Different paths, shared purpose: Bethel celebrates spring commencement

Applause filled Benson Great Hall as Bethel University’s 661 graduates crossed the stage during five commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 23, 2026. Faculty and families celebrated not only their accomplishments—but the perseverance, transformation, and sense of calling that shaped each journey to commencement.

President Ross Allen welcomed attendees and spoke of the unique story of each graduate. “We celebrate your academic achievement, and we also recognize everything it took to reach this moment.”

The journeys of Bethel’s graduates differ widely. Undergraduate students in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) wrestled with identity, formed lifelong friendships, and discovered how their studies could shape future vocations.

Meanwhile, adult learners across graduate school, Seminary, and the College of Adult & Professional Studies (CAPS) juggled earning a degree while raising families, working full-time, and navigating personal responsibilities. 

Despite their different paths, these graduates from multiple educational communities were united on Saturday for this single moment of transition and commission.

We leave changed

The milestone of graduation “reflects discipline and perseverance, but even more, it points to God’s faithfulness,” says Allen. “He has sustained you through demanding seasons and continued to shape you through community and the relationships formed along the way.”

Being shaped was a common theme among each ceremony’s student speakers. 

From overwhelming workloads in graduate programs to identity crises among undergraduates, Bethel students were challenged, shaped, and transformed throughout their educational journeys. “Bethel didn’t just challenge my intellect—it challenged my character,” says Rodney Benjamin GS’26, a M.S. in medical sciences graduate. 

B.S.N. Nursing graduate Isaac Regel ’26 shared his journey of what felt like a mid-college crisis when his perfect plan no longer aligned with where God was calling him. “Chris Caroll was my advisor at the time,” Regel says. “He told me, ‘Whatever you choose to do, jump two feet in and don’t look back.’”

Regel recalled sitting in his work truck at a metal recycling yard weeks before his sophomore year and calling Ann Holland, professor of nursing emerita, to discuss how to switch majors to nursing. 

From the stage, Regel says, “Through every clinical rotation, simulation, and every real moment of bedside care, a deep love for this profession grew. Now, standing here today, I know what I want to do and where to start.”

For Regel, it was a transformation of career and calling. Others were changed by Bethel’s community.

Annabelle Linson ’26, a physics and applied physics graduate, shared how she met her best friend in an electronics lab. Seminary graduate Amy Wells S’26 recognized the value of learning not just from her professors—but from other Seminary students as well. 

“Bethel has deepened our theological formation and has widened our horizons as we brush shoulders with classmates who are also passionate about different parts of God’s kingdom,” she says.  

Triple major Aaron Grawe ’26 reminded the class of 2026 that ‘become’ is not a static term, but one that promises change. He then reflected on the spiritual transformation he experienced as an undergraduate student at Bethel while studying chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, and biology. 

“Through the support of friends, the grace of my professors, and unrelenting love, God carried me here,” Grawe says.

Across ceremonies, students reflected not only on what they had accomplished at Bethel, but on who they had become through the experience.

“We came to Bethel with different stories, different goals, and different levels of certainty about who we were and who we would become. Yet somehow, through this shared journey, we leave changed,” says Benjamin. 

Carry this forward

“I believe that Bethel was part of God’s plan to lead us to who we are today and who we are meant to be going forward,” says Elise Henry ’26, history and social studies education graduate.

For many speakers like Henry, commencement was not simply a moment to reflect on who they had become—it was also a call to consider how they would carry that formation forward.

Among speakers from the stage, Senior Director of University Relations Jennifer Scott welcomed each group of graduates into Bethel’s alumni association.

“Commencement is not just a celebration of achievement—although it is that—it is a reminder to our students that no one walks alone after graduation,” Scott says. 

Danielle Buckenmeyer ’26, a communication studies graduate, spoke of the value of this community. 

She says of her time at Bethel, “I was amazed by the way hundreds of alumni—people with busy careers, families, and full lives—showed up time and again to networking events and mentorship programs. Bethel alumni consistently pour into students’ professional, spiritual, and personal development.”

The class of 2026—from undergraduate to Seminary—joins over 50,000 Bethel graduates around the world.

“The Bethel experience does not end at graduation,” says Buckenmeyer. “As you walk across this stage, you are not only receiving a diploma, but stepping into the responsibility and privilege of becoming Bethel alumni.”

Across the ceremonies, speakers challenged graduates to live out what they had learned at Bethel in their professions, communities, and relationships.

Benjamin echoed this call in his speech. “We leave here with degrees—but more importantly, we leave with responsibility. A responsibility to lead with character. To serve with purpose. To pursue excellence not for recognition, but because it reflects who we are and whose we are. To my fellow graduates,” he says, “this is not the finish line. It is the starting point.”

For other graduates, that responsibility was rooted in how they would care for and serve others in the work ahead.

Nursing graduate Grace Steffen ’26 reflected on her experience in Bethel’s nursing program while reminding fellow graduates that compassion and service extend far beyond healthcare settings. “Not every single one of us will walk into patient rooms,” she says, “but every single one of us will walk into spaces where people are hurting, overlooked, and need to be seen, both in our careers and our communities.”

“So the question becomes,” Steffen says, “what does it look like for all of us to carry this forward?”

Seminary speakers similarly emphasized the responsibility graduates embody in positions of leadership, ministry, and influence.

Clarissa Hutcheson S’26 reminded classmates that leadership is never neutral, but “either contributes to human flourishing or participates in its diminishment.”

Though graduates represented different programs, professions, and life stages, many speakers returned to the same shared sense of purpose moving forward. “Our paths may look different,” says Amanda Pendergast GS’26, “but that inner pull toward something meaningful is something that we all share.”

As the ceremonies came to a close, graduates were reminded that commencement marked not simply an ending, but the beginning of a deeper responsibility and calling.

“Graduates,” says Allen, “this moment is an invitation to faithfully steward all that God has entrusted to you: your gifts, your education, your influence, and your calling.”