Commencement Honors Class of 2016
Under cloudy skies, 299 bright Westmont seniors celebrated their graduation May 7 at a lush Carr Field. About 5,000 family members and friends witnessed the pageantry as the college honored its top graduates and professors. Of the 299 students, 105 of them graduated with honors.
Henry “Fritz” Schaefer III, one of the most distinguished physical scientists in the world, challenged the graduates to pay more attention to Jesus Christ than to career success.
“Let’s look ahead 10 years to the year 2026 and please consider the following six questions,” Schaefer said. “First, will you 10 years from now be more certain of the truth as it is found in Jesus? Second, will you be more steadfast in your pursuit of Christ? Third, will you know God better? Fourth, will you desire to serve God better? Fifth, will you have a greater zeal for God? And lastly, will you have a greater love for those who are lost and perishing apart from Christ? My sincere prayer is that the Westmont class of 2016 will not only be the brightest, but the best.”
President Gayle D. Beebe presented the Westmont Medal to David ’63 and Anna Grotenhuis, in honor of their generosity and support of Westmont’s students and service to the Santa Barbara community.
“I came here as a student 57 years ago, and when I look back, it’s just amazing the impact Westmont has had on my life,” David said. “Since I graduated, I’ve always owned a business with partners, and we’ve hired a lot of Westmont students, and they’ve been very impactful. Why wouldn’t we want to give back? Thank you to Gayle and the entire Westmont community for what you’ve meant in my life. It’s been absolutely incredible.”
“For you students graduating today, you’re receiving an immense gift,” Anna said. “Not only are you receiving your diplomas, which I know you’ve worked very hard for, but now you are forever a part of the Westmont family. Many of the classmates who surround you today will be your lifelong friends. What makes Westmont a community? Maybe it’s as simple as loving God and loving each other, shared lifelong values and vision.”
Karlie Storkson and Evan Kramer earned Dean’s Awards for excellence in the classroom, superior contributions to an intercollegiate athletic team, and deep faith in Christ. A captain of the women’s basketball team, Storkson organized and planned the team’s trip to Uganda, helping raise money to purchase dairy cows for a village near Gulu. As a member of the track and field team, she earned two-time All-American honors in the outdoor 4 x 400 meter relay. One of 10 student-athletes chosen nationwide for the 2016 Allstate Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Good Works Team, she is the sole NAIA representative. The Westmont Golden Eagle winner served in the Run to Win sports camps ministry and helped coach the Kings High School girls’ basketball team. She earned degrees in religious studies and sociology with a 3.62 GPA.
Kramer, a cross country athlete, was president of Westmont’s chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, an economics honor society. The Westmont Golden Eagle winner earned All-GSAC honors in cross country at the GSAC Championships and was named the GSAC Cross Country Runner of the Month in September. He served as an intern with the James L. Stamps Foundation and in the missions’ ministry at the Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa. He volunteered as the junior high worship leader and was a camp counselor at Forest Home Christian Camps and a cross country coach with Foothill High School in Santa Ana. He earned a degree in economics and business with a minor in communication studies and a 3.44 GPA.
Sarah Gowing received the Dave Dolan Award for leadership and significant contributions to awareness of and response to the social and spiritual needs of the community, nation and world. A 2014 David K. Winter Servant Leader Award winner, Gowing worked with Intercultural Programs for three years, served an internship with Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness during her semester with Westmont in Downtown and volunteered with Bread of Life, a campus meal-sharing program. She interned at Uffizi Mission to better connect students to the needs in the local community, and with Open Door Ministries in Denver. She completed the International Business Institute, traveling to 13 countries in Europe and Asia. She earned degrees in sociology and economics and business with a 3.71 GPA.
Stephanie Hynes and Joseph Briones earned Kenneth Monroe Awards for their academic achievement in the classroom, excelling as leaders on campus, and influencing other students’ lives through their integrity, character, and faithfulness.
Hynes has a passion for medical missions on a global scale. She served on the Potter’s Clay medical/dental team in Mexico, participated in hospital rounds for Emmaus Road in Bolivia and spent a semester studying global health in Costa Rica. A spiritual formation coordinator connecting students with a local church, Hynes earned a biology degree with a 3.98 GPA. She’ll attend Loma Linda University’s School of Medicine. “You are not afraid to see the brokenness in the world and the need for healing; you are not afraid to struggle with difficult questions and uncertainty,” Schulze said. “You’re poised to be a gift to your patients and to any community you find yourself a part of.”
