{"id":58925,"date":"2025-05-08T12:28:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T16:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=58925"},"modified":"2025-05-08T12:28:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T16:28:22","slug":"celebration-of-blessings-features-reflections-from-cjp-grads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/celebration-of-blessings-features-reflections-from-cjp-grads\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebration of Blessings features reflections from CJP grads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at 91短视频 sent 13 graduates off into the world with words of affirmation and reflection at its annual Celebration of Blessings on Sunday, May 4, in Martin Chapel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the heartfelt ceremony, CJP faculty and staff members Dr. Gloria Rhodes, Amy Knorr, Dr. Joe Cole, <\/strong>and Dr. Catherine Barnes <\/strong>provided words of tribute for each graduate, expressing their feelings of love, pride, and honor. The following CJP Class of 2025 graduates were recognized:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9ka Bord\u00e1s-Simon, Ny\u00edregyh\u00e1za, Hungary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jess Cochran, Charlottesville, Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan Hochstedler, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorothy Maru, Eldoret, Kenya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybree Spilsbury, Mesa, Arizona<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getachew Temare, Harrisonburg, Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Megan Carnice, Quantico, Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karen Chamblee, Weyers Cave, Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Master of Arts in Restorative Justice<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Dye, Blacksburg, Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Graduate Certificate in Restorative Justice<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sydney Butler, Baltimore<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Cole, Lebanon, Ohio<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abigail Stockman, Craftsbury Common, Vermont<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tyler Carnahan, Broadway, Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Three graduates shared how their time and experiences at CJP transformed them.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ann Dye \u201925 <\/strong>said that being at CJP has been a life-changing experience. She recounted joining a conflict transformation course\u2014her first college class in nearly 30 years\u2014and feeling fear, anxiety, and discomfort. \u201cBut all throughout that first semester, I was held in patient kindness by professors who taught in a way I had never experienced before,\u201d she said. \u201cThey engaged with curiosity, compassion, and presence, sitting with my own\u2014and maybe a few others\u2019\u2014fear and confusion. They actually demonstrated the peacebuilding skills they were teaching, engaging all of us with dignity, creativity, and adaptability.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she began to explore the field of restorative justice, based on a professor\u2019s recommendation, she said \u201cit felt like finding the half of my life that had been missing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Susan Hochstedler \u201925<\/strong> began taking electives at CJP for her seminary degree program. At the time, she said, she was exhausted. She had been leading a church community through the COVID-19 pandemic and also felt weighed down by family issues and the increasing division in society. \u201cI came to CJP because I wasn\u2019t sure what else to do,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I stayed because of the knowledge and the passion, the brokenness and the authenticity, and the exquisite beauty of this peacebuilding community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When Dorothy Maru \u201925 <\/strong>lost her grandmother three months after arriving at 91短视频, her entire world crumbled and she spent several months trying to make sense of it all. It wasn\u2019t until she took a class with CJP Professor Dr. Paula Ditzel Facci<\/strong> that she began to see that, in the midst of her grief, there was tremendous growth. Her grandmother was \u201ca woman of delusional faith,\u201d Maru said, who believed in things that didn’t make much sense, \u201cbut because of how she believed in me, I had no choice but to believe in myself, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo the Class of 2025, let us go out into the world with a conviction that we are capable of creating a better world,\u201d Maru said. \u201cLet us apply what John Paul Lederach calls The Moral Imagination<\/em>, to imagine that which doesn\u2019t yet exist, to be delusional enough to believe that it is possible. It\u2019s possible to demand justice, to choose peace, to create space for every voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The ceremony featured a graduate slideshow created by CJP student Hannah Gilman<\/strong>. Katie Mansfield, <\/strong>CJP affiliate faculty member, opened the event with drumming. Maybree Spilsbury \u201925 <\/strong>performed \u201cThe Swan\u201d on cello, accompanied by Julie Spilsbury <\/strong>on piano. Kory Schaeffer, <\/strong>director of programs at CJP, delivered welcome remarks. CJP students Tabitha Roberts <\/strong>and Josiah Ludwick <\/strong>delivered the student blessings, and CJP affiliate faculty member Dr. Catherine Barnes <\/strong>concluded the celebration with a graduate sending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

View the photo album from the event.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at 91短视频 sent 13 graduates off into the world with words of affirmation and reflection at its annual Celebration of Blessings on Sunday, ... read more about Celebration of Blessings features reflections from CJP grads<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":58950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12503,16077,17562,264],"tags":[18449,18119,17236,17868,18454,5854,5948],"feature":[17427,17426,17241],"class_list":["post-58925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cjp","category-commencement-alumni","category-digest","category-graduate-programs","tag-2025-commencement","tag-celebration-of-blessings","tag-cjp","tag-cjp-2","tag-cjp-graduation","tag-commencement","tag-graduation","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nCelebration of Blessings features reflections from CJP grads - 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