La Sierra University graduates largest class in school’s history

He had awoken early for the university’s 8 a.m. graduation ceremony on June 12, and waited with his fellow students to march to Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” down the university’s sloping upper campus to their seats on Founders’ Green. He was also reflective. Of the memories and lessons acquired while attending La Sierra, he found his experience with his service-learning classes particularly impactful. Through academic-based volunteer activity at a local home for the developmentally disabled, Lopez came to better understand compassion.

“It was an eye-opener,” said the Corona resident who aims to join the U.S. Air Force. “I just never really understood how compassion was so important.”

Lopez was among 428 students to graduate from La Sierra University, the largest graduating class in the history of the 94-year-old institution. All together, 447 degrees were awarded during the Conferring of Degrees ceremony, capping a weekend of activities that began with a Friday night consecration service.

In opening the degree ceremony, university President Randal Wisbey commended faculty members for bringing their best teaching to the classroom and for “devoting countless hours to serving the good of this community and the larger community that surrounds us.”

He recognized the university’s national championship-winning Enactus team and the Class of 2016 “for giving your best as musicians, as athletes, as artists, as tutors, as the face of La Sierra in our community. You have served with great care, with great compassion.”

“Step into your future with hope,” he told the graduates. “Be agents of justice, leaders of integrity and honesty, men and women who truly make a difference as you embody the values and mission of your alma mater.”

Living with honesty, integrity and compassion for others, so-called ‘eulogy values,’ was among the charges commencement speaker Edwin Hernandez gave to the new alumni in an address titled “Pursuing a Flourishing Life.”

Hernandez is provost of the Adventist University of Health Sciences in Orlando, Fla. His background includes serving as senior program officer for the De Vos Family Foundations in Michigan, and co-founding and directing the Center for the Study of Latino Religions at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute of Latino Studies. He also served as a program officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts in Pennsylvania and has written five books and numerous papers.

Citing the book “The Road to Character” by author David Brooks, Hernandez challenged graduates to live with eulogy values rather than resume values consisting of skills and strategies important to the marketplace.

“Our culture talks a lot about success,” said Hernandez, “but sometimes it fails to distinguish and clarify what are the enduring values that lead to a vibrant and flourishing life. The question of success is more than just following your passion or your dream, it is fundamentally about who you are as a person.”

“But that is the purpose of La Sierra University, to build inner characters, to create in you and me this idea that through academic investigation, Christian faith and service come together and unite. This mission of this institution is all about eulogy values.”

Hernandez holds several degrees including a bachelor’s degree in theology from La Sierra which he received in 1982. He credits the university, and particularly the influence of religion Professor Richard Rice with turning his life around.

“I never believed that I had the talent or ability to become a scholar, to become an academic leader. He inspired me, he created high expectations for me,” Hernandez said.

“This institution transformed me because it gave me reason to believe in God and to be faithful to the church that I love,” he continued. “It gave me a reason and a passion to stay connected to the church. This learning community helped me grow to understand the gospel of grace and its call to service, to act justly, to love mercy and to love humbly.”

“You’re being called to be leaders at a particular moment when our churches, our society our businesses, our government institutions need leaders who have a conscience for the common good,” Hernandez said to the graduates. “We live at a particular moment in American history where people of color and the stranger and the immigrant amongst us are being demonized and labeled as criminals, and it is not just happening here, it is happening across the world.”

For such a time as this, God has called you to raise the flag of human dignity, respect, to advance unity and understanding across racial and ethnic divides. Leadership is about giving back to your communities to make the lives of others better.”

Awards and a Symbolic Gift

During the Conferring of Degrees ceremony, Wisbey presented awards to selected faculty members, staff and students. Andrew Howe, associate professor and chair of the Department of History, Politics, and Sociology received the Distinguished Scholarship Award, and Jere Fox, associate professor of law and management in the Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business was presented with the Verla Rae Kwiram Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Hurda Duran, La Sierra’s director of Student Health Services received the Jay J. Nethery Award. The recognition is presented annually to those who have contributed significantly to the university’s the ideals, and who have provided extraordinary service to its students.