Briones, who played bassoon with the Westmont Orchestra, served as a resident assistant for two years and a student life intern. He participated on Potter’s Clay, studied abroad in Mexico and dedicated his senior project for the Catalyst program to Student Development research. He interned with Intercultural Programs his junior year, led a small group at the Next Step workshop and helped the MultiEthnic Student Association lead the #SpeakUpWestmont campaign. He earned a kinesiology degree with a 3.59 GPA. “You always take initiative in making things happen and are fully invested in the commitments you make,” Schulze said. “You’re person of integrity and well loved. You’ve given Westmont so much in your intentional leadership.”
Provost Mark Sargent gave Faculty Scholarship Awards to four seniors, Dillon Montag, Madeleine Tappy, Aaron Wilk and Paul Wintz, who attained 4.0 GPAs during their Westmont careers.
Montag, a computer science and mathematics graduate, enjoys film criticism and whitewater rafting. He will conduct research on human-computer interaction this summer at the University of Stuttgart in Germany.
Tappy, a Middle Eastern studies graduate, served as a resident assistant at Westmont. She will prepare to teach English while conducting urban agriculture and ministry within a women’s prison among the refugee-immigrant population in Birmingham, England.
Wilk, a physics, chemistry and music triple major, is a superb concert pianist and published chemistry researcher who will enter the joint Ph.D. and M.D. program at Stanford University.
Wintz, a mathematics and computer science graduate, has a fascination for research on the physics of music. He is also president of Westmont’s Not for Sale club and is passionate about ending human trafficking.
Sargent gave the Bruce and Adaline Bare Outstanding Teacher Awards, which honor one outstanding teacher from each of the three divisions of the college, to Holly Beers (Humanities), assistant professor of religious studies, Rachel Winslow (Social Sciences), assistant professor of history, and Michael Everest (Natural and Behavioral Sciences), professor of chemistry. Lisa DeBoer, professor of art, received the Faculty Researcher of the Year award.
Beers teaches biblical Greek and New Testament courses and has recently published a book on how the vision and poetry of Isaiah inform the Gospel of Luke. “She has a remarkable gift for making the exegesis of biblical texts resonate in the hearts and minds of contemporary students, and she consistently helps students discover in the Scriptures something relevant to their lives,” Sargent said.
Winslow, a 20th century U.S. historian whose research and teaching interests include race, family, gender, childhood, and social policy, coordinated the inaugural semester of Westmont Downtown focused on social entrepreneurship. “Whether she is discussing her own research about international adoption, asking questions about Christian responsibility and justice, or helping students discern their own calling, Rachel brings an irrepressible energy, a sharp analytical eye, and a sense of hopefulness and possibility,” Sargent said.
Everest, a member of the Westmont Faculty Council, has established an impressive laser laboratory at Westmont and guided students in experiments with cavity ring-down spectroscopy. “With his innovative techniques, he is eager to empower the uncertain learner, even as he welcomes ambitious students in his own research and includes them on his publications,” Sargent said.
DeBoer’s forthcoming book, “The Visual Arts in the Worshiping Church,” explores how the arts serve as expressions of the church’s local and universal character. “This book is also a testament to personal perseverance, since she lost so much of her early work on the project in the Tea Fire,” Sargent said.
Beebe mentioned the Class of 2016 theme, “Seek Me and live” (Amos 5:4), in his final charge. “I’ve been so struck by your willingness to engage in education, to delight in service, to figure out how to solve problems, to create new ventures, to take risks, to try ministries, to find new solutions to enduring problems, and to show us the best and the brightest of the human spirit devoted to God and devoted to the betterment of humanity,” he said. “You have been a class that has pursued God in the most abstract, theoretical realms as well as in the nitty-gritty concrete realities of your everyday life. Never give up seeking to understand the purposes of God, and never grow weary of seeking him in every aspect of your life. For it is in this relentless quest to find God that we find the deepest meaning to our existence.”