Standing in the Student Union, I could hear laughter, cheers, and prayer coming from the graduate staging area. It was Saturday morning, and Manna University’s 23rd Commencement ceremony would begin shortly. Commencement is always a poignant moment at a college or university, and that sentiment certainly holds true at Manna University.
But a Christian college graduation is about more than celebrating academic achievement.
At Manna University, commencement serves as both commissioning and a launch. Before tassels are turned, graduates are reminded that the education they have received was never meant to remain confined to a classroom, a discussion board, or a textbook. They are challenged to take what they have learned and carry it into churches, classrooms, retail spaces, counseling offices, mission fields, and duty stations around the world.
Manna University does not simply seek to educate students. We seek to equip and empower them.
Knowledge carries little weight if it remains unused. Its true value is found when it is shared, lived out, and used to serve others well. That message shaped this year’s commencement ceremony and served as a reminder to the graduating class that their degrees are not simply accomplishments to frame on a wall, but tools to help them walk faithfully in their calling.
In many faith traditions, there are defining faith-based milestones: salvation, baptism, confirmation, and communion. These moments mark spiritual growth and commitment. In many ways, commencement at Manna University stands as another milestone—one that celebrates not only what students have completed, but what they are now being sent out to do.
As part of this university commencement recap, what stands out most is not merely the ceremony itself, but the atmosphere surrounding it. Families celebrated. Faculty prayed over graduates. Friends who had previously only known one another through online classes embraced in person. The entire weekend reflected something deeper than academic success alone.
By the time graduates finally turned their tassels, the laughter, cheers, and prayer from earlier that morning carried a little more meaning.
The ceremony had ended. The calling had not.
Jaemi Serrano, Registrar