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2009-06-02 issue:

Hesston College graduates 156 students

Jim Yoder and Jim Mason of Hesston College address graduates on May 3.

by Carol Duerksen

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Hesston (Kan.) College graduated 156 students on May 3, and Jim and Jim were in the gym to address them before they received their diplomas.




From left, freshman Breezie Sims, graduate Selamawit Mamo, freshman Brittany Albrecht, graduate Fernanda Barros, and freshman Jessica Juhnke pose for a photo. Photo by Larry Bartel.

Representing the “lofty” world of academia, 36-year veteran of the science faculty Jim Yoder was dressed in full regalia and spoke from the bucket of a cherry picker high above the grads, their families and friends.

Jim Mason, director of campus facilities, stood below stage level, wore jeans and a polo shirt, and represented the “down-to-earth” aspects of a college education. “I see what goes on outside the classroom … in the dorms, cafeteria, here in the gym and often in the evenings,” Mason said. “I know these people outside the classroom and I have an idea—perhaps even better than you—how much these graduation candidates have grown and matured over their years here—ways that go far beyond the classroom.”

“I must agree with that, Jim,” Yoder said. “But I still say, first of all, the mind must be what we call liberated so that we are not prisoners of thoughts and ideas that are not our own. We have to be able to think for ourselves—to be lifelong learners … after all, the classroom is what makes this an academic institution.”

As Yoder and Mason continued their dialogue, Yoder descended from his cherry picker, and Mason climbed the steps to the stage, meeting together at the podium.

 “I think the total Hesston experience is what we are celebrating today for these graduates,” Mason said.

Mason and Yoder concluded their address using the symbol of a candle, which requires the integration of wax and wick in order to be useful in illuminating darkness, and stated that each graduate would receive a candle as a symbol of the best of Hesston College’s integrated education and the wisdom and light that the grads will spread as they go out from Hesston.

Forty-six of the graduates were members of the Hesston College Nursing Program, which held its pinning ceremony May 2 at Hesston Mennonite Church. Gloria Solis, a 1980 Hesston nursing grad and chief nursing officer/CEO at St. Luke’s East in Lee Summit, Mo., shared a meditation, “Let the Celebration Begin!”

“We don’t just have jobs, we have callings,” Solis told the graduates. “We have gifts. We have the power to help people go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning with their mind and soul intact.”

Clarence Rempel, associate conference minister for Western District Conference, shared a message with the five Pastoral Ministries students and their spouses commissioned at Hesston Mennonite Church on May 2.

Other weekend activities on May 2 included recognition for six Disaster Management graduates, a reception for seven aviation graduates, a concert by the Bel Canto Singers and the annual Larkfest awards and recognition ceremony for sophomores.

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