York College Honors Lacrosse Seniors in Special Commencement Ahead of NCAA Tournament
YORK, Pa. — On a sunny day in 2023, lacrosse faceoff specialist Terence Harmon ‘26 first stepped onto the York College campus as a transfer student from Charleston, South Carolina. He found a campus that felt right and a coach who made him feel at home. On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, that journey came full circle as Harmon and six of his teammates gathered in the M&T Bank Fieldhouse for a graduation ceremony uniquely their own.
More than 500 of their classmates are set to walk across the stage on Saturday, May 9. But these seven student-athletes will be three hundred miles away in Lynchburg, Virginia. Their success on the field has earned them a six-seed in the NCAA DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championship, with a second-round matchup scheduled at the same time as York College graduation.
Rather than letting them miss out on a milestone they worked years to achieve, York College continued its tradition of holding a separate, smaller ceremony for athletes whose post-season success keeps them from the main stage.
A Home Away From Home
For Harmon, a Sport Management graduate, the ceremony was a moment of reflection on a two-year journey.
“Transferring here has been good,” Harmon said, admitting to some pre-graduation nerves despite his excitement. “The guys are really welcoming and loving.”
That sense of community was important for Harmon’s family, who watched from afar as he moved north to play for Head Coach Brandon Childs. His mother, Angel Payton-Harmon, recalled the initial anxiety of having her son so far from South Carolina.
“I was nervous when he first transferred,” Payton-Harmon said. “But then Coach Childs had a parent meeting at the beginning and from then on, I knew he was in good hands. [Childs] talked about his own family and his kids, and so I felt like my son would be in good hands.”
Because of the distance, Payton-Harmon often had to watch games online, but she noted that the York College community filled the gaps whenever she couldn’t be there in person. When Harmon couldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving or Easter, the families of his teammates opened their doors. “I’m always grateful that other people step into that role when needed,” she said.
Planting New Seeds
The ceremony celebrated success in the classroom and on the field. It was also a celebration of personal growth Harmon achieved since arriving as a junior. His aunt, Faith Rivers James, expressed immense pride in how quickly he integrated into the York community.
“He has really thrived in lacrosse and at York College,” James said. “We are really excited for the future and his opportunity to plant the same seeds that the coach here planted in him in kids who are going to play lacrosse in the future.”
That future is already taking shape. Harmon plans to return to South Carolina to begin an internship with a lacrosse team, with long-term goals of coaching at the high school level.
A Shared Journey
During the ceremony, Dr. Thomas Burns addressed the graduates, emphasizing that their time at York was a "shared journey".
“Graduates, your time on campus has been one of living, learning, and growing—a shared journey in a community that you have helped nurture, and that has nurtured you in return,” Dr. Burns told the group.
He reminded the players that while they were the ones receiving the diplomas, their success was a collective effort of discipline, mentors, and the families who supported their loved ones from the bleachers of Kinsley Field.
“Today marks the culmination of that journey, but it is also the beginning of a new chapter,” Burns said. “As you prepare to leave this campus, you are ready to embrace the challenges, opportunities, and adventures that await you.”
For Harmon and his teammates, those adventures begin immediately, first on a bus to Virginia for the NCAA tournament, and then into a world where they hope to pass on the same leadership they found at York.
