"Standing onstage, I was reminded of another rewarding experience I had this year: a group of seniors asked if I wanted to come by The Square Inch Apartments for coffee time."
On the morning of Friday, May 10, students from the class of 2024 walked across the B.J. Haan Auditorium stage, shook my hand, and received their diplomas.
The class included students like Jocelyn Zonnefeld, from Sioux Center, who will work toward a Ph.D. in mathematics at Tufts University in Massachusetts; Emma Groen, from Des Moines, who will serve as a nurse in the greater Des Moines area; and Eoghan Holdahl, from Watertown, South Dakota, who is doing work in West Africa with Samaritan's Purse.
Awarding diplomas to graduates is a rewarding experience; it provides a visible representation of the countless hours of hard work students have invested in achieving their degrees.
Standing onstage, I was reminded of another rewarding experience I had this year: a group of seniors asked if I wanted to come by The Square Inch Apartments for coffee time. “We’re graduating soon, and we’d love to ask you some questions,” they said.
"May the class of 2024 graduates continue to sing a song of God's faithfulness in their lives as He directs their paths."
I stopped by Square 9—as did about a dozen students. Aside from enjoying the homemade apple crisp and the camaraderie, they asked me all kinds of questions, from what Dr. Barb and I have learned in our 35+ years of marriage, to how I incorporate prayer into my life, to what some of my most memorable professional moments are. When I mentioned how important singing hymns has been to my faith formation, they asked if I’d return later in the week for an evening hymn sing with more friends. I immediately agreed.
At the hymn sing, I spent about 75 minutes with more than 24 students singing some of the great hymns of the Christian faith. Those who know me well know that I love to sing hymns; there is so much depth in the sung theology of our faith.
It was humbling to be asked so many thoughtful questions by Dordt’s class of 2024; it was even more heartening to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and sing some of our favorite hymns.
Those moments in Squares 9 were, in many ways, the embodiment of our institutional vision: “that all the class work, all of the students’ intellectual, emotional, and imaginative activities shall be permeated with the spirit and teaching of Christianity.” Through their hospitality—the space they created and the conversation they convened—these Dordt students showed me that, during their four years at Dordt, they had grown in wisdom and knowledge of the Word while also recognizing Christ’s lordship in all things.
It is always difficult to say goodbye; our campus community will miss the class of 2024 and the ways they shaped our institution. But I look forward to seeing how our graduates continue to be “permeated with the spirit and teaching of Christianity” as alumni—and as churchgoers, employees, parents, supervisors, and the many other roles they have in the future.
May they continue to sing a song of God’s faithfulness in their lives as He directs their paths.
Dr. Erik Hoekstra, president of Dordt University
Dr. Trista Logan joins Dordt University as Assistant Professor of Education. She brings a passion for educating future Christian schoolteachers and experience in educating children with reading disabilities.
Examining historical moments, biblical teachings, and contemporary societal challenges, students in "Church, State, and Social Welfare" consider the biblical call to care for our neighbor.
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