Commencement Weekend to close out an exciting year

Graduates 2017
Posted on by Rachel McMaster

Hesston College will honor the class of 2018 with a variety of events during Commencement Weekend May 11 to 13. See a full schedule of events and information.

The commencement ceremony will be at 9 a.m., Sunday, May 13, in Yost Center. Michelle E. Armster will deliver the commencement address. Armster is the Executive Director for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Central States. The service will be streamed live online.

Nominated by their fellow classmates as student speakers will be Mackenzie Miller (Lancaster, Pa.) and Jose Lezama Mendosa (Barquisimeto, Venezuela).

Student groups will be recognized with special academic program events during the weekend.

A pinning ceremony for nursing graduates will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 12, in the Hesston Mennonite Church Sanctuary. The featured speaker will be Alice Thornton Bell, APRN, MPA, MA, MSN, a nursing leader and senior director at The Advisory Board Company. A class memories media presentation will be shown twice beginning at 9:30 a.m., and a reception will follow the ceremony in the church Community Center. The pinning ceremony will be streamed live online.

Disaster Management students will be recognized for their achievements at 1 p.m., May 12, in the Campus Worship Center in the lower level of Keim Center for Performing Arts Education.

Aviation graduates will be recognized during a 2:30 p.m. reception, May 12, in the Hesston Mennonite Church Community Center. A short program will feature John Reimer, a 1990 Hesston Aviation graduate, who is a demonstration pilot at Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kan. Recognition of graduates, a time for sharing and refreshments will follow.

In addition to recognizing student accomplishments and graduates, the weekend will also include several performances and exhibitions.

  • Chamber Orchestra Concert featuring sophomore soloists at 7 p.m., Friday, May 11, at Hesston Mennonite Church.
  • International Chorale Concert at 4 p.m., Saturday, May 12, at Hesston Mennonite Church.
  • Theatre Showcase featuring a themed collection of scenes and monologues performed by the spring semester Acting I and Acting II classes at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 12, in the Keim Center Black Box Theater

Sophomore music students will showcase their talent in recitals throughout the weekend.
Performers include:

  • Noah Yoder (Harrisonburg, Va.), voice, at 9 p.m., Friday, May 11, in the Keim Center Black Box Theater.
  • Anna Breckbill (Kidron, Ohio), voice, at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 12, in the Keim Center Black Box Theater.
  • Mackenzie Miller (Lancaster, Pa.), voice, and Sarah Miller (Freeman, S.D.), voice, at 1 p.m., Saturday, May 12, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

Events on Saturday evening, May 12, will be full of celebration and final moments, starting with an informal come-and-go “Go Everywhere” reception for all students, families, faculty and staff will be from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m., in the lower level of Keim Center. Students, parents and faculty/staff are welcome to celebrate the Class of 2018’s time at Hesston and connect with President Joseph Manickam and others.

A final student-led Campus Worship time for all students and guests will be at 8:30 p.m., in the Bontrager Worship Center on the lower level of Keim Center.