Commencement 2016: These 4 years are for life
Graduates and their families were bundled in coats and hats for Sunday’s 163rd Commencement, but not even the chill, wind or snow could stop the excitement and pride felt by the Class of 2016.
Donning gloves, President Rob Huntington began the ceremony by telling the graduates that while commencement marks the end of their Heidelberg careers, “This is the beginning of the rest of your lives.”
That sentiment set the tone for the event and highlighted the bright futures of all the graduates.
Two students were selected to address the Class of 2016 – undergraduate communication and theatre arts major Jordan Crase and Kate Topp, who received her master’s degree in counseling.
Kate told her personal story as well as the stories of several of her classmates about how they discovered their passion. She encouraged all in attendance that it’s never too late or early to discover what you want to do.
“Sometimes you go looking for your passion, and sometimes it finds you,” Kate said. “We need to use our passion to lead a life we are proud of.”
Jordan walked her fellow graduates through their four years of emotions and the shock of being seniors.
“Our entire lives flashed before our eyes. We were about to leave our second home,” she said.
But while endings are inevitable and bittersweet, the Heidelberg family remains a strong force in the lives of all graduates.
“The memories and experiences of Heidelberg are for life,” Jordan concluded. “Let’s show the world how great Heidelberg students are.”
Aris Kaplanis, ’74, delivered the commencement address. He is the former president and CEO of Teranet. In 2015, his generosity led to the naming of the Aris M. Kaplanis Master of Business Administration Program and he provided strong support for the new PlusOneAdvantage Free MBA Program.
Beginning his address, Aris admitted he couldn’t remember his own commencement speaker, but wanted to give all graduating students advice they would remember.
“Life is about choices you make – the good ones and the bad ones,” Aris said.
Wanting to guide the graduates to make good decisions, Aris cited an acronym he remains mindful of every day – PACE: professionalism, attitude, cooperation and effort. No matter what route the graduates take in life, he said being mindful of how they represent themselves, having a positive outlook, working well with others, and working hard will make them successful.
Aris stressed that the last virtue – effort – was the most important.
“Without effort, everything else falls by the wayside,” he said. “Thoughtful action is the key to success.”
Aris and Christian Peele both received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Christian, the director of stewardship and development at the Riverside Church in New York City, delivered the baccalaureate sermon on Saturday.
On the last weekend of the Easter season, it was appropriate that Christian's message focused on new beginnings. She asked those in attendance to consider what the promise of new beginnings means. “God is apparently really into new beginnings, to making things new … because there are lots of examples in Scripture,” she said.
God’s definition of new, she said, is a new order – of possibilities, of solutions, of reality. “God is asking us to believe he has the power to make all things new again – even the most complex and oppressive things in our world can be redeemable.”
In a world where systems are broken and circumstances – such as racism, poverty and gun violence – are often bad, this requires people to believe in healing, even though “it’s difficult to see beyond the way things are,” Christian said.
“Participating in ‘new’ … means offering the world an alternative. The way it is now is not the final answer.”
She encouraged people to turn to God for the power of imagination to see things as they can be. “With imagination, we can participate with god in making those places of brokenness new. Imagination empowers us to be part of God’s ‘new.’”
Baccalaureate had a strong emphasis on diversity with readings from students representing the faith traditions of Buddah, Islam, Hebrew and Christianity. The Concert Choir provided music throughout the service.
Aris and Christian received honorary doctor of humane letters degrees. Overall, 235 students received bachelor’s degrees and 38 students earned master’s degrees. As graduates walked across the stage to applause and cheers from the crowd, they each received a white rose. The flower signifies the respect, friendship, love and hope they found at Heidelberg. Even a chilly day couldn’t prevent those feelings from warming the hearts of the Class of 2016. Congratulations graduates!
Commencement photos on Facebook
June 2, 2016
