NEWS
Grads Urged to Find Meaning in Life
Led by bagpipes under overcast skies, 340 graduates made their Last March from Kerrwood Hall to Thorrington Field, where they walked across the stage to receive their diplomas on May 3.
Retiring philosophy professor Jim Taylor ’78 addressed the graduates and emphasized the importance of defining and pursuing a meaningful life. He questioned the traditional measures of success and highlighted the need for a fulfilling life. “What kind of life do you want? Successful? If so, as you climb the ladder of success, make sure it’s leaning against the right wall,” he said.
St. Augustine noted that philosophers disagreed about the good life. “That’s why he turned to the Bible to see what God says about it,” Taylor said. “True happiness lies in a deep relationship with God, as outlined in the Bible and exemplified by Jesus. The best life for humans involves union and communion with God through Jesus, and that union can deepen over time.”
As a freshman in 1974, Taylor was satisfied with his relationship with God, but by his senior year, he questioned whether he could even know God. Gradually, he overcame his doubts and grew in his faith when he went to Ensenada, Mexico, with Potter’s Clay during spring break. “I experienced God at work while serving, fellowshipping and worshiping with fellow Westmont students,” he said. “I sensed the Lord’s presence, guidance and empowerment.”
Taylor encouraged graduates to seek spiritual growth, likening life to a pilgrimage and stressing the value of spiritual fitness, guidance and community in achieving this goal. “Make Jesus your guide,” he said. “Practice what Jesus taught so you can become more like him and get closer to God. And walk with other pilgrims, including ones you’ve invited to join you. If you do these things, you’ll live the best possible life.”
John Davies (pictured above, bottom left), CEO and chairman of Davies Public Affairs, accepted the Westmont Medal, reflecting on his long association with the college and its impact on his career and personal life. “Westmont’s leadership and staff have always modeled the best,” he said. “Those I worked with here exhibited Christian leadership, no matter what. In a crowd or in a quiet, closed door room, they were always the same. In fact, just watching those leaders helped lead me back to my faith.”
Graduates Miles Ozorio and Claire Bassett (pictured on the left) offered student reflections, drawing on the class of 2025 verse from Job 12:13: “With God are wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding.”
Ozorio expressed gratitude for the community’s support, particularly during challenging times like the death of a family member. “Not every season was summer,” he said. “There were winters, too, where we dealt with losses, with breakups and tough decisions. God used the people to your left and your right to encourage you, to mold you, to love you, but to ultimately point you toward him.”
Bassett shared about her transformative experience studying abroad in Cairo, Istanbul and Jerusalem, which broadened her understanding of Christian worship and the complexities of the conflict in Israel and Palestine. “There is rarely one evil enemy and one faultless hero,” she said. “Life is more nuanced than that. This experience didn’t lead me to choose a side. Instead, it gave me compassion and empathy to see there’s more than what meets the eye in any given situation.”
Angela D’Amour, interim vice president for student life, gave Zach Yates and Abigail Hundley (pictured below, far right) the Dean’s Award, recognizing the outstanding male and female graduates who excelled in the classroom and on an intercollegiate athletic team and demonstrated a deep faith in Christ.
David Shiang, WCSA president (pictured below in middle), won the Dave Dolan Award, which recognizes the outstanding graduate whose campus leadership made significant contributions to the awareness of and response to social and spiritual needs in the community, nation and world.
Levi Wicks and Claire Bassett (pictured below, far left) won Kenneth Monroe Awards, given to the outstanding male and female graduates with superior academic achievement who excelled as leaders and inspired students through their integrity, character, and faithfulness.
Provost Kim Denu recognized nine First Seniors (pictured above), who finished their Westmont education with a perfect 4.0 GPA: Kiersten Patzia (liberal studies), Gracie Hagemeister (liberal studies), Johanna Gilbert (sociology), Meredith Araujo (kinesiology), Christine Venzor (liberal studies), Sarah Remland (psychology), Andrew Bradshaw (social innovation and entrepreneurship), Anna Thomas (chemistry) and Joshua Jang (biology, biochemistry, kinesiology).
Denu offered Bruce and Adaline Bare Outstanding Teacher Awards to Nathan Huff, associate professor of art, Lisa DeBoer, professor of art, and Tim Van Haitsma, associate professor of kinesiology. John Blondell, retiring professor of theater arts and global ambassador for the performing arts, received an award for Special Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship and Production. See related story on page 14.
In his final charge to the graduates, President Gayle D. Beebe drew from the book of Job and the recently released Global Flourishing Study, which Westmont professor Blake Victor Kent contributed to.
The study examines flourishing in six domains: happiness and life satisfaction; meaning and purpose; character and virtue; close social relationships; financial and material stability; and mental and physical health and well-being. Early reports of the results indicate that those who identify as spiritual and religious score statistically higher on average than those who consider themselves neither spiritual nor religious. Additionally, people who say religion is an important part of their daily life report an even greater sense of overall flourishing.
“What I’d like to suggest to you, which I think is the concluding message of the book of Job, is that anchoring our life to God may not change the circumstances of our life, but it will change our outlook and our ability to deal with our life circumstances,” Beebe said.
This is a story from the Spring 2025 Westmont Magazine