'I formed lasting bonds I'll cherish all my life'
Brandon Ford Jr. said he has experienced and witnessed impressive acts of love during the isolation forced upon society in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes this monumental event in the nation's history could help usher in an era defined by love, patience, kindness and hope.
PICTURED: Campus Minister Nancy McCormick recorded her presiding role for Baccalaureate on campus at the statue of Isaac and Sarah Harvey. Those 19th century area Quakers met with President Lincoln petitioning him to abolish slavery. Soon thereafter, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
"We have an opportunity to serve as a new generation," he said during the College's online Baccalaureate ceremony, which aired Friday (June 5). "Consider this time as a new beginning. These four or five years at WC have equipped us for a greater purpose. We were made for a time like this."
Ford, the recipient of the College's Robert E. Lucas Leadership Award, is an accounting major from Cincinnati.
Tricia Seckel, an agricultural business major from Caledonia, who graduated summa cum laude, spoke of the power of a generous and well-meaning smile from a classmate and how it would immediately improve and alter the outlook of her day.
"Just imagine what you can do in your career field if your simple smile can change someone's life," she said.
Lauren Grover, an agriculture/animal science major from Hillsboro who graduated magna cum laude, mentioned the importance of relationships and how a "shy and timid freshman" blossomed at Wilmington College.
"I formed lasting bonds I'll cherish all my life," she said. "Those friends will be a constant reminder of why I fell in love with Wilmington. Also, I'm forever grateful to my mentors and for my relationships with faculty and staff."
She also thanked Campus Minister Nancy McCormick and her husband, Mike, for helping "me grow in my faith."
Nancy McCormick, who presided at Baccalaureate, said she hopes and prays the Class of 2020 will "see the core values of this College as a blueprint for your lives. Please continue to let your light shine."
President Jim Reynolds offered a benediction that included the prayer: "Let them use the knowledge acquired here to not only go out into the world and do well, but also go out into the world and do good.
"Godspeed, Class of 2020!"
