Don\u27t Ask Yourself What the World Needs

Life’s biggest challenge is finding out what you’re really passionate about, and in that endeavor we truly are all equals and all sisters and brothers. So may you find the strength, and the wisdom and the grace to find out what makes you come alive and go and do that. Because the world needs you to come alive

H88-0394. Commencement and Baccalaureate Service. Records, 1862-[ongoing]. 5.75 linear ft. PARTIALLY RESTRICTED

The collection includes press releases, newspaper clippings, videotape cassettes (VHS) (2001, 2003), compact disc (CD) recordings, and programs for the commencement and baccalaureate services held each spring at Hope College since 1866, including the Preparatory Department. Bound volumes contain typed presentation statements given with the presentation of honorary degrees, prizes, and awards (1909-1989). The names of recipients are also furnished. Additionally, copies of the Remembrancer, a booklet published in 1866 as a memorial to the first inauguration and commencement, are included. There is a one-minute film with color, but no sound. There is a baccalaureate sermon given by Rev. Samuel M. Zwemer (1920). There are commencement addresses given by the following: Charles Malik (1953), David Myers (1974), Jack Ridl (1975 and 1986), James Malcolm (1976), Stephen Hemenway (1981), Chief Justice Mary S. Coleman (1982), Arthur Jentz, Jr. (1983), Wayne Boulton (1984), Dennis Voskuil (1985), Gordon Van Wylen (1987), Donald Cronkite (1988), Susan Cherup (1989), Boyd Wilson (1990), L. Bruce van Voorst (1991), Robert Schuller (1992), Harvey D. Blankespoor (1993), Louise Shumaker (1994), James Allis (1995), Kgothatso Semela (1995), John J. Shaughnessy (1996), Annie Dandavati (1997), Steven Bouma-Prediger (1998), John and Julie Fiedler (1999), C. Baars Bultman (2000), Maura M. Reynolds (2001), Ronald Wolthuis (2002), Fred L. Johnson (2003), Timothy L. Brown (2004), Paul Boersma (2005), Steven Hoogerwerf (2008) (MP3 audio), Rob Pocock (2010); and Wayne Brouwer (2016); as well as baccalaureate addresses of Dennis Voskuil (1980), Jay Weener (1981), Wayne Boulton (1989), Ron Beyer (1991), Timothy Brown (1992), Beth Marcus (1993), Peter Semeyn (1994), Nancy Miller (1995), I. John Hesselink (1996), Charles Van Engen (1998), Frederick “Fritz” Kruithof (1999), Jacob Nyenhuis (2001), Leanne Van Dyk (2002), Eugene Taylor Sutton (2003), David Bast (2005), Kate Davelaar (2010, CD also available); and Jeff Allen (2016). DVD available for 1991, 2006-2014. Audio MP3 for 2008. Other commencement and baccalaureate addresses can be found in the press releases section of the Hope College Public Relations website (2002-ongoing)

I can’t give you a brain, but I can give you a diploma

Father Laurence LaPointe, Roman Catholic chaplain at the College for 33 years and known to most as Father Larry, delivers an inspiring address and in his opening remarks, educates those present on the meaning of Baccalaureate. . . . although the application and audience of the Baccalaureate have morphed over the centuries, the fundamental function remains the same. First, it is a time for contemplative reflection amid the many activities and festivities associated with Commencement and it draws upon the inspirational writings of many cultures and the diversity of formidable performance skills of the graduates. These days, respecting the religious and philosophical diversity of those participating, the Baccalaureate service draws from a very wide variety of sources for its inspiration. Second, the Baccalaureate service is also an opportunity for the College to impart some last words of advice to its graduates in its role as alma mater, “Beloved Mother.

Civic Vision: Seeing the Invisible on the Path to a Just Society

Sociology professor Ronald J. O. Flores once collaborated with the Mohawk Nation to offer undergraduate service learning seminar on Native American Children and Youth and shares his insights on this experience with the Connecticut College community gathered for Baccalaureate, an annual celebration of the spiritual diversity of the graduating class. Of the students in the class, he found that, by spending time and sharing experiences, by engaging in honest and open dialogue, and by working together in the spirit of reciprocity and equality, they began to see, to feel, and perhaps to understand the injustices faced by those who were once invisible to them. Now, with a civic vision, they proceeded to a newer path than the one they started out on. This path was thorny, bumpy and neither smooth nor straight. But, it was a good path, the right path, as it was the one that led to a more just society

Levi T. Pennington

Pennington giving a short summary of his life.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/levi_pennington/1285/thumbnail.jp