Speaker cites grads’ contributions, offers lessons on resilience

Wang is a surgeon, professor, and director of the Nasal and Sinus Disease Center at the UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and is also a professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery where she operates a head and neck cancer research lab. She is a La Sierra alumna who graduated with a mathematics degree in 1982 and has served on the university’s Board of Trustees since 2012. She earned her medical degree from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine where she graduated first in her class and has received numerous awards for her commitment to education and medicine.

For La Sierra’s commencement, Wang delivered an address titled “Choices and Lessons” in which she began by asking graduates, “Is there any advice or wisdom you haven’t already heard? Or any answers that you can’t find on Google? Every day as I work with my residents and students I am amazed by their wisdom, insight and skills, like contacting one of my lost patients on Instagram when no one else could find him.”

She noted the various ways in which the millennial generation instructs older generations through their embrace of diversity, service to others and global citizenship, and an appreciation for healthy work-life balance.

Wang recalled the 1992 Los Angele riots following a not-guilty verdict for white police officers who were acquitted of excessive force charges after beating motorist Rodney King. “The next day Rodney King had a news conference and asked, ‘people I want to say, can we all get along?’ At La Sierra you have shown that yes, we can all get along,” Wang said to the graduates. “With students from over 40 countries, different ethnicities, beliefs and backgrounds. And unlike some institutions with glass ceilings for women, you have elected an all-female slate of class officers. Keep teaching us that diversity brings strength.” 

She cited the work of the award-winning La Sierra Enactus team which initiates empowerment programs locally and in other countries through entrepreneurship, health and education initiatives. “The Enactus team is La Sierra’s football team [with] seven U.S. national championships, which is way more than UCLA’s football team has ever done,” she said. “Keep motivating us to follow Christ’s example of ministering to the hungry, the helpless, and the hopeless.” 

Wang also provided the graduates advice from her various life experiences on the importance of God’s providence in times of discouragement and loss. “One lesson that I have learned is that what’s not your first choice can sometimes work out in even greater ways,” she said. 

Wang recalled her own despair at an Adventist boarding academy, her first time away from home, when she wanted to drop out of school. “Well, my mother didn’t think it was such a great idea for me to quit school at age 15. So La Sierra took a chance and enrolled this high school dropout. As it turned out, I loved it here and thrived. Gained a priceless education and made lifelong friends among my fellow students and teachers. From what you tell me, that aspect of La Sierra has not changed,” she said.

She told of the devastating loss of her younger daughter, Whitney, at age 18 who passed away while sleeping peacefully during a camping trip. Last month Wang and her family attended a remembrance ceremony at Andrews University for her daughter and two students who had also died and who would have graduated that day. “This was supposed to be a joyous graduation season for our family,” she said. “Life is fragile and precious. It is a gift from God of an unknown number of years. During those years you are stewards of your talents, abilities and most of all your time. Make the most of this gift,” she advised the graduates.

“The last lesson I will leave with you today is resilience,” she concluded. “You won’t always get your first choice. You may not get your second, third or fourth choice. Or something will happen that is not event in the realm of your imagination. A split-second accident. An unexpected diagnosis at the doctor’s office. A message from your dream job or graduate program that begins, ‘we regret to inform you.’

But this resilience is really not a lesson I need to leave with you. I already see it within you. I’ve heard it in the stories of the challenges and struggles you’ve already overcome in your lives. … Above all else, Gods faithfulness will sustain you as it has me,” she said.

A commencement video that includes Marilene Wang's address as well as photos of the events of graduation weekend is available at https://lasierra.edu/graduation/. Download Dr. Wang's commencement speech here.

Graduation impact

Earlier that morning, lines of black-robed graduates, many colorfully festooned with layers of flower and money leis and brightly decorated caps, gathered on the mall in front of the library, grateful for the cool, overcast day and eager to march down the sloping La Sierra University campus to Founders’ Green and receive their long-coveted diplomas.

Several provided insight on the meaning of the day and their future plans.

Hemet resident James Smith, the eldest member of the graduating class at age 81 earned a Master of English degree acting on a long-held interest in writing. He also became a writing instructor at the university and last month was awarded College Writing Instructor of the year by the English department. He said he hoped his achievement might inspire other older individuals to pursue higher goals. “It’s exciting,” he said. “I gained much more than the education process,” by learning from his freshman and sophomore writing students.

“I’m excited. Tired, but definitely excited,” commented Rosslynn Medina, a resident of Moreno Valley who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in marketing and management from the Zapara School of Business. She is also a vocalist who performed extensively with La Sierra’s music groups and aims for a music career in either the U.S. East Coast or in Spain. Medina is the first in her family to graduate from college. At least 30 family members and friends attended commencement and joined in celebrating her achievement. “It’s an inspiration for everyone. They’ve helped me and I’ve helped them,” she said. 

“It feels great,” said Israel Carreon, Jr. He earned a Master of Arts in Teaching in Curriculum and Instruction from the School of Education and teaches at La Sierra Academy. He plans to one day pursue doctoral research on the literary merits of graphic novels in the classroom. 

He cited his community of graduate cohorts as “the best part, the support and advisement [they gave]. We bounced ideas off each other,” he said. His parents, Israel Carreon, Sr. and Edith Carreon, also La Sierra alums, expressed their pride in their son as they stood next to him and helped him adjust his graduation money crown. Israel and his twin brother, Isaac Carreon who teaches at Ukiah Junior Academy graduated in 2014 with respective bachelor’s degrees in English and history. 

