Touching
Souls
A green sticky note covered with goals was Kristi Del Vecchio’s ’13 roadmap when she began her college career. Four years later, while speaking to her classmates at Commencement, the Bismarck, N.D., graduate says she has learned to not fixate on those goals but be alive in the moment, even through life’s uncertainties. Uncertainty was also a theme with which Commencement speaker Roxana Saberi ’97 could relate. Saberi, a journalist, was working on a book in Iran after her press pass was revoked. Off her original path to report in Iran, she recalled the day she questioned if her life had any meaning. The next day she was arrested, taken to Evin Prison and charged with spying for the CIA. Through the adversity she says she relied on God and knowing that many people – friends, government officials and people she didn’t even know – were working to get her released. She also had an important support system in captivity, other female inmates who connected with her and taught her how they resolved to not hate their captors. Through these encounters, Saberi learned the importance of every person. “Influencing the affairs of the world happens when we let our souls touch other souls,” Saberi says. This May the college sent forth nearly 600 graduates. Their interests and callings will take them all around the globe and, undoubtedly, their souls will connect with many others. You can see some of their first careers, graduate schools and volunteer opportunities at ConcordiaCollege.edu/class2013. ■ Roxana Saberi ‘97 speaks at 2013 Commencement, which was held May 5 at Concordia College.
Photos: Sheldon Green