ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï Confers 215 Degrees at 2015 Winter Commencement
Graduates charged to “change the world—always for God’s glory and neighbor’s good.”
CHICAGO (December 21, 2015) — North Park’s gymnasium was full on Friday night as graduates, families, faculty, and staff gathered to celebrate the students’ achievements.
The procession began with a display symbolic of North Park’s , the flags of all the countries represented in this year's graduating class: Colombia, Guatemala, India, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, South Sudan, and Sweden.
The University awarded 152 bachelor’s degrees from a wide range of majors, including the . Among the graduates was a set of triplets, Brittany, Rachel, and Sarah Krawiec, each of whom received a bachelor of science in . The sisters, whose older sister, Jennifer Krawiec, graduated from North Park’s nursing program in May 2014, will be working together at Skokie Hospital after graduation.
Katelyn Burger was presented the prestigious Ahnfeldt Medallion, which is given to the graduate with the highest grade-point average. Burger earned a bachelor of science in with a GPA of 3.987. , professor of exercise and sport called her “an individual who makes everyone around her better.” The medallion is named in honor of Alfred Nelson Ahnfeldt, North Park’s first undergraduate professor.
Graduate degrees and certificates were awarded to 63 students from the , , , and .
In his address, North Park President David L. Parkyn charged the graduates to live out their calls to significance and service. “The most direct journey to both of these—to significance and to service—is through hospitality, through welcome, through embrace.” Addressing the global immigrant crisis, Parkyn said, “Today more than ever before, the world needs graduates who will assure that in every neighborhood, in every city, in every state across our nation, people in need from around the world will find a new home in America.” He quoted North Park’s first president, David Nyvall, as the source of this conviction, “Because in this land, as in our school, ‘hospitality is especially insisted upon.’”
The service included performances by the University Choir, under the direction of , the traditional commencement litany, a Scripture reading from Proverbs, and the Aaronic Benediction (Numbers 6:24–26) read by students in Bulgarian, Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish. “Bring people together, and change the world,” Dr. Parkyn said to the graduates, “Always for God’s glory and neighbor’s good."
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