Hesston College graduates once again received their diplomas and took pictures with Hesston College president Dr. Joseph A. Manickam in Yost Center on Hesston College campus in a commencement ceremony held at 6 p.m on May 14. This year’s graduation activities were held fully in person for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Hesston College’s 112th commencement featured an address titled “It Takes All of Us,” delivered by Rev. Sue Park-Hur, denominational minister for transformative peacemaking at Mennonite Church USA. President Manickam and Vice President of Academics Dr. Carren Moham also briefly addressed the class of 2022.

“Where is God showing you in the long vision of your life,” Park-Hur asked the graduates, playing on the metaphor of bifocal lenses and double vision. “And what do you see in the tangible now that will help you to get there? How do we zoom in to see and build interpersonal skills and zoom out to see how systems and structures limit or free us to do the work we are called to do?”

The prayer of invocation was delivered by Shawn ’09 and Suzanne Nolt, Dalton, Ohio, parents of graduate Alyssa Nolt. The prayer of dedication was delivered by Paul and Julie Miranda, parents of nursing graduate Jessie Miranda. Two students, David Beachy, San Nicolas, Phillipines, and Sara Bianchi Muschio, Trento, Italy, were nominated by faculty and staff and voted by their classmates as the graduate speakers to reflect on the Hesston Experience.

President Dr. Joseph A. Manickam, Ph.D., conferred 38 bachelor of science in nursing degrees, one bachelor of science degrees to students majoring in Aviation Professional Pilot and 74 associate degrees. The graduating class of 2022 includes members from 16 different countries, U.S. territories and sovereign nations.

The 38 nursing program graduates were honored at a Nursing Pinning ceremony in the sanctuary of Hesston Mennonite Church on the morning of May 14. Graduates received their nursing pins as well as the traditional blessing of hands from Hesston College nursing faculty.

Other commencement weekend events included several music recitals and a theatre showcase. On the evening of May 13, the International Chorale presented a sendoff concert in the sactuary of Hesston Mennonite Church. The concert kicked off a European choir tour schedule that includes concerts in Germany, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands.