For The Record

Submit birth, marriage and obituary records online.

Personal Ads

Meet new friends today!

Advertising

Put your message in front of 19,000 readers.

PDF documents on this site require the free Adobe Reader:

Get Adobe Reader

2010-06-01 issue:

Colleges, universities graduate 1,143 students

Bluffton, Hesston, EMS, EMU and Goshen celebrate commencements.

by Compiled by Anna Groff

Print Article

Bluffton (Ohio) University
270 graduates, May 9
What seem like easy answers should be considered further because truth is complex, Bluffton University graduates were advised May 9 by the associate director of the Mennonite Education Agency.

"There is not one clear, dogmatic, singular, simplistic view of earth care, immigration or any of the other hot topics that beg for polarization," said Elaine Moyer, a Bluffton alumna and the speaker for the university’s 110th commencement ceremony.

"When faced with a simple answer, pause and wait for – even seek – the complicated," she told the roughly 270 graduates. "For it is within the complicated that we truly and humbly lead."

She noted that the answer to the question Why choose Bluffton? on the university's home page begins, "Simple ... Bluffton's four enduring values of discovery, community, respect and service set Bluffton apart from other institutions."

"Choosing Bluffton University is indeed a 'simple' and wise choice," added Moyer, a 1972 graduate who returned later as a faculty member, administrator, coach and, most recently, as a trustee from 1991-2009. "The impact, however, of being immersed and influenced by the core values that faculty, staff, administrators and students espouse engages complexity." – Scott Borgelt of Bluffton University

Hesston (Kan.) College - 137 graduates, May 9
The 137 members of Hesston College's 100th graduating class walked the stage on May 9 in a 9 a.m. service at Yost Center and were addressed by faculty and staff "polar opposites" Tony Brown and Dustin Galyon on the topic "We Must Be the Change."

On May 8, Hesston (Kan.) College faculty member Luann Yutzy places a stole on the shoulders of Pastoral Ministries graduate Dan Coburn of Accident, Md., as Coburn's wife, Marlena, looks on. Photo by Larry Bartel.

Brown, who is a social science faculty member and artist-in-residence, described himself as "introverted, quiet, drawn to the mystical and contemplative, African American, sometimes reluctant and cautious and at times finds it difficult to trust." He wondered what it would take to bring together a collaborative commencement address with Galyon, the extroverted public speaker who is Hesston's associate director of admissions and men’s basketball coach.

"Despite my initial impulse to question, I am honored to have had the privilege of working with Dustin," Brown said. "Crafting this address collaboratively in a give-and-take fashion was a metaphor for what is needed as we look ahead to life in the 21st century."

"I understand now that this exercise was an important lesson in realizing the importance of interdependence," Galyon said. "The seductive pull toward individualism is an ongoing challenge for most U.S. citizens. What is imperative now is that we must find the way to be in relationship with each other and be changed by each other." – Carol Duerksen for Hesston College


Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va. - 16 graduates, May 1
"God knows what possesses anyone to enter the ministry in our day," Stanley Hauerwas told the graduating class of Eastern Mennonite Seminary on May 1.

Sixteen students received graduate degrees during the seminary's 61st annual commencement held in Lehman Auditorium at EMU. Fifteen received master of divinity degrees, and one received a master of arts in church leadership. Two students received ministry certificates.

Hauerwas, the Gilbert T. Rowe professor of theological ethics at the Divinity School of Duke University, began his commencement address by enumerating the problems with Christian ministry today, including a lack of clarity about what the church is, what a minister is to spend his or her time doing, and who gets to tell a minister what to do.

"I'm taking time to characterize some of the challenges of ministry,' Hauerwas said, 'because I want to suggest how the work you have done in seminary is crucial for the work you will do as a minister if you are to sustain the ministry for a lifetime."

"What you have learned to do in seminary is read," he said. "By learning to read you have learned to speak Christian. One of the essential tasks of those called to the ministry in our day is to be a teacher. In particular, you are called to be a teacher of language.­­" – Laura Lehman Amstutz of Eastern Mennonite Seminary


Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va. - 432 graduates, May 2
Eastern Mennonite University celebrated its 91st annual commencement on the front lawn of campus May 2. EMU president Loren Swartzendruber conferred 432 degrees­­ – 315 undergraduate (including 115 Adult Degree Completion Program recipients), 101 graduate degrees, one associate degree, nine graduate certificates and six study and training certificates – during the two-hour ceremonies.

Lindsey Grosh, who graduated from EMU cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in photography with minors in TESL and Spanish, was a regional winner in a nationwide contest sponsored by Celadon Trucking Services. Photo by Jim Bishop.

It felt like a homecoming for graduation speaker Joseph B. Martin, who, after completing one year of medical school at the University of Alberta at Edmonton, came to EMU and studied one year, receiving a B.S. degree in Bible in 1959.

"That one year [at EMU] transformed my life spiritually, emotionally and philosophically," he said.

Martin is professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Prior to this appointment in 2007, he served 10 years as dean of the faculty of medicine at Harvard University. While there he helped establish, in 1999, the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, an innovative collaboration that brings together seven Harvard-affiliated institutions intent on reducing the burden of cancer.

EMU awarded a posthumous honorary degree to Kathleen S. Eberly of Hershey, Pa. She was enrolled in the master of arts in education program at EMU Lancaster and had completed all coursework except for her action research project when she died Nov. 1, 2009, of cancer. – Jim Bishop of Eastern Mennonite University


Goshen (Ind.) College - 288 graduates, April 25
Goshen College's class of 2010 received degrees on April 25 after they were described as the light of the world by president James E. Brenneman and encouraged to become immortal by the chief administrative law judge of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

During Goshen College's commencement on April 25 (left to right), graduates Betsy Houser and Jonna Buller celebrate together.
Photo by Brian Steiner.

The Class of 2010 consisted of 288 graduates – 21 candidates for master's degrees, 183 candidates for bachelor of arts degrees, 34 candidates for bachelor of science degrees and 50 candidates for bachelor of science in nursing degrees.

A highlight of this year's commencement was the conferring of the college’s first master's degrees in nursing. Master's of science degrees as family nurse practitioner and clinical nurse leader were conferred to 14 students.

The commencement speaker was Ronnie A. Yoder of Alexandria, Va., the chief administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of Transportation. In his address, "A Niche for You – Immortality," Yoder talked about his father and his journey to becoming a federal judge, and he encouraged the graduates to establish college scholarship funds for others. He also offered advice on finding a niche in life and finding common ground with others.

Yoder, who noted his Amish and Mennonite background, said he has centered his life on the teachings of Jesus and the lessons he learned from his parents, including these: Set your dreams high and don’t give up on yourself or your dreams; leave a place better than you find it; don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today and, when in doubt, don't. – Richard R. Aguirre

Reader Comments

Add Comments

Current Stories

Articles

News stories, digests and Meno Acontecer

Columns

Births and Marriages

Readers Say

Subscribe