Linfield honors 505 graduates at 2024 Commencement

Graduates in their gowns and caps are lined up; one wipes away tears There were 5,079 chairs spread across the McMinnville campus Commencement Green, and they were each taken. Hundreds more stood on Founder’s Way, on the steps of Pioneer Hall and in the shade of the Oak Grove to cheer the 505 graduates of Linfield University’s Class of 2024.

For many undergraduate students, the traditions, celebrations and ceremonies marking the end of their time at Linfield carried even greater meaning than to their predecessors. The last time many of these students were seniors, the country was just a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Eagerly anticipated rites like prom, senior awards and, yes, graduation were either remote or canceled altogether.

But this time, it took days to get through the celebrations.

There were the senior toasts and the Athletic Stole Ceremony, which crackled with a special energy after Linfield softball won the McMinnville NCAA Super Regional and prepared to head to Texas for the Division III championship tournament. There was the Senior Awards, where faculty members from each department spoke at length about the growth and accomplishments of the awardees.

There was Baccalaureate, which ended when the Linfield Concert Choir sang an adaptation of a song by The Highwomen — “I want a house with a crowded table/And a place by the fire for everyone./Let us take on the world while we’re young and able/And bring us back together when the day is done.”

At the Latine Dinner, conducted entirely in Spanish with English translation available, grandfathers wore their finest boots and Stetsons, while younger siblings ran around as the adults danced the rueda.

Then, on a sunny Sunday morning, the entire community came together as one. The ceremony began with an invocation from Linfield University chaplain Rev. Jeremy Richards, which he addressed “to that which is Beyond us, to that which is Ultimate.”

“Today we recognize the accomplishments of these Linfield students who have persevered through,” he said, as thousands in the vast crowd bowed their heads. “The memories they have made during their time at Linfield will be with them for the rest of their lives. They will never forget this place, and this place will never forget them.”

Michele Grebisz ’90, chair of the Alumni Leadership Council, welcomed the newest Wildcat alumni to the fold.

Linfield alumni, she said, are a group of “like-minded individuals who share a common bond forged through shared experiences. … As alumni of this institution, you are the custodians of its legacy, the guardians of its traditions, and the architects of its future.”

The commencement address was provided by Shawn Chen ’87, founder and chairman of the board of Sias University. Although he now oversees a university with more than 36,000 students, he recalled clearly what it felt like to be in the graduates’ shoes.

“I recall the anticipation and uncertainty that accompanied stepping beyond the college gates … (at the) threshold of a world brimming with both unprecedented opportunities and challenges,” he said, adding that Linfield “has not merely imparted knowledge but instilled values that distinguish you.”

“Your Linfield education is more than a mere degree; it’s an enduring investment in crafting a future where knowledge triumphs, resilience prevails, and positive change endures,” he said. “The world awaits your ingenuity, your fervor, and your commitment to the future.”

McKenna Abigail Mills ’24 served as the student commencement speaker. The Albany, Oregon, native invoked the physical spaces shared by the class over the years — and the connection forged within them.

“It’s a journey that’s been shaped not only by classrooms, libraries and lecture halls but also by the spaces we called home — dorm rooms, apartments and off-campus housing,” she said. “Just imagine the secrets these walls hold — the inside jokes scribbled on whiteboards, the sticky notes of encouragement stuck to mirrors. … These walls have absorbed our hopes, fears and dreams, but they have shaped us into the people we are today.”

“But beyond the everyday moments, these walls have been witnesses to our personal growth. They’ve seen us fall in love, celebrate Wildcat wins and forge lifelong friendships,” she said. “Through it all, they’ve remained the same — strong, steadfast and impossibly beige.”

The ceremony itself ended with a benediction from Richards.

“Graduates, you have been such a blessing to this university. Now we are sending you out to bless the world. It is a world that is in great need of you and all you have to offer,” he said. “As you take your next steps out into the wider world, know that you do so with the love and support of all of us here at Linfield.”

But there was one final celebration left — the receptions in the Oak Grove. Graduates, families, parents, friends, professors and staff milled around, doling out hugs and posing for pictures.

Katie Jones ’24 stood talking to Patrick Cottrell and Dawn Nowacki, both professors of political science.

Her day, she said, had contained so much emotion.

“It’s been fantastic — there’s definitely a lot of excitement, but also a lot of chaos, a lot of trying to find and hunt down friends and family in the crowd, only to get stopped by more friends and family along the way,” she said, laughing. “Linfield is more than a campus, it’s a community. You’ll have so many people in the crowd screaming when they hear your name on Commencement day.”