TIU 2012 Commencement

The TIU Symphonic Band performs during the 2012 Commencement ceremonies on May 12

Far from being simply a day of graduation traditions, Commencement at Trinity this past Saturday, May 12, was a time of thankfulness and celebration—both for TIU graduates and of the God who provides. This day showed the collective efforts of students, families, churches, friends and other support systems, and everyone present was led to acknowledge the resources God has provided everyone involved. It is the day graduates anticipate and begin the reality of the next phase of the journeys to which God has called them.
Commencement is, therefore, a time of beginnings.

The same holds true for eight retiring TIU professors, five of whom have been honored with emeritus status: Professors Carol Kennett, Carmen Mendoza, Steve Pointer, Tim Voss, and Cliff Williams. To varying degrees, a few of them will continue teaching the occasional course at TIU.

Several students were also recognized for their hard work over the years:

Trinity College

Ellen Reza—Outstanding REACH Graduate Award

Peter Eckert—Outstanding Senior Award

David Mackett—Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois

Andrew Nyberg—President’s Leadership Award

TEDS/TGS

Jennifer Aycock—The President’s Award

Matthew Benton—The S.M. Andrewson Memorial and Lloyd Perry Memorial Award

Drew Beretta—The Rebecca E. Bergman Memorial Award

Travis Booth—Gary R. Collins Counseling Award

James Caughel—Community Life Award

Erik Dunkin & Joshua Rasdall—The Otto L. and Thora Larsen Memorial Scholarship Award

Jon Fowler—The A.J. Thorwall Award

Cheryl Guth—The deChambrier Children’s Fund Award

Patrick Hall—The Joy Cummings Evangelistic Award

Dong Soo Han—The Mephibosheth Award

Michael Ryan Harding—Pastor-Teacher Award

Noelle Heber—Prof. C.B. Bjuge Award

Hae-Won Kim—The Professor A.L. Wedell and Willard J. and Helen M. Eckman Memorial Award

Jonathan Kim—The Dorothy Robertson Brown and the Philip R. Gustafson Memorial Award

Brent Kompelen—The Bernhard Rom Award

Karyn Lawrence—The Kenneth S. Kantzer Memorial Award

Michael Matheson—The Arley Bragg Pastoral Award

Michael McKittrick—Genie Lau Memorial Award

Claire Nicholson—The Women in Ministry Award

Mary Lee Nikoo—Extraordinary Leadership Award

Madison Pierce—The Faculty Scholarship Award

Jacob Rosenberg—The James Fox Memorial Award

Jeff Schneider—Prof. Ludvig J. Pedersen Award

Jung Uk Son—Extraordinary Leadership Award

Jonathan Spencer—Arne B. Hansen Memorial, Walter J. Cahill Memorial, and the John and June Thompson Memorial

Brandi Williams—The Horace Dawson Award

Xiubin Zhang—The David and Sylvia Bacon Memorial

Another highlight of the day was the commencement address delivered by Dr. Wess Stafford, president of Compassion International. Compassion is one of the world’s largest Christian child development agencies, partnering with more than 60 denominations and thousands of local churches  to serve more than one million children in 26 countries.

Dr. Stafford spoke of the challenge of Jesus—to graduates and beyond. As Christians, we are called not simply to be different but better, that is, holy in this upside down world. Integrity is to be the mark of every Christian. Just as God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ” (Eph. 1:3), so too are we to “live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people” (Phil. 2:15).

Dr. Stafford then ended with a charge for all to hear: “Graduates, go forth in God’s power and do all that you do to the glory of his name.” May it be that the entire TIU community—past and present—hear this charge afresh, embody it, and so challenge the world’s way of doing business.