Louisiana Tech University awarded 299 degrees to the Summer Class of 2026 in the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday morning. The new batch of Tech graduates bring the worldwide total of University alumni to nearly 119,300.
The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker, now serving the city in his third term and deeply involved in the economic growth and civic well-being of both Ruston and Lincoln Parish for more than 40 years. Walker is a recipient of the Arlis Scogin Award, the highest honor Tech can bestow for extraordinary service to the University by a non-graduate.
Reflecting on community and adaptability, the mayor centered his address around his firsthand experiences with University students and the impact they have on the city. He shared stories of his and his wife Kay's involvement in the graduates' lives over the years — jump-starting vehicles, delivering birthday cakes, making emergency room visits — and paused to give a shoutout to a graduating student, Isabel Black, who recently served the couple at a local restaurant.
“The moment you leave this ceremony, the world will begin asking different questions of you. Not ‘what did you study’ but ‘what will you do with it,’” Walker said during his address. “Not ‘what grades did you earn,’ but ‘what difference will you make.’”
Reminding the graduates that they are stepping into a workforce defined by rapid technological and industrial shifts, he challenged them to embrace uncertainty and remain grounded in the relationships that helped them succeed.
“True success is not about titles, salaries, and recognition,” he added. “True success is measured in the impact you make on others, in the lives you improve, the problems you solve, and the integrity you carry into everything you do.”
He also let the graduates know they would always have a special connection to the City of Ruston, and that he hopes to see many of them stay to build careers and families while making the community a stronger, smarter, and better place for all.
This ceremony was the final for Doug Postel, who has served as Louisiana Tech’s commencement announcer for nine years and called more than 17,000 graduates’ names.