“I’m very happy to see my son graduate with a master’s,” said Israel Carreon, Sr. “Now we see the product of our success,” and example, he said. 

Jason Daniel, Riverside resident and recipient of a Bachelor of Science degree in health science reacted to Wang’s address. “I was inspired by her story that although we experience grief and loss, it doesn’t define our destiny. Our destiny is defined by our belief in God,” he said, quoting Proverbs 3:5-6, the Class of 2018 scripture.

In their father’s footsteps

Following commencement, which occurred on Father’s Day, joyous graduates filed out onto Founders’ Green to take photos and selfies with family and friends who greeted them with balloons, flowers and gifts. Lydia Boampong, who received a degree in bio-health science, was surrounded by a group of supporters from the Riverside Ghana SDA Church who broke out in traditional Ghanaian dance and song, drawing a crowd of onlookers, some of who joined in the celebration. 

“I love it, I love it,” she said, “especially on Father’s Day with all my Dad does for me.” Her father also attended La Sierra University, she said.

Kanilea Smith, niece of La Sierra music department faculty member Kimo Smith, earned a Bachelor of Science in business and society. “What has gotten me through is looking at the end, so I can look back and say I did it. Keeping the goal in mind helps,” she said. 

“I’m incredibly proud,” said her father, Kawika Smith. “Her grandfather graduated from here in the 1950s so it’s very meaningful.”

Jonathan Thomas, son of Zapara School of Business Dean John Thomas graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in healthcare management and pre-med. While pursuing both programs, he has performed extensively as a saxophonist with the music department, served on the Enactus team, learned Chinese and conceived an augmented reality component to healthcare education in collaboration with Loma Linda University toward improving patient outcomes for certain medical procedures. 

Thomas described his graduation day as “brilliant. I am so happy to spend the day with my family, and going on stage and hugging my Dad was great.”

His parents, John and Kimberly Thomas are also La Sierra alums. Said John Thomas, “It was such a very special moment to congratulate my son when he walked on stage to receive his diploma. It is an emotional and happy time, and we are so proud of Jonathan’s remarkable accomplishments. It is all the more meaningful that he pursued these goals at the same school where I and my wife earned our degrees.”

Providential paths

Finance graduate Tiffani Brown-Brent served as president of this year’s Enactus team, a precedent-setting university team that has won seven national championships and two world cups since 1992. The team represented their region in May during the Enactus national championship, reaching the semi-finals and besting 444 other U.S. teams with their economic, education and healthy living empowerment projects in India, Jamaica and Riverside. 

During nationals, an event in which executives from Walmart, KPMG and other major corporations judge competitions and recruit young employees, Brown-Brent was hired as a financial analyst for Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. 

Both her college degree and her newly-acquired job come as unanticipated events in her life.

“This day for me means a lot of things, not just for me personally but for my family,” she said. She was raised in Texas until age 12 when her family moved to California and lived in several communities. She wasn’t expected to attend and graduate from college. During a portion of her teen years, Brown-Brent attended La Sierra High School near La Sierra University, and visited a family member who lived across the street from the university. She remembers watching the construction of the new Zapara School of Business which opened in 2013. Against the odds, she applied at La Sierra, attracted by its small class sizes, pre-med and finance programs and particularly its Christian values. 

“The opportunities La Sierra gave me changed the course of my life,” she said. In addition to a university degree and corporate job, she also formed invaluable connections “that will last a lifetime,” Brown-Brent said. “La Sierra is not just a school, it’s a community.”

Romania natives Nelu Nedelea, his wife, Olivia Nedelea and their 14-month-old daughter, Maya, celebrated Nedelea’s MBA in healthcare management along with about 14 Romanian friends from the Loma Linda Romanian SDA Church. Nedelea’s arrival at La Sierra culminates a circuitous journey initially inspired by a pen he received when he was 13 years old during a church event in Romania. The pen was inscribed with the Loma Linda University name. “That’s how a dream started, to move to the states and see Loma Linda University,” he said. 

While in high school he applied as an international student to La Sierra University’s business school but didn’t have the money to attend. Later, he and his family emigrated to Canada and after five years moved from there to Loma Linda University where he and Olivia graduated in 2016 on the same day, Nelu with a Master of Science in Chaplaincy and Olivia with an MBA. 

Nelu now works as director of mission integration for Adventist Health Bakersfield. He is considering a doctorate and aims for a higher position in his field, but looks for God’s guidance.

“The most important part of my journey has been with my professors and how they taught me to get in touch with myself, my values, my culture as the core to successful leadership,” said Nelu said after taking photos with his family and friends in front of the Romanian flag lining a walkway along with the flags of other nations.

“I feel more equipped to launch in this career in leadership,” he said. “From an early age I was pulled in this direction. It was part of God’s providence for my life.”

Commencement included awards to five graduates, faculty and staff members as well as two honorary doctorates and a posthumous Certificate of Recognition. 

Rose Mayes, executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County, Inc. and Robert Krone, president and co-founder of the Kepler Space Institute in Tallahassee, Fla. were each presented with a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

To read more, visit this link: https://lasierra.edu/article/riverside-activist-space-institute-president-among-graduation-awardees/