On May 5th, a historic first commencement ceremony was held at Jubilee University in Kansas City. During the ceremony, the institution celebrated the outgoing Class of 2022 and the school’s first four graduates, all graduating from Jubilee’s Master of Divinity program.
The names of the graduates are as follows: Ms. Amanda Garcia, Mr. Bo Wang, Ms. Yuzhen Ou, and Mr. Meng Zhang. Ms. Garcia and Mr. Wang were both in attendance locally, while Ms. Ou and Mr. Zhang joined remotely from China. All the graduates had transferred from Olivet University’s Master of Divinity program to Jubilee University over the past one and a half years.
Serving as Master of Ceremonies during the commencement was Jubilee University’s President, Mr. Marcus Lundin. He was flanked by Academic Dean, Dr. Aria Reppert, as well as staff and faculty members from the departments of theology and music, including Dr. Erin Yuan, Dr. Petra Kim, Mr. Reuben Chae, and Ms. Ruth Zhou. Several other faculty members from Jubilee participated remotely, including Dr. Hyungmin Lee and Dr. Emily Ko.
Featured as commencement speaker was Mr. Kenneth Trudeau, Jr., who is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Jubilee University.
During his speech, Mr. Trudeau quoted a Bible verse taken from Colossians 2:6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” With these words, he encouraged the students to hold on to their dream and hold on to Christ wherever life might take them.
Ms. Garcia was invited as student speaker, sharing her reflection of the time at Jubilee and Olivet.
She likened her studies to the process of a seed being planted in the mud and growing into a fruit-bearing plant. While full of excitement at the beginning, she testified that the challenges forced her to set up determination to persevere until the end, until finally seeing the budding plant grow up and come to fruition. Now, she can see her dream of educating and ministering to teens being one step closer to being fulfilled.
Jubilee University expresses its sincere congratulations to the graduates of the Class of 2022, and its heartfelt gratitude to staff and friends of the university who have been pouring into the life of the students from the beginning.
