91短视频鈥檚 2019 graduating class received a final assignment right at the start of their commencement ceremony address: 鈥淩aise your hand if this describes you,鈥� said retiring psychology professor and speaker Judy Mullet, listing various lengths of time in which students may have finished their degrees. But it was at 鈥淭hirty-two years?鈥� that Mullet raised her own hand.
鈥淭oday,鈥� the beloved professor said, 鈥淚 represent the past. You as graduates represent the present. And now, let鈥檚 look to the future.鈥�
Mullet鈥檚 address, titled 鈥淢mmm鈥�,鈥� highlighted gratitude, 鈥渢he only soul-worthy response to the endless gifts given to us.鈥� Self-help strategies may tout 鈥済rit鈥� and 鈥済rowth,鈥� but gratitude is what 鈥渕oves us to action,鈥� she said, 鈥渢o help others, to make healthy decisions, to persist in tough situations.鈥� It鈥檚 also at the heart of Micah 6:8, the Bible verse that is foundational to 91短视频鈥檚 mission, because 鈥渢here can be no justice or kindness without gratitude,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd gratitude is the only route to humility that I know.鈥�
At Sunday’s 101st Commencement, 91短视频 conferred a total of 486 degrees: 349 bachelor鈥檚 degrees,104 graduate degrees, 31 graduate certificates and two associate’s degrees.
Read more from among the many journeys of these graduates:
- A husband and wife from Shenandoah County who both put college on hold graduate with bachelor’s degrees (and head to grad school!).
- More than 30 graduates donned stoles highlighting their cultural heritage.
Family and friends crowd the area next to the stage to take photos of graduates receiving their diplomas. - Business grads prepare for graduate school and for careers.
- Center for Justice and Peacebuilding graduates 30 (here’s sending ceremony coverage and capstone听肠辞惫别谤补驳别).
- Eastern Mennonite Seminary sends 23 into ministry.
Providing graduate perspectives
Mario Hernandez 鈥�19 declared himself 鈥渢errified鈥� of his fellow graduates and eager to see how they would change the world.
Nelle Zimmerman 鈥�19, a graduate of the Adult Degree Completion Program at age 41, told her fellow graduates, especially those who enrolled in college soon after high school, that life away from the classroom is still a learning opportunity. 鈥淟ife is a classroom,鈥� she said, adding that she had learned as much from the experiences of her ADCP cohort, ages 27-57, as she had from her coursework.聽鈥淚 don鈥檛 see this as a time to be exiting the classroom but rather a time to discover where your next classroom will be … some of will travel the world, some will begin or continue a career and some of us will take some time to decide … but not no matter where life takes us, let us join together today to acknowledge and more we have yet to learn. Let us be grateful for the opportunity that brought us here today and the lifelong opportunities we have to continue gaining knowledge in whatever classroom life provides.”
An RN and mother of two, Tiffany Dickson MSN 鈥�19 was irrevocably changed one tragic night in 2014 when her husband Corporal Bryon Dickson II was murdered outside the Pennsylvania State Trooper barracks. Dickson spoke of losing her love for nursing and then regaining it through enrolling first in the school nurse certification and then the MS in Nursing program.
She was empowered in the program with skills and knowledge, but her fellow students in the cohort helped her to realize her own leadership capabilities and a deep desire to lead beyond boundaries. Dickson is now a stroke coordinator at Commonwealth Health Regional Hospital of Scranton.
鈥淲hat we found was love 鈥� the love that embraces us that allows us to lead,鈥� she said, through tears. 鈥淚 have heard that you don鈥檛 choose organizations, but organizations choose you. I am so proud to have been chosen by such a loving, caring and honorable organization as 91短视频 because it has enabled me to become the nurse that I once was.鈥�
While Tyler Goss MDiv, MA 鈥�19 earned dual degrees from Eastern Mennonite Seminary and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, he also served as a residence director and facilitated Campus Activities Council. His first year at 91短视频 was also the senior class’s first year on campus. 鈥淚f anyone would know you鈥檙e ready, I would,鈥� he said, to loud cheers.鈥�Your past years here are testament enough that you know what to do on this road ahead.鈥