At the University of Richmond's 178th commencement ceremony yesterday, astronaut Leland D. Melvin advised the Class of 2008 to dream big.

"You guys did it, in 2008, way to go!" Melvin told the crowd.

Melvin, who graduated from UR in 1986 and in February became the first Spider in space when he flew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, encouraged the graduates to have a vision of what they want to do in life, have a plan for their careers, find a passion and "keep a childlike enthusiasm."

"If you fail, which you will do, we all fail, and you may fail in a horrific way, a hard way, but the true character of the individual is what they do after they fail, it's how you pick the pieces up, pick yourself back up and keep going up. And that's the true test and character of the Spider," Melvin said.

Melvin asked them to "carry on a legacy."

He said that when he was training for his first space flight there were so many obstacles, including the space shuttle Columbia tragedy. Melvin visited the father of astronaut Dave Brown, who died in the Columbia, to console him about the loss of his son. "He looked me in the eyes and said, 'Leland, my son has just died in this horrible breakup of the space shuttle . . . but the biggest tragedy would be not that he's died, but if you don't carry on his legacy,'" Melvin told the audience.

"And that's what we need to do, carry on the legacy of those who have fallen before us, those who have given their lives to ensure that we have the tools to be successful," Melvin said.

"Your education in Richmond is your entry card to mastering the difficult and seemingly impossible. Dream big, bold, vivid dreams and then turn them into reality."

The crowd at the Robins Center yesterday afternoon honored 684 undergraduate and 40 graduate students who received degrees.

Ceremonies for the School of Continuing Studies and School of Law were held Saturday. Continuing studies awarded 87 associate, bachelor's and master's degrees, and the law school awarded 165 degrees.

Virginia Secretary of Administration Viola O. Baskerville, a graduate of the College of William and Mary, received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree for her long history of public service in the state, UR President Edward L. Ayers said.

Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or llazo@timesdispatch.com.