Close to 500 walk the stage; Pasadena Star-News runs photo gallery of event
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06/11/12
Watch Dr. Mouw's Commencement address
Thousands of proud family members and friends filled the sanctuary of Pasadena’s Lake Avenue Church Saturday morning, June 9, to watch their loved ones cross the stage at Fuller’s 63rd all-seminary Commencement.
A total of 474 students participated in the ceremony, a dozen of whom received two degrees. Participants ranged from graduates who completed master’s and doctoral degrees last summer to those who are planning to finish in this year’s spring and summer quarters.
Overall, roughly 750 students—coming from 30 nations and 75 denominations—are expected to be confirmed as graduates at Fuller for the 2011-2012 year.
The ceremony also included the announcement of this year’s recipient of the C. Davis Weyerhaeuser Award for Excellence, known to many in the Fuller community as “faculty of the year.” Winston E. Gooden, dean of the School of Psychology and professor of psychology, received the peer-selected award, presented to him by Fuller trustee Merlin Call.
“You are a role model in so many ways,” said Call to Gooden, “and we celebrate the gift of an amazing leader, mentor, colleague, and friend.”
President Richard Mouw offered an inspirational charge to the graduating students, and four of those students offered brief talks—“a sampling of some of the many and varied ministries to which God has called the women and men of Fuller Seminary,” explained Provost Doug McConnell.
Student speakers included Eric John Christensen, who will use his new PhD in Intercultural Studies for mission service in Thailand; Ricky V. Jackson, earning an MS in Marital and Family Therapy with the goal of working alongside churches in Maui, Hawaii; MDiv candidate Scott William Szabo, moving to Istanbul, Turkey this fall to work with international church communities and teach English; and Mary Holder Naegeli, longtime ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church, who earned her MDiv from Fuller in 1987 and has now followed that with a Doctor of Ministry degree.
See photos from the ceremony
Photo gallery in the Pasadena Star-News
Read about some of the graduates