reflections

It's that time of year. For our students, another year is coming to a close.

This means different things for everyone. Underclassmen are finishing loading all their possessions into the car to head for home. Many of our juniors are preparing to leave on their cross-cultural trips next week: some bound for places within the US, others to the far reaches of the globe for a first-hand glimpse of other cultures that will re-define their perception of the world as a community. Many others are planning for summer jobs and a chance to rest and relax after a year of hard work and new experiences.

Lastly, our seniors. Tomorrow they will participate in many of our traditional May Day events, and we will welcome their parents, siblings and extended family to join us as we celebrate their college experience. Sunday afternoon is graduation, and always brings mixed emotions for me as an admissions counselor. The most rewarding part of my job (by FAR) are the personal relationships I build with the students here: watching them arrive as nervous first years, catching glimpses of them on the sidewalk between classes, watching their volleyball, basketball and football games, seeing them perform in concerts and plays, talking with them one-on-one in small groups, praying for them as they are stretched academically ad emotionally, and finally watching them walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. It is a great journey to behold. Each student at Bluffton is unique and possesses a light that will make the world a better place. While here, they cultivate their interests and talents, discovering the places in the world that need what they have to give. Along the way, they share laughs and struggles as they grow.

Tomorrow, many will leave us. But they will carry the Bluffton spirit with them.

Best of luck to you, graduates. Thank you for enriching Bluffton...we know you go forward to enrich the world, as well.

-Andrea