Graduation ceremonies begin journey for 381 students
Janel Shoun |
The university, students and friends also sent one student all the way home to Sudan on Saturday.
During the ceremony, President Randy Lowry presented Michael Kuol, Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduate, a check for almost $5,000 to allow him to return to his native home of Sudan and see his mother, who has not seen for nearly 20 years.
Michael’s nursing classmates instigated the collection for the plane ticket and the university contributed the remaining portion needed for his surprise gift on Saturday. Vanderbilt Medical Center, which has hired Michael as an acute care nurse, agreed to give him time off to take the trip, which he will finalize as soon as his passport arrives.
Michael was displaced from his home town in Sudan at the age of five and spent years wandering the countryside and living in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. He came to America in 2000, and became a citizen of the United States in March.
“Every student here today has a story,” said Lowry during his comments at commencement, “But students suggested that we make a special note of one student’s story. He represents all of you in the journey of life.”
Michael’s gift was a complete surprise, and he told the crowd he didn’t how to say thank you for such a generous gift.
“I appreciate Lipscomb University, from Dr. Lowry to any of you sitting out there. When you just stopped by to say Hi to me, that is a big deal. That’s why I’m here today.”
Lowry told all the graduates to ask themselves two questions as they embark on their careers: What will you do with your degree? And the far more important question, what will your degree do with you?
“If your degree is only a $23 piece of paper, then your life will be hollow,” he said. “But if you look at it as a personal experience, I hope it will take you beyond a job to something you see as a calling. I hope you will become a life-long learner. I hope your knowledge will be transformed into compassion. I hope you will build a dynamic faith.”
Also awarded at the May 5 ceremonies:
Lindsey Glenn, Spartnanburg, SC, won the Stephen Lee Marsh Christian Example Award;Matthew McWhirter, Colorado Springs, Co., won the Charles E. Chumley Award for a Bible major;
Kent Clinger, professor of chemistry, Laura Lake Smith, assistant professor and chair of art, and Trish Hodgson-Carruth, assistant professor of health and physical education, were awarded the Outstanding Teacher Awards for 2007.
This year’s ceremonies were marked by the graduation of the first class of Lipscomb University nurses, the first-time awarding of two master’s degrees in education and Bible, and a distinct shift away from conferring only bachelor’s of science and arts degrees to conferring bachelor’s degrees in specific professions.
Educated through a one-of-a-kind partnership with Vanderbilt University, Lipscomb’s inaugural class of nurses, 29 in all, earned a Lipscomb bachelor’s degree with clinical studies provided by Vanderbilt, which does not offer a BSN. Students take their general education and science courses at Lipscomb and obtain their professional nursing courses and clinical experiences at Vanderbilt.
The ceremony also marked Lipscomb’s first 17 graduates in the Master of Arts in Learning and teaching (MALT) and the first graduate in Lipscomb’s Master of Theological Studies (MTS). The MALT program is a year-long intensive program designed for working teachers. The MTS is a 49-hour degree designed for students interested in theological education for a variety of educational and personal goals.
The shift to designated bachelor degrees began in December with the presentation of the first bachelor’s of music degree and continued this spring with the conferring of seven bachelor’s of social work (BSW) degrees. The new BSW represents no change in Lipscomb’s accredited social work curriculum and only slight changes in course requirements, but it will allow graduates to more clearly communicate the value of their professional degrees.