Although the McPherson College 132nd Commencement Ceremony took place on campus in an empty Brown Auditorium, it will likely be one of the most memorable commencements in the history of the college.
McPherson College conferred degrees on 139 students in the first-ever virtual Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 24. The college announced in April that it would host a virtual ceremony on the scheduled date of commencement. The ceremony was streamed live on the college’s website.
In his address to the graduates, President Michael Schneider, reminded students of the simple advice he learned from his grandmother and has passed along to students each year as freshmen.
“Every year I share a couple of secrets to success at McPherson College, and here they are again. Number one is show up, and number two is ask for help. It seems easy but when you do it over and over again, guess what? You end up right where you are sitting as McPherson College graduates.”
Commencement celebrations kicked off earlier in the day with a President’s Zoom Brunch for seniors and their families. The virtual event featured special faculty guests, class memories, a cap-decorating contest, and the senior address given by Diamond Marshall, 2019-20 SGA president. In her address to the class, Marshall said, “Celebrate your perseverance and each other. Each of you should be proud because when the world came to a close; our community strengthen and continued on.”
Prior to the ceremony, Lillian Oeding and Kento Aizawa, both members of the graduating class, performed an instrumental duet of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
The entire ceremony including the pre-ceremony program, and list of graduates are available on the college website at www.mcpherson.edu/experiences/graduation.