Excerpts from the Class Speaker

EXCERPTS FROM THE CLASS SPEAKER

Danielle Reimer, B.A. ‘18

We’ve come a long way since we walked into our first class.

We’ve achieved much. We’ve learned. We’ve struggled.We’ve grown.

For me, that growth is what has defined the university experience. We’ve all accomplished and discovered things we never expected, and we’ve become better people because of it. What has defined Crandall University specifically is how dedicated its staff and faculty are to helping us become those better, stronger, smarter versions of ourselves.

Like you, I’ve heard horror stories from other schools: of lecturers who just read out of the textbook, uncaring administrators that send you on your way with a “Sorry, that’s just how it is,” and huge classrooms in which your professor can come into focus only if you use a pair of very good binoculars.

Crandall is the farthest thing from that. Professors have gone out of their way to show their students sources for papers, to lend books, and to give advice.

Most impressively, despite all this, I have never been made to feel like an inconvenience, even if I was walking down stairs that one of the custodians was trying to sweep, or wanting to schedule a meeting with a prof at the busiest time of the semester, or had some foolish question about a form or course registration that I really should have known the answer to.

Crandall and its people are amazing. However, they’re not the only ones who have been on and by our side. Friends, partners, family members, mentors, and significant others are all represented in the people who will cross this stage today. None of us could have done it without these people coming alongside us and giving us a helping hand, or even a little extra grace during paper season.

Above all, God has helped and directed us, often through these aforementioned people, and will continue to do so in the times ahead.

This convocation is the official marker of an ending of one life chapter and the beginning of another. What comes next is new, and terrifying, with its own batch of struggles that will have to be faced. But, fellow graduands, we’ve accomplished, we’ve learned, and— most importantly—we’ve grown. We now know we can face difficulties and succeed. We have good people and a good God in our corner. Because of our time here, we are now stronger, smarter, wiser, and far better equipped for the life ahead of us.

And that is something worth celebrating.

Danielle Reimer (‘18) giving the Graduand Address during the Convocation ceremony.