HILLSBORO, Kan. – Tabor College hosted its 105th commencement Saturday, May 23, in the Student Center Gymnasium because of the inclement weather forecast.
An estimated 1,500 family members, friends, alumni, faculty and staff attended the ceremony. Tabor College graduates represented six countries and 14 states across the United States, including Kansas.
From the Hillsboro campus, 107 graduated—the fourth-largest class in school history.
Tabor College in Wichita & Online had 60 undergraduates and four graduate students who earned master’s degrees, for a total of 64—the second largest graduating class from the Wichita campus.
President Jules Glanzer noted the significance of this annual event.
“Graduation is a day that many have been waiting for,” Glanzer said. “Parents, students and even faculty look forward to this day when they see the fruit of their sacrifice, work and influence.
“There are so many mixed emotions,” he added. “It is a day of celebration and saying good-bye. Accomplishments are recognized, friendships affirmed and families are brought together. Those walking across the stage receiving their diplomas will forever carry the distinction of being a Tabor graduate.”
Glanzer presented two students with the Professor Fran Jabara Leadership Award for $1,000 each—seniors Marissa Vix and Matthew Wiebe. Professor Jabara, from Wichita, Kan., is a life-long proponent of recognizing and promoting excellence in leadership.
Norman Ewert, an alumnus from Tabor College and professor emeritus from Wheaton (Ill.) College, gave the commencement address, titled “Learning from the Unexpected.”
“The primary purpose of a Christian liberal arts education is much more than vocational preparation,” Ewert said. “It’s shaping character, nurturing and developing you as a person, developing a Christian worldview preparing you for a life and for eternity.”
Ewert told the graduates that they will now build upon the foundation of their education from Tabor College.
“You may think you’ve taken your last exam or written your last paper,” Ewert said, “but your education is now just beginning. You may not have any more exams in the future, but the results of your learning will have lasting effects. You’ve now laid the ground work. You’ve acquired the tools to learn and the hard work is now ahead. Actively cultivate lifelong learning and as you do so, be prepared to learn from the unexpected.”
Ewert graduated from Tabor in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in history, then went onto earn a graduate degree in economics at the University of Kansas and a doctorate in economics from Southern Illinois University. In 2014, he retired after 41 years of teaching economics at Wheaton College. His advice to the graduates, always follow Christ.
“We need a whole generation of young Christians to dedicate their lives to faithfully living out their faith,” he added. “You folks are best equipped to address the challenges facing us in the world going forward.”
President Glanzer said the graduates can feel a tremendous amount of gratitude for all those who helped them get to this point in their lives.
“I hope each graduate has a sense of pride in what they accomplished,” Glanzer said, “and in bearing the label of Tabor alum, plus a sense of humility that they did not do it alone, but had help from others. As they enter real life that there is a sense of gratitude and appreciation for how others have invested in them. I also hope they discover that they have been well prepared for their chosen vocation and desire to make the world more as God intended it to be.”