51 W. College St. Waynesburg, PA 15370
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Vol. 90 No. 23
Coming full
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Commencement speaker encourages striving for excellence By Sarah Bell Executive Editor As a United States Navy gunfire officer, Dr. Bruce Bickel directed air strikes against Communist forces in Vietnam and helped to build an orphanage in the process. At the same time, in 1968, a college student name Kieu Cong Tin was visiting family in the same Vietnamese city that Bickel was in. Tin was hit by shrapnel
Photo courtesy of Mad Anthony Yearbook
Last year, the graduation ceremony took place in the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse due to inclement weather. On Sunday, May 19, 653 Waynesburg University students will graduate.
653 to graduate during commencement ceremony Sunday, May 19 By Amanda Wishner Senior Editor On Sunday, May 19, the hard work of 653 Waynesburg University graduates, including 297 traditional undergraduate seniors, will finally come to fruition at this year’s commencement ceremonies. Commencement Day will begin promptly at 10 a.m., when all graduates are required to
report to Marsh Center in the lower level of Roberts Chapel, where they will don their caps and gowns. The baccalaureate procession line-up will occur at 10:30 p.m., and the procession will officially begin at 10:50 a.m. under the direction of Dr. James Bush, assistant faculty marshal. The graduates will report to Roberts Chapel at 11 a.m. for the baccalaureate serv-
ice, followed by a graduate luncheon in Benedum Dining Hall. Tickets are required to attend. Immediately following the baccalaureate, university honors cords and Academic Excellence pins will be available for distribution in the foyer of the gymnasium. This is the first year that students are permitted to wear honors cords from various
departmental academic honor societies. According to Vicki Wilson, university registrar, students were only able to wear traditional Latin honors cords and pins in the past, but this year, members of the faculty came together to make the decision to extend the rule. “It’s kind of been an ongoing thing; in the See CEREMONY on AA4
during the Tet Offensive and had his leg amputated by a U.S. Army surBickel geon. Although Tin’s leg was repaired, it was badly damaged; it was not properly repaired until 2007, when Bickel, an executive at PNC, led the forefront in raising more than $30,000 See BICKEL on AA2
Baccalaureate speaker believes education is about transformation By Kyle Edwards Senior Editor Reverend Dr. Andrew Purves has been chosen to address Waynesburg University graduates, undergraduates and their families during this year’s Baccalaureate service. A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, Purves received degrees in philosophy and divinity from the University of Edinburgh, and a Th.M. from Duke Divinity
School. His Ph.D. is from the University of Edinburgh. Purves Purves came to the US in 1978 and was ordained by Philadelphia Presbytery. He served as minister of the Hebron Presbyterian Church in Clinton, Pa. until 1983, See PURVES on AA2
Thyreen reflects on First alumni mission trip planned for July time at Waynesburg, traditions on campus By Sarah Bell
Executive Editor
By Sarah Bell Executive Editor As president of Waynesburg University for the last 23 years, Timothy Thyreen has not had a lot of time to look back and reflect. On May 19, Thyreen will participate in his last commencement ceremony as president of the university. However, for him commencement is not about the president anyway. “I don’t think it’s any more important than any other commencement,” Thyreen said. “The commencement is for the students and the family.” As the end of the year approaches, Thyreen was essential in putting together a commemorative addition of The Lamp, Waynesburg’s alumni magazine. The project made him reflect on the accom-
plishments and changes that he made during his time as president, as well as the time that he and his wife, Carolyn, put into the school. “Carolyn and I understood from the beginning the significant challenges that we faced here; nonetheless, we felt that Waynesburg was more than worthy of a lifetime of our devotion and hard work,” Thyreen said in a message to alumni in The Lamp. “We believed that God would bless our efforts if we were willing to make the necessary sacrifices. And so, for 23 years we have labored. It has been a labor of love – a love for the students, for the faculty and staff, for the alumni and friends, and for the community.” President Thyreen was selected by the See THYREEN on AA3
Bethany Taylor found herself dancing around her house to music by Shakira after finding out she did not get her dream job in Washington, D.C. The senior education major aspires to one day work in the nation’s capital; however, if she would have landed that job, she would have missed the opportunity to attend the first ever alumni service trip with Waynesburg University. The trip to Patzún, Guatemala, is one that Taylor is familiar with. As a student at Waynesburg, she traveled to Guatemala three times. In November, when she said goodbye to the children at the Centro Nutricional y Hogar de Ninos, she did not know when she would have the opportunity to see them again. “If I would have been offered that job, I wouldn’t be able to go on the trip – my heart is obviously in Guatemala,” she said. Taylor will attend the landmark trip with six other university alumni,
Photo courtesy of Bethany Taylor
Senior education major Bethany Taylor walks down the street with children in Patzun, Guatemala. Taylor and six other alumni will attend the first alumni trip. one guest and two faculty members from Alumni Relations. Heidi Szuminsky, director of Alumni Relations, has attended the Guatemala mission trip ten times, both as a Way-
nesburg student and as a trip leader. Szuminsky was at the forefront of making the alumni trip a reality. She was surprised that the trip was approved so quickly. “I expected to ask,”
Szuminsky said. “I did not expect it to work out as well as it did and I’m pleasantly surprised and very excited. It’s wonderful to be able to offer our alumni See ALUMNI on AA8