Thank you Dean Ward. President LeRoy, Provost Brandsen, my esteemed colleagues in the faculty and staff,
parents, and Honored Students,
What a joy and privilege it is to gather together in celebration of academic achievement at Calvin College! We
know what it has taken for you to be here tonight- hard work, discipline, and focus mixed with a healthy dose
of growing up. CONGRATULATIONS!
So. The advice I received for tonight was to be brief, no sermons, no lectures. It was even suggested I insert a
little humor.
So I Googled some jokes (the first of which is that Google can be used as a verb). Here goes:
You just might be an HONORS student if...
you find yourself citing sources in conversation
you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop and phone
you consider caffeine to be a major food group
there is a cubicle in the library with your name on it
you find the bibliographies of sources more interesting than the actual text
you frequently wonder how long you can live on Ramen without getting scurvy
OK! Funny stuff out of the way!
I want to ask you seniors this: What it’s going to take to be happy in your work? The Gallup-Purdue Index of
2014 surveyed 30,000 college graduates to determine what contributes to long term success and happiness in
the workplace. It turns out that the happiest, most fulfilled graduates had all 6 of the factors most closely
associated with workplace engagement and personal well-being. Count on your fingers how many of these
apply to you. Students had:
1.
A college professor who cared about them as a person
2.
Professors who were engaging in and out of the classroom
3.
A mentor who encouraged them to pursue lofty goals
4.
An off-campus experience in an internship or study abroad program
5.
Significant engagement in the co-curriculum like student organizations, athletics, Dance Guild,
chorale, campus ministries and service learning (to name a few)
6.
And SIX: Students worked on a project that took at least a semester to complete
HOW MANY OF YOU SENIORS WITH ALL 6?
Only 3% of graduates reported experiencing ALL 6 – If you can claim most of these, it means you are wellprepared for stepping into your calling with confidence. We have given you every opportunity to be and
become a happy, contributing worker in your vocation. And I think I speak for the entire faculty and staff when
I say we LOVE your engagement with our courses and on this campus and we are going to miss you! I mean
really, have you ever thought about the kind of students Jesus’ disciples were? Here was Jesus, the Master
Teacher, Wisdom in person- with a band of fellows that tested his patience.
Peter kept whining, "Do we have to write this down?"
John said, "Hey! Can you repeat that, only slower?"
Andrew complained, "John the Baptist's disciples don't have to learn this stuff."
And Judas kept fussing, “What’s this got to do with real life?”
But you are the kind of student we all enjoy teaching and watching blossom into young scholars and
thinkers. And we believe you will succeed with grace and humility because you work at, and seem to enjoy
learning.
So here you are putting the finishing touches on the master narrative that is "college." What's an outstanding,
diligent, success-oriented person like you to do next? In what cultural arenas will you find yourself
contending? What opportunities will God open up for you?
It is my hope that your willingness to WORK HARD is sown in a Christian ethic that believes the work and the
ability to carry it out are both gifts from God-not something we do in our own power. This IS why we roll up
our sleeves each day, and why we encourage each other to think deeply, act justly, and serve as Christ’s
agents of renewal in the world. (did you catch that- throwin’ in a little Mission statement? Mike Stob made
me say it! The accreditors arrive in 5 days!)
But, seriously. You need to SIT UP AND TAKE NOTE at this:
The world will add that you must LEAN IN WITH THE INTENT OF FOCUSING on YOUR OWN SUCCESS.
So tonight, I advise you to LOOK UP! It is a time in your life to be especially watchful, to seek God's face in a
new place as Daniel did in BABYLON, and to make sure you are anchored in your faith through prayer. Soon
enough you will be a RESIDENT ALIEN in a world obsessed with the chase instead of the cross.
And so I say, LOOK UP! You have nothing to prove but God's faithfulness! Don't let the world convince you to
CHASE AFTER false IDOLS like success and money- it will make you stressed and sick. As an exercise
physiologist I can say with assurance: BEWARE THE TREADMILL.
You’ve become deeper thinkers. So think about these:
HONOR.
RECOGNITION.
BASKING in the ACHIEVEMENT for which
you worked so hard…
As you receive your medal tonight, you will have to bow your head. In that one small move is the answer to
questions you have not even thought to ask. This HONOR, as students who have been practicing the skills it
takes to be a scholar, means you also have greater responsibility going forward. It will require you to LOOK UP
more often at those around you, to care about their well-being, to mentor them and help them develop as
professionals and people, to encourage them to take risks and seek to understand other cultures, and to work
well together in teams.
Just as your CALVIN faculty and staff have so faithfully done for you.
You see, there are all kinds of things we can wear around our neck: a tie or some pearls on our wedding day; a
silver cross that speaks of our commitment to Christ, and yes, even a medal. But in the end, Christ expects we
only wear one thing around our neck: and that is the yoke he asks us to share and bear with him in our work
and our walk.
The HONORS medal symbolizes a distinction, and we give it to you because we are all grateful for your full
engagement in your studies and college life.
Wear it well. Not in self-glory mind you, but with the knowledge that you have much, much more work to do
as Christ’s standard bearers in the world.
Tonight, we ask God to bless the work ahead to which he calls you. And when you LOOK UP, may you see the
blessings your work accomplishes in the lives of people around you.
CONGRATULATIONS!