HOLLAND, Mich. — Hope College held its commencement ceremony for the class of 2022 on Sunday, May 8. The ceremony featured 710 graduating seniors.
The ceremony was held at the Ray and Sue Smith Stadium. This year’s commencement speaker was Dr. Marcus Fila. Fila is an associate professor of management at the college. He was chosen to be this year’s featured speaker at the commencement by the graduating seniors.
During the ceremony, it was also revealed that Dr. Fila had been awarded the Hope Outstanding Professor Educator (H.O.P.E.) Award. The award is given to professors that the graduating class feels epitomizes the qualities of an educator at Hope College.
The graduation ceremony also included the awarding of honorary degrees. One was given to Dr. Robert Donia, who received an honorary Doctor of Law degree for his many years of public service in defense of human rights and work toward international justice. Dr. Richard Frost was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. Frost is the vice president of student development and dean of students at Hope College. He is retiring at the end of the school year after working for the college for 33 years.
During Dr. Fila’s speech, he talked about focusing on long-term goals. “Playing the long games means paying a small price today to make tomorrow easier, for you, for the people and society around you,” he said. “You compound results, but this time in a positive way.”