Bryan College honored 166 graduates Friday during fall commencement exercises.
Among the graduates were 50 receiving the Master of Business Administration degree, the largest number for that program to date.
In welcoming the graduates and their families, Bryan President Dr. Stephen Livesay acknowledged the massacre in a Connecticut school earlier that day. “As I was contemplating what happened, it brought to mind a condition in our society, a society that has lost its moral compass,” he said. “I’m thankful for Bryan College and for its professors who have moorings grounded in the Word of God.
“There is only one hope for society, the unchanging Word of God. I pray each of you graduates will be part of the solution.”
Dr. Glynn Stone, Jr., pastor of Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview, Texas, encouraged the graduates to heed God’s call and let Him equip them for service.
The call of God is both personal and purposeful, he said. “He is pulling people out of a corrupt culture to make a difference in that culture. The call of God is practical. He has chosen men and the work they are to do. And the call is providential. Resumes and recommendations do not place us in divinely appointed positions. Your degree is more than an academic achievement, it is a supernatural work.”
Dr. Stone, a 1995 Bryan graduate, said Bryan taught him three foundational lessons. “This is the place I learned the Word of God. I learned how to listen to the culture; as culture changes, we must know how to apply the Word. I learned to look for where God is leading. I don’t know where the world will be in 50 years, but God does.”
Ms. Lopez, who received a degree in exercise and health science, recounted her story of growing up in an orphanage in Honduras and how, through the efforts of Dr. Randy Hollingsworth and his family, was able to come to Bryan.
“Bryan College has been an encouragement to me, has helped me grow spiritually and academically,” she said. “The faculty, staff, and students have been the family I never had. Because of all of you I know how to love better. Thank you, Bryan College, for giving me the past four years.”
During the service, Carla Millsaps received the Degree Completion Research Award, for the outstanding research project in the degree completion program. Rachel Bailey was recognized for earning the highest scholastic record among graduates from the School of Arts and Sciences.