Commencement ceremony celebrates relationships, transformation and what’s next
Trumpeting horns, cheers and sustained applause filled the Linfield University Oak Grove at its 2026 Commencement on Sunday, May 31. The smiles of 481 graduates and more than 5,300 family members and friends matched sunny skies in McMinnville. Yet the ceremony celebrated more than degrees earned. It marked years of growth, relationships and experiences that transformed students into Linfield’s newest alumni.
By the numbers
🎓 481 total graduates: 174 in the College of Arts and Sciences, 79 in the School of Business and 228 in the School of Nursing.
“Because Linfield is more than a destination. It’s a transformation,” said student speaker Josie Daywitt ’26, an elementary education major from Grants Pass. “Somewhere in between the classes, the stress, the laughter and the uncertainty, we changed. Not all at once. Not in ways that were always obvious, but slowly, quietly and sometimes painfully, we grew.”
The themes of growth, community and purpose echoed throughout the ceremony — from Daywitt and university leaders to award-winning filmmaker and commencement speaker Gregory Nava, who challenged graduates to lead with compassion and use their education to make a difference.
Experiences that inspire
For President Mark Blegen, that transformation takes shape through the experiences that help students find purpose, pursue opportunity and imagine new possibilities for their future. After thanking graduates for sharing his first year — and their final year — with him, he reflected on the experiences that define a Linfield education.
“The Linfield experience is often described in many ways, but at its heart, it is about learning by doing, growing by engaging and discovering what you are capable of when you are challenged, supported and inspired,” he said. He explained that not all these moments happened in the classroom, but also in hospital rooms and clinicals; on the field, court or track; in laboratories and field sites; or on the stage or in rehearsal rooms.
Elementary education major Justice Jackson ’26 found inspiration when a 100-level course placed him in a special education classroom.
“[In] my field research for my Education 150 class, you’re in the classroom,” he said. “We would all go to our classes and help out students. That was my first real look into helping [and] teaching kids.”
The Portland native will teach summer school at Edwards Elementary in Newberg while applying for an elementary teaching position this fall.
Public health major Ernesto Jaimes Ravadan ’26 found professors, mentors and advisors who supported him as a first-generation college student.
“Mentors encouraged me to pursue opportunities like internships and studying abroad, which helped me grow academically and personally,” he said.
That encouragement pushed Jaimes Ravadan to be among the first group of students to study abroad in Liverpool.
“I wanted to challenge myself academically and personally while gaining a broader, global perspective on public health and culture,” he said. “What surprised me most was how much personal growth came from simply learning how to adapt to a completely different environment.”
After graduation, the Hood River native returns to England to pursue his master’s degree in public health at the University of Liverpool.
Their stories reflected a message repeated throughout Commencement: growth often begins when students embrace opportunities that challenge them, expand their perspectives and help them discover new possibilities.
Relationships of care
Daywitt also reflected on the impact of her peers and “who we’ve become because of one another.”
“We didn’t just go to college here. We grew up here. We became a community,” she said. “We studied together, laughed until we couldn’t breathe together, and in doing so, we built something none of us could have built alone.”
That sense of community was visible throughout the ceremony and became one of its defining themes.
In one of the day’s more emotional moments, Blegen asked graduates to stand and thank the people who helped bring them to this milestone. Graduates turned toward faculty members, loved ones and fellow students, offering waves, applause and tearful expressions of gratitude.
“In many ways, the people you met here are as much a part of your Linfield story as any course you took,” he said. “These are the people who supported you, believed in you and walked beside you every step of the way.”
As one alumnus noted, it is a community that lasts beyond a student’s time at Linfield.
“I want to be clear about something: You are not leaving Linfield. You are carrying it with you,” said McKenna (Pyeatt) Knapp ’13, a member of the Alumni Leadership Council. “Because today, you’re not just graduating. You’re joining a network of people who will recognize you in airports, in meetings, in cities far from here because you share something real.”
Psychology major Song Xie ’26 initially struggled as a transfer student from Portland Community College. He credits several mentors from Linfield and PCC with helping him navigate the transition to the four-year residential campus and making Linfield feel like home. One of those connections was with his on-campus work supervisor, Jane Samuels.
“She provided so much support when I was working in the office, as well as professional and personal support,” he said.
Miki Vermeulen ’26, a data science and economics double major from Renton, Washington, found her source of support in the classroom and on the court.
“Being part of the Linfield basketball team has meant everything to me,” Miki said. “It’s given me strong connections with my teammates, coaches and the community. It’s also played a huge role in shaping who I am today.”
Looking to what’s next
As graduates reflected on where they had been, Nava challenged them to consider where they were headed next. He encouraged them to “put their heart first.”
“The world you are entering desperately needs people who live with heart,” he said.
Nava shared the story of labor organizer Dolores Huerta, who rallied farm workers in California against brutal working conditions and inspired generations of advocates through her belief that meaningful change begins when ordinary people choose to act.
He shared — and the graduates echoed — Huerta’s rallying cry of “Si se puede,” or “Yes, we can.”
He asked the graduates:
“Will you use your gifts not only to build a career, but to build a better world?”
“Will you choose compassion over cynicism?”
“Will you use your education, your talent, your imagination and your humanity to help heal this broken world?”
And the crowd of new Linfield alumni chanted, “Si se puede.”
As graduates left the Commencement Green, they carried with them a message echoed throughout the day: a Linfield education is about building meaningful relationships, embracing transformative experiences and using one’s talents to make a difference in the world.
