Washington Adventist University Celebrates 111th Commencement Weekend

TAKOMA PARK, Md. — Washington Adventist University (WAU) marked its 111th commencement weekend in May 2026 with three consecutive services, a Consecration Service, a Baccalaureate Service, and a Commencement Ceremony each underscoring the university’s conviction that education is preparation not only for a career, but for a calling. The Class of 2026, whose theme was Dedication and whose motto read “Our Dedication Is the Foundation of Our Service,” gathered with faculty, staff, families, church leaders, and civic officials across a weekend filled with worship, challenge, and celebration.

Consecration Service: A Moment of Dedication and Reflection

The weekend opened with an evening Consecration Service on Friday May 1, that WAU President Dr. Weymouth Spence described as “not simply another ceremony” but “a pause, a moment of reflection, a time of dedication, a time of gratitude, and above all, a time of consecration.” Speaking on behalf of the administration, faculty, and staff, Dr. Spence welcomed graduates, families, and community members to a service he said stood “at the heart of our commencement weekend.”

The evening’s speaker was Dean Timothy Nelson, widely recognized by the campus community for his pastoral presence and personal investment in students’ lives. Introduced affectionately by class treasurer Zachary Lowe as “a light on this campus,” Dean Nelson grounded his message in Ephesians 2:10, reminding graduates that they are “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” He urged the class not to waste energy on the future or the past but to remain anchored in the present moment with God, offering a personal reflection: “Do not waste time on time that you are not in. Find me in the time that you have, and stay with me there.”

A highlight of the service was a communal Litany of Consecration, a responsive reading in which graduates, faculty, staff, parents, and the full congregation each took a part. Graduates pledged: “With our very gifts and abilities, we accept the challenge and present ourselves for consecration to you for active service to humanity.”

Baccalaureate Service: “Dedicate Yourself for Greater Heights”

On the Sabbath morning, May 2, WAU’s 111th Baccalaureate Service was held at the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church in Takoma Park, a congregation that has long partnered with the university in supporting Adventist education within the Columbia Union. Pastor Barrientos welcomed guests warmly, noting that the gathering was an opportunity to “thank God for how good he has treated you in moments where you felt like you couldn’t make it.” Dr. Marcellus Robinson, Chairman of the WAU Board of Trustees and President of the Columbia Union Conference, was recognized among honored guests.

The baccalaureate address was delivered by Emmanuel Asiedu, Treasurer of the Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, adjunct faculty member at WAU and Towson University, and ordained minister of the gospel. Speaking on the theme “Dedicate Yourself for Greater Heights,” Asiedu drew on the class motto and offered three anchoring charges to the graduates. First, he called them to cultivate a “heart of remembrance” — to recall how God had led them to this point, just as David moved from shepherding sheep to inhabiting the house of cedar. Second, he challenged them to “partner with the Lord,” committing their plans to God as prescribed in Proverbs 16:3. Third, he urged them to “look up to the hills” in moments of challenge, trusting that their help would come from “the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Asiedu wove a personal story of academic competition from his boyhood in Ghana, where his grandmother redirected his focus from beating classmates to meeting God’s standard for his own life. “Your standard is not human attainment,” he told the graduates. “Your standard is about what Almighty God can do with you and through you.” He concluded by quoting Ellen G. White’s book Education: “What God is planning for you is higher than what any human being can perceive.”

Commencement Ceremony: Ready for the Workplace and Eternity

The formal 111th Commencement Ceremony opened with a processional on the WAU campus, followed by a prayer of invocation acknowledging that the graduates’ achievements represented “the successes of a broader community.” Dr. Spence welcomed Board Chair Robinson, Takoma Park Mayor Talisha Searcy, Provost Dr. Cheryl Kisunzu, and members of the President’s cabinet to the platform. Special greetings were also extended to Angela Franco, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, and to several community guests.

Franco offered the first guest remarks, connecting the class motto to a vision of faith-driven leadership. “Dedication is what prepares you to serve your families, your communities, your professions and our world,” she said. Board Chair Robinson followed with encouragement rooted in WAU’s founding vision: that the same call to prepare young men and women for lives of service that inaugurated the institution in 1904 is now embodied in the Class of 2026. “You are equipped, strengthened, and qualified by the power of God,” Robinson declared. “Walk humbly and boldly before God and men.”

