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Senior Convocation
Speakers Lara Crook and Alex Ashton
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More than 40 Mars Hill College students were honored at the annual Senior Convocation in Broyhill Chapel Tuesday, April 29.
Dean of Students Craig Goforth named eight Unsung Heroes -- students on campus who have not always received the recognition they deserve. "They have really been significant to the Student Life process at this college," Goforth said.
The 16 College Marshals were then recognized. All are students who have completed three to five full-time semesters at Mars Hill College and have the highest grade point averages among the rising junior and senior classes.
Ryan Smith received the Biblical Languages Award for his expertise in the Hebrew language.
Then the 15 seniors of Alpha Chi National Honor Society were honored. Faculty sponsor Greg Clemons said membership in the society is "the highest academic honor Mars Hill College bestows."
Two seniors graduating in early May, Lara Crook and Alex Ashton, reflected upon their individual college experiences at Mars Hill.
Crook first described how Mars Hill became "fulfilling" to her, as it has been her home away from home for the past four years. Still, she said she missed the home she left behind in Rutherfordton.
She told of how her brother even gave her a pair of ruby slippers - just like Dorothy's shoes in the Wizard of Oz - and told her to click her heals and chant "there's no place like home." But the slippers served as a reminder of what a home really is.
"I've learned that wherever someone loves me, I am at home. Wherever there is something beautiful, graceful, or charming, I am at home. Wherever there is someone in need, I am at home," said Crook. "I've learned that home can be in the heart of another person."
Ending her speech, Crook reflected on her college career and read aloud one of her favorite quotes, "Dance as if no one is watching. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth."
Ashton compared his reflection of Mars Hill and his past four years to an evaluation. "If someone were to evaluate Mars Hill College as an educational institution," he said, "Mars Hill College's final product would be its students...I am one of many final products."
He told of how he "learned how to learn" through his college experiences. "Mars Hill has not transformed me, but helped me transform myself," Ashton added.
Because of Mars Hill and its faculty and staff, "I now feel like an informed and responsible citizen," he said. "And this is something that I will carry around for the rest of my life… Thank you Mars Hill for my college degree - but even more so for my college education.''
The Convocation ended with the congregation partaking of Communion, honoring Jesus Christ above all.
Unsung Heroes
Davis Georges
Meghan Parker
John Rakes
Seamus Riley
Jamie Balance
Ryan Mulligan
Rocky Oakes
Austin Lee
College Marshalls 2002-2003
Amanda Orders, Chief
Christopher Alley
Jill Atkins
Sarah Birdsong
Biljana Bosevska
Andrew Cope
Traci Corn
Alma Coyle
Jenny Davis
Kathryn Hall
Christina Johnson
Rebecca Lorenz
Sarah Puckett
Robin Putnam
Jerome Ramsey
Thiago Tiberio
Seniors in Alpha Chi National Honor Society
Alex Ashton
Holly Carringer
Tim Cox
Richard Davis
Christian Koserski
Rocky Oakes
Mindy Richardson
Serena Roberts
Monica Robinson
Brandy Sayles
Stephanie Schraven
Jennifer Seelbach
Brandi Sigmon
Jessica Weeks
Erin Wyant
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