memory, we decided to put it all into a scholarship named after him.”

The J. Leonard “Len” Hartman Scholarship for Aviation will provide more than $17,000 in funds each year, starting in fall 2025, for aviation students at EMU Lancaster who demonstrate financial need.

The Hartman endowment totals about $345,000, which includes $20,000 from the sale of the Cessna. Hartman’s gift will help EMU live into its vision of opening new pathways of access and achievement, a vision outlined in the university’s 2023-28 strategic plan, Pathways of Promise: Preparing Tomorrow’s Unifying Leaders.

“It has quickly become one of our larger named endowed scholarships,” Hoover said, “for one of the fastest growing programs at EMU.”

You can contribute to scholarships for future aviators at EMU by donating online at and typing “J. Leonard Hartman Aviation Scholarship” or “Scholarship for Aviation” into the text field. Contact kirk.shisler@emu.edu for more details on how to support this worthy cause.

John Sibole, director of aviation at EMU Lancaster, said the scholarships will allow the program to further diversify its student body and recruit students from new areas.

“We at EMU Lancaster would like to express our sincere gratitude for the implementation of the Len Hartman scholarship fund for our aviation students,” Sibole said.

“The flight training component of their education is expensive, and these scholarships, which will be awarded in part on a needs basis, will provide new pathways of access into the aviation profession for underserved young people,” he added.

EMU’s aviation program soars

Word is spreading throughout the aviation industry about the strength of EMU’s program and the quality of its graduates. As a result, the EMU aviation program continues to grow in popularity. The program, which began in 2018 with five students, will welcome 24 students this upcoming semester—its largest cohort yet. Current enrollment in the program is at 49 students. A total of 21 students, in three cohorts so far, have graduated from the program to date.

Students enrolled in the four-year Leadership and Organizational Management (LOM) major with an aviation concentration earn a bachelor’s degree and the FAA credentials they need to become professional pilots. Students are paired with flight instructors though EMU’s flight training partner at the Lancaster Airport in Lititz, Pennsylvania. While the program provides at least 270 hours of flight time, many students earn up to 1,000 hours by the time they graduate, said Sibole, noting that nearly 100 percent of their students find jobs within their first year of graduating.

One of the benefits of an aviation program the size of EMU’s is that students are given guaranteed weekly flight training slots with access to aircraft and an instructor. That’s something, Sibole said, that isn’t available at a lot of larger schools.

It’s a major reason Will Stover, a third-year aviation student, chose to attend EMU.

“You’re going to be flying pretty much from day one,” he said. “And you have guaranteed flight slots, so there’s no question you’ll be flying and you’ll be flying regularly.”

When students enter their senior year, they are required to complete a supervised internship with an established aviation organization for a full semester. For many aviation graduates, those internships translate into full-time careers.

During her senior year, Ivy Kreiser, a member of the program’s first cohort, interned at , a private charter and aviation services company in Lancaster. She landed a job there after graduating in 2022 and now works there as a second-in-command.

Becoming a pilot can be expensive. The affordability of EMU’s aviation program, compared to other schools, was a big draw for her.

“The EMU program is great because you’re going to get the education you need, the experience you need, and the flight schools you need,” Kreiser said. “You’re going to meet with professors who will give you the connections you’re hoping for and that you want. And you’re not going to spend as much money as some of the other big programs out there.”

Hartman leaves a legacy

In addition to donating to EMU, Hartman gifted parts of his estate to a library, school, retirement home and church, Yoder said.

The attorney fondly recalls spending afternoons on Hartman’s front porch, talking about everything from politics and religion to Virginia Tech basketball.

“He was such a decent, nice person,” Yoder said. “I miss being able to talk to him. But I think he would be really happy knowing where his bequest is going.”

For more information about EMU’s aviation program, visit: