King’s College announces summer commencement speaker

Julie B. Walker, president of the Peyton Walker Foundation, will deliver the keynote address during the King’s College Summer Commencement on Saturday, Aug. 17, at the William S. Scandlon Physical Education Center.

Walker will address a group of 90 graduates, many of whom will receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the health sciences. The procession of graduates begins at 10 a.m. and will be livestreamed at www.kings.edu/commencement.

The Peyton Walker Foundation was created and named in memory of Walker’s daughter, a King’s College physician assistant student who died unexpectedly in 2013 from sudden cardiac arrest. The foundation has since worked to increase awareness, detection, and survival rates of sudden cardiac arrest for youth throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.

Under Walker’s leadership, the foundation became a national award-winning nonprofit that has screened more than 5,000 youths, donated 700 AEDs (automated external defibrillators), and provided CPR and AED training for tens of thousands of people. The foundation was also instrumental in getting legislation known as “Peyton’s Law” passed, which stipulates that information on the importance of EKG testing be included in required forms for school athletics and on the Pa. Department of Education’s website.

“It is a humbling honor to be invited to deliver this keynote,” said Walker. “My world was shattered the day we lost Peyton, and each day since then I’ve had to make the choice to move forward. Through resilience and unapologetic relentlessness, I’ve been able to build a lifesaving legacy to honor Peyton. I hope that my story might be an inspiration to the graduates to develop resilience through adversity and encourages them to find and follow their mission.”

King’s College partners with the Peyton Walker Foundation for an annual free heart screening clinic for children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 22. The foundation also sponsors a scholarship fund for students enrolled in the physician assistant program at the College.

“Julie took her family’s tragic loss and transformed it into a profound movement to prevent cardiac-related deaths in young people,” said King’s College president Rev. Thomas P. Looney, C.S.C., Ph.D. “Since Julie is an inspiration to me, I believe that her presence and words will inspire our graduates to live the transformative power of our mission to champion the inherent dignity of every person and use their talents to serve the common good.”