Kayla Grisby ’22, a public health major, enrolled at Linfield University determined to work in health care because she’d seen firsthand the gaps in treatment for patients in minority populations.
“My sister was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and, even though I was only 11, I could see she was treated differently. Part of being at Linfield has been learning how to be seen and heard and now I get to work on that for an entire community,” said Grisby, a Portland native, at a Black Excellence Celebration Friday, May 27.
Grisby joined 504 graduates who were conferred their degrees Sunday, May 29, on the Linfield McMinnville campus. Approximately 375 students, surrounded by family, friends and well-wishers, took part in the Commencement ceremony held in the Oak Grove.
By any measure, the Class of 2022 overcame previously unknown odds to reach Commencement, said Linfield President Miles K. Davis.
“You have endured wildfires, ice storms and a pandemic. You have adjusted to hybrid learning. You have been flexible and continued to show up,” Davis said. “You are one of the most prepared classes ever coming out of Linfield to connect learning, life and community.”
In addition to Commencement and conferring of degrees, graduates completed the tradition of the acorn. When undergraduate students begin their studies at Linfield, they take an acorn from a bowl made from the wood of Linfield’s historic Old Oak tree that once stood in front of Pioneer Hall. When they graduate, students return the acorn as they receive their degree. Those acorns then pass on to incoming students.
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The 2022 Commencement was the first in-person graduation ceremony since 2019 and the first since Linfield changed its name to Linfield University from Linfield College in 2020.
In her Commencement address, Rukiayah Adams, the chief investment officer of Meyer Memorial Trust, told graduates that their place as the first digital natives will be the foundation of the change they bring to the world as Linfield alumnus.
“Your lives have been remarkable because of what your breathtaking experiences will lead you to invent, to create, to share, to speak, to act and, I hope, to lead,” Adams said. “We need people who are bridge builders like you to find creative solutions. I urge you to continue to dare greatly as you wrestle with the ideas of our time.”
Poppi Arrasmith, the student Commencement speaker and a McCall, Idaho, native, said building bridges was a skill in which the Class of 2022 already excelled. As the only Linfield graduates whose experiences bridged the years of the COVID-19 pandemic – from a normal freshman year to a mostly-restored senior year – Arrasmith said the new graduates knew what it takes to restore a community.
“It was our responsibility as students and leaders to remind everyone what Linfield was. Our home was still standing, and we helped to revive it. We rose to the challenge, and hand-in-hand, came out stronger on the other side, ” Arrasmith said.
A reception followed Commencement and a Pinning Ceremony for nursing students, signaling the transition from student to professional, was held Sunday afternoon.
Commencement was the culmination of several days of activities. In addition, other members of the Class of 2022 were honored at the Lavender Celebration for LGBTQIA+ students, the Asian and Pacific Islander Celebration, a Black Excellence Celebration, a student-athlete event, the Nursing Senior Toast and a dinner for Latinx students.
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At the Lavender Celebration, Jennifer Williams, an associate professor of religious studies, delivered the keynote speech. Williams drew on the lyrics of “For Good” from the Broadway musical “Wicked” for inspiration.
“You have been changed in a way that will compel you to do good. And I, and everyone else in this room, has been changed for the good because we know you,” Williams said.
At the Black Excellence Celebration, Jennifer Madden, dean of the Linfield School of Business, used the pre-flight instructions on commercial airlines as a metaphor for what graduates would need on the next steps of their journey.
“You have everything you need within you, everything else can be stowed overhead or under the seat in front of you,” Madden said.
The Class of 2022 represented a wide swath of the opportunities Linfield provides for students.
Nicole Hale, 37, who received her Bachelor of Nursing degree and pin, returned to school after years in the restaurant industry to fulfill a dream she’d harbored for decades. (Read more about Nicole.)
“What kept me going was that I just didn’t want to give up. I was tired of putting everything off,” said Hale, a Sherwood resident.
Gadibel Ortiz Madera, one of Hale’s classmates in the nursing program, lost half of her hometown of Talent, Oregon in wildfires that swept through in 2020. The destruction included the homes of her family and numerous relatives and friends. Now she sees the effect her determination to graduate is having on her younger sister.
“She texts me questions about how I did things and tells me that, when she’s stressed out, she thinks about me and decides she can do it, too,” Ortiz Madera said. (Read more about Gadibel.)
Baily Paul, a transfer student and sports management major, offered a bit of advice for the Wildcats of the future.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help because sometimes the people that help you lead you to somewhere that you never knew you wanted to be,” said Paul, a native of Gig Harbor, Washington. (Read more about Baily.)
Ray-Ray Crain, one of the first nine graduates in Linfield’s new Master of Science in Business program and a native of Austin, Texas, received his undergraduate degree from Linfield in 2021 and returned to earn his graduate degree. He overcame numerous obstacles to find that belief in himself was what he needed all along.
“Linfield gave me a chance to know myself and be more than I thought I ever could be,’ Crain said at the Black Excellence Celebration. (Read more about Ray-Ray.)
As Linfield bids farewell to the Class of 2022, and greets them again as new alumnus, the university community looks forward to cheering the graduates on as they find new goals and help bring about positive changes throughout the world. Go ‘Cats.