Three student addresses offered candid, personal reflections on the journey through WAU. Class President Jonathan Brooks, introduced as the first biochemistry graduate since the revival of that program, shared that his willingness to serve in leadership grew from a prayer he had offered as an eight-year-old boy asking God for wisdom. “Do not dictate how your life should have started by watching people who are already at the midpoint of theirs,” he told his classmates. A graduate student representative from the School of Graduate and Professional Studies spoke on the theme of “discovery,” urging the class to pursue not only achievement but self-knowledge. “Your degree didn’t just prepare you for a career,” he said. “It introduced you to who you truly are.” Honors College President and graduating senior delivered the Honors address, drawing on Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech to charge classmates to enter difficult spaces with wisdom, humility, and compassion rather than standing safely on the sidelines of their calling.

Mayor Talisha Searcy delivered the commencement address, centering her remarks on the class’s chosen scripture, Colossians 3:23–24. She organized her charge around three “P” s: Productivity— working with a spirit of excellence in all things regardless of audience; Purpose— aligning with one’s God-given calling so that “no person can cancel what God has ordained”; and Perseverance— standing firm through hardship, continuing to show up even when results take time. Drawing on her own career path from intern with two master’s degrees to the city’s first African American mayor, she told the graduates: “May your character speak louder than your credentials.”

Honorary Degrees, Awards, and Retirements

Provost Kisunzu presented honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters to three recipients whose service and community impact reflect WAU’s gateway-to-service mission. Shashi Chopra, entrepreneur and founder of the Gandhi Global Family USA and the Reach for the Stars Scholarship Program, received the first honorary degree. Her husband Ravi Chopra, restaurateur and hotelier, received the President’s Gateway to Service Award in the same ceremony. Ananda Pujari, a restaurateur who emigrated from India in 1995 and has provided employment, mentorship, and community support through his hospitality enterprises, received the second honorary doctorate. As a gesture of generosity, Ms. Chopra provided gift bags for all graduates that included gift cards to her downtown restaurants.

A third honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters was conferred upon Patrick Farley, WAU’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, a 1981 alumnus of what was then known as Columbia Union College. Dr. Kisunzu praised Farley’s decades of service, his quiet generosity in establishing scholarship funds from personal reserves to assist students facing financial clearance challenges, and his commitment as a faculty member to continuously update his course materials to meet market needs. Farley responded with characteristic warmth, acknowledging lessons learned from colleagues, students, and his wife Kathryn.

The ceremony also honored two distinguished retirements. Dr. Tijuana Griffin, Director of the Edith T. James Department of Nursing, was recognized for her leadership in securing full national accreditation, sustained state approval from Maryland, and a consistent 100% NCLEX pass rate for nursing graduates. Provost Kisunzu herself was celebrated for 13 years of service to WAU, during which she guided the university through key institutional accreditations and the expansion of academic programs across multiple disciplines. Dr. Spence noted that Dr. Kisunzu departs with a distinction “few in academia can claim”: being “the only known singing provost in the world.”

 

President’s Charge and Institutional Vision

In his remarks, Dr. Spence situated the ceremony within WAU’s 122nd year of operation, noting that the university, founded in 1904 as the Washington Training College, now counts more than 15,000 alumni who have “left through the Gateway of Service.” He reminded graduates that WAU’s current strategic plan, Vision 2030: Distinctive Excellence in Student Success, is actively guiding campus growth, including a redevelopment of the university’s 19-acre Takoma Park campus in partnership with city leadership.

His charge to graduates drew on scripture, literary voices, and personal mentors. Among his counsel: “Do not be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the promises of God”; “Your degree is a tool, not a destination. Use it”; and “Build your life with Christ, not just a resume.” He concluded: “You can do all things through a God who strengthens you. You are great, but God is greater.”

Throughout the weekend, the university repeatedly reaffirmed its identity as “The Gateway to Service,” emphasizing its mission of developing graduates who are spiritually grounded, professionally prepared and committed to transforming their communities through Christ-centered service.

As the Class of 2026 departed WAU to begin the next chapter of their journeys, the commencement weekend served as both a celebration of achievement and a reminder of the responsibility graduates now carry to serve the world with faith, excellence and compassion.

For the Class of 2026, commencement marked not simply an ending, but the beginning of a new season of purpose and service.