- Home >
- Campus News
December graduates sent off to live lives of service
December 15, 2006
Nearly 200 students participated in the December Commencement ceremony on Dec. 9 in Olson Auditorium.
The hour-and-a-half ceremony included a commencement address by acting provost and religion professor Patricia O’Connell Killen; a reflection by student speaker Jamie Forslund; and performances by the University Wind Ensemble.
Killen began her address with the story of three sisters who started a campaign to collect backpacks for the children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Donors were asked to fill the backpacks with items of comfort and utility, she said.
Like the backpacks provided to the displaced children, Killen said PLU graduates are also equipped with a backpack when they leave the university, and are, essentially, displaced. The backpack contains five reminders, Killen said.
One, students should remember where they came from, including their PLU experience and the faculty and staff who touched their lives. Second, Killen told students to “befriend your questions,” because questions are one of your most precious possessions.
Third, she reminded students to pause and ponder during their busy lives filled with technological distractions. Fourth, she implored students to “allow yourself to be claimed by something so worthwhile that you are willing to accept having your heart broken.” Finally, Killen reminded students to remember to say, “thank you.”
“The act of saying thank you, of expressing gratitude is more than polite, more than oil for social relationships or potential business opportunities,” Killen said. “The act of saying thank you is the most profound acknowledgement in our humanity.”
To read Killen’s entire speech, visit http://news.plu.edu/dec06commencement.
After the degrees were awarded, student speaker Jamie Forslund offered a reflection of her time at PLU. Forslund described her journey to find her vocation, which she originally thought would be music education, but eventually found was as in the visual arts.
“Vocation is about finding our own voice and letting it drown out all the doubts, negative judgments from people who may or may not mean well and having the courage to find a career path that represents who we are,” Forslund said.
The Commencement ceremony can viewed on LuteCast by clicking here.
Killen began her address with the story of three sisters who started a campaign to collect backpacks for the children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Donors were asked to fill the backpacks with items of comfort and utility, she said.
Like the backpacks provided to the displaced children, Killen said PLU graduates are also equipped with a backpack when they leave the university, and are, essentially, displaced. The backpack contains five reminders, Killen said.
One, students should remember where they came from, including their PLU experience and the faculty and staff who touched their lives. Second, Killen told students to “befriend your questions,” because questions are one of your most precious possessions.
Third, she reminded students to pause and ponder during their busy lives filled with technological distractions. Fourth, she implored students to “allow yourself to be claimed by something so worthwhile that you are willing to accept having your heart broken.” Finally, Killen reminded students to remember to say, “thank you.”
“The act of saying thank you, of expressing gratitude is more than polite, more than oil for social relationships or potential business opportunities,” Killen said. “The act of saying thank you is the most profound acknowledgement in our humanity.”
To read Killen’s entire speech, visit http://news.plu.edu/dec06commencement.
After the degrees were awarded, student speaker Jamie Forslund offered a reflection of her time at PLU. Forslund described her journey to find her vocation, which she originally thought would be music education, but eventually found was as in the visual arts.
“Vocation is about finding our own voice and letting it drown out all the doubts, negative judgments from people who may or may not mean well and having the courage to find a career path that represents who we are,” Forslund said.
The Commencement ceremony can viewed on LuteCast by clicking here.