Grads Urged to Use Cell Phones for Good
Led by bagpipes under overcast skies, about 340 graduates made their Last March from Kerrwood Hall down to Thorrington Field where they walked across the stage to receive their diplomas on May 3.
Retiring professor and Commencement speaker Jim Taylor ’78 encouraged the graduates to do something unexpected — to pull out and use their cell phones.
“I know what I'm asking you to do flies in the face of wise advice,” he said. “We spend way too much time on our phones. We’re addicted to them. They’re malforming us.”
But he said that if they were going to use their phones, they might as well do so for good, to reflect on their Westmont days, to stay connected and to continue learning and growing.
He suggested using the photo app to preserve memories, the music app to recall chapel experiences, the fitness app to remember athletic activities, the messages app to maintain contact with friends and professors, and the browser to continue learning.
“Westmont encourages lifelong learning,” he said. “The classes you took here are only the beginning. Keep learning and growing, intellectually, morally and spiritually. Westmont has equipped you with resources for ongoing development. Keep making use of them.”
John Davies, 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 modeled 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 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 Abigail Hundley and Zach Yates the Dean’s Award, recognizing the outstanding male and female graduates who have displayed excellence in the classroom, made superior contributions to an intercollegiate athletic team, and demonstrated a deep faith in Christ.
David Shiang won the Dave Dolan Award, which recognizes the outstanding graduate whose campus leadership has made significant contributions in our awareness and response to the social and spiritual needs of the community, the nation and the world.
Claire Bassett and Levi Wicks won Kenneth Monroe Awards, given to the outstanding male and female graduates who have demonstrated superior academic achievement in the classroom, excelled as leaders on campus, and shaped other students’ lives through their integrity, character, and faithfulness.
Provost Kim Denu recognized nine First Seniors, who finished their Westmont education with a perfect 4.0 GPA: Meredith Araujo (Kinesiology), Andrew Bradshaw (Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship), Johanna Gilbert (Sociology), Gracie Hagemeister (Liberal Studies), Joshua Jang (Biology, Biochemistry, Kinesiology), Kiersten Patzia (Liberal Studies), Sarah Remland (Psychology), Anna Thomas (Chemistry) and Christine Venzor (Liberal Studies).
She 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, was awarded the Special Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship and Production.
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 participated in.
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.
Westmont Commencement was featured in area news stories on Noozhawk and News Channel 3-12.