Bethel Celebrates Commencement

Bethel University held commencement ceremonies for 1,021 graduating students in late May. On May 24, a total of 496 students graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences; on May 25, the College of Adult & Professional Studies and Graduate School celebrated the graduation of 324 students, and Bethel Seminary honored 138 graduates. The following weekend, commencement ceremonies were held on May 31 at Bethel Seminary San Diego, with 43 graduates, and Bethel Seminary of the East, with 21.

College of Arts & Sciences graduates heard from commencement speaker Deborah Haarsma, president of The BioLogos Foundation, which invites the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith. An experienced research scientist, Haarsma was introduced by President Jay Barnes as a "remarkable and representative Bethel graduate in many ways." Haarsma double majored in physics and music at Bethel, and went on to complete a doctorate in astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She told the audience that her studies have shown her the incredible vastness of the universe, demonstrating "not the smallness of us, but the greatness of God's love for us." She encouraged the new graduates to "look for God in the natural world, in your work, and in the Bible. Seek and you will find Him."