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ÂÜÀòÉç Confers Degrees at 2012 Winter Commencement Convocation

Degrees were presented December 14 to ÂÜÀòÉç graduates at Winter Commencement.

245 students expected to earn graduate and undergraduate degrees

CHICAGO (December 17, 2012) — Before a full house in the and a significant audience watching a , ÂÜÀòÉç presented degrees December 14 at its 2012 convocation. The University expected to confer undergraduate and graduate degrees to 245 students.

Bachelor’s degrees were presented to an anticipated 168 students representing a wide range of and the . Master’s degrees were presented to an expected 77 students from the School of Business and Nonprofit Management, , , and .

In his charge to the graduates, the president of ÂÜÀòÉç, , cited the biblical stories of creation in Genesis and Jesus’ birth in the Gospel of Luke. God stopped on the seventh day, according to the creation story, and Mary paused to ponder after the shepherds left the manger, he noted. In both cases, each stopped to claim as holy the creation and the infant Jesus, Parkyn suggested. The same can be said of significant life events, such as graduation, he observed.

“On this night we stop, ever so briefly, to mark learning, to mark your life as a student, as holy. We stop to ponder, we stop to remember, we stop to claim the act of learning as holy, and to claim as holy all you have learned,” the University president told the graduates. Graduation is “a sacred moment in your life, even as each day of the past years of learning at North Park has been a holy time,” Parkyn added.

The convocation included Scripture and prayers, choral performances by the , a graduation litany, and presentation of degrees by University deans. Students led the procession with the flags of countries and territories in which graduates were born, are citizens, or have been residents. The flags included those of the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Palestine, the Philippines, Romania, Serbia, and Sweden. The commencement program included a benediction from , read by graduates in nine languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Mongolian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish.

The University began its commencement with a recognition of the tragic school shooting earlier in the day at , Newtown, Conn. “As an educator, I have always thought the adventure of learning is meant to give life, yet today for 26 people, school became a place where life ended,” Parkyn said. “I’m also reminded as an educator of the … individuals who died having dedicated their lives, like many in the room tonight, to helping students fulfill their dreams.” The president’s comments were followed by a moment of silence and prayer.

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