The President’s Award for Outstanding University Undergraduate Student was awarded to Eugene Juin Yih Looi, an international student from Malaysia who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience with a pre-medicine emphasis. Sharon Zixuan Zhao, a native of China graduated with a Master of Arts in counseling from the School of Education and received the President’s Award for Outstanding University Graduate Student.

Zhao completed a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and communication before moving to the United States to study in a Master of Arts in teaching program at the University of Southern California. After becoming acquainted with Seventh-day Adventists, she decided to continue her studies at La Sierra. She is currently working with a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst in Redlands to develop a smartphone app that will aid parents of autistic children. She next plans to earn a Ph.D. in Leadership and to complete a BCBA exam in 2017.

Looi, a student with a 4.0 GPA and a recipient of multiple scholarships, said in a statement that his university experience “has taught me to aim higher by encouraging me not to pursue an education for pure self-advancement, but for the betterment of the world.” His university activities and responsibilities included student leadership, lab instructor, and membership with the university chapter of Psi Chi, an international honor society in psychology.

In concluding the ceremony, senior class president Kevin Njoloma described his alma mater as “a place that has transformed into the person that I am today. …College is not an easy experience. But luckily we have had a community that has loved us and cared enough for us to help us get through it. We are a group of strong and resilient people who understand that it is part of our tradition to remain unshaken and undivided.”

He announced the senior class gift, a bronze statue of a spread-winged golden eagle, representing the university mascot. “We wanted to leave this place with something we felt accurately represented it,” Njoloma said. “With its eyes representing the vision and determination that we have, its wings to symbolize the journey, not only to La Sierra, but also to wherever we’re going from here. And its feet down to the talons which remind us how we have always stood up for the greater good and stood our ground in times of trouble, our class gift is more than just a statue of an eagle. It’s a reminder of what it means to be a graduate of La Sierra University.”

A University's Impact

Following commencement, as hundreds gathered in festive groups around Founders’ Green, several graduates spoke of the university’s impact and their desire to make the lives of others better.

Rudan Zhang who earned a Master of Business Administration in finance said she was mentored last quarter and wants to pay forward her experience. “I want to pass my love to anyone else who needs help,” she said.

Daniel Opuni-Mensah, a native of Ghana, celebrated the completion of his Master of Science in accountancy degree with a large group of friends and family members. He commended La Sierra University for the assistance provided him, his wife and two children when they arrived on campus just a few months after he had completed cancer treatments. The university provided housing and other support, and he specifically noted the assistance of Kristine Webster, associate professor of accounting and finance in the Zapara School of Business. He also thanked the La Sierra University Church for providing a meeting space the past 10 years for the Ghanaian congregation at La Sierra, a group that became a source of support.

“It means so much to me,” Opuni-Mensah said. “This university was so good to me. I am really blessed. The professors I had, the people impacted me to give me hope …and encouragement.”

Graduates talked about their career plans after college, and parents spoke of their pride in their children’s accomplishments.

“It’s so exciting. It’s just now hitting me,” said public relations major and Redlands resident Lana Abbasi. She will start a position with a Riverside public relations firm, but will miss the La Sierra community, she said. “It’s kind of because it’s a safety net. Not coming here every day will be a challenge.”

Biochemistry graduate John Incidis of Redlands will enter dental school at Loma Linda University. “It was very rewarding to see your hard work paying off,” he said. His mother, Phyllis Incidis added, “We are very happy. Overwhelmed [and] proud. We are very happy with La Sierra University. It is centered in Christ.” 

About 10 family members attended commencement to cheer Looi on, including his parents who traveled from Malaysia for the momentous occasion. “It was really intense, but it was really, really fun,” said Looi. “All the hard work paid off. It was worth it to see all my family and friends. I was really honored to be a part of it.”

Looi received early acceptance into the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and will begin studies in August. He said he hopes “to relieve pain and suffering through the work of healing and the teaching of wellness.”