Convocation Speech Fall 2015 v1
Unless otherwise noted, these speeches and open letters were written for the Dean of Students of Biola University between 2011-2016.
[Portions of this work were inspired by the Beloit College Mindset List]
President Corey, before you today are the women and men of the Fall 2015 incoming class…
And since it’s Convocation, it’s time for my annual look back at what the world was like the year these students were born.
Most of this year’s freshmen were born in 1997. What was the world like in 1997?
In 1997, 12 years after he was fired from his own company, Steve Jobs returned to run Apple. What was the world’s most valuable company in 1997? Microsoft. In 1997, the Toyota Prius, the first hybrid vehicle to go into full production, was unveiled in Japan. Gas, at the time, by the way, was $1.22 a gallon.
Tiger Woods at 21 became the youngest golfer ever to win the Masters. Green Bay won the Super Bowl, the Bulls won another NBA title, and the 1997 World Series went to… the Florida Marlins?
The US spacecraft “Mars Pathfinder” began on-the-ground exploration of Mars. In Scotland, scientists announced that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned.
President Bill Clinton was inaugurated for his second term. We lost Mother Theresa and Princess Diana within weeks of each other. Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule.
In 1997, the first of a quite famous series of books was published… you may have heard of it: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.”
1997 was an odd but quite entertaining year for movies:
Titanic [the most expensive film of all time, at that time]
Jurassic Park: Lost World
Men in Black
Good Will Hunting
L.A. Confidential
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Austin Powers
Chasing Amy
Disney’s Hercules
Starship Troopers
but it was The English Patient that swept the Academy Awards.
On TV (come on, you remember TV), you might have watched: Law & Order, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, Seinfeld, or animation like The Simpsons or King of the Hill or South Park…but you were probably also watching that new show…you know, Teletubbies.
Your iPod (yes, I said iPod!) was probably full of Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Spice Girls, Dave Matthews Band, Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt, Sheryl Crow, Backstreet Boys, LL Cool J, Babyface, LeeAnn Rimes, Vince Gill… and DC Talk.
And 1997 saw a big change in video gaming; Sega discontinued the “Genesis” console (a decision that pretty much tanked their company), but your Nintendo 64 or Sony Playstation could get all excited about Final Fantasy 7, Castlevania-Symphony of the Night, Grand Theft Auto, Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing, StarFox 64, and Yoshi’s Story.
Now, I’ve been here even longer than that…since 1994. I mean, that’s 3 years before Diddy Kong Racing!
And every year, as Dean of Students, I get to give this speech at Convocation, and it’s tempting to say pretty much the same thing every year, because there’s a lot of things that new students, year-in-and year-out, generally have in common; similar anticipations, anxieties, needs, questions…
But what I said to last year’s new students, I can’t in good conscience say to you, because I truly believe that you are different, and your world is different. Each new group of students leaves a different mark on the history of Biola…
And you, the incoming class of 2015…you will make Biola a different place than it has been before. More of you are veterans, more of you are first-generation college students, more of you are transfers. And you will leave your own unique mark, alongside the marks of those who came before you.
I often wish you could meet them; those who came before… the 65,000 former students who in years past sat in those chairs, walked these sidewalks… left their mark. Maybe some of them were your sisters and brothers, your parents, friends, family. We have alumni in the U.S. Senate and in the House of Parliament in Canada, in the capitol in Sacramento, and in the boardrooms of Manhattan and Silicon Valley. We have alumni directing major motion pictures, writing best-selling books and taking award-winning photographs, performing in symphonies, singing at the Met, and winning Grammy awards. They are serving and leading in world-changing missions and ministry and service organizations, playing professional sports, and preaching in churches across the world. There is scarcely a school district or major hospital in California that doesn’t have a Biola grad in it.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Biola is what it is because of those former students. And now it’s your turn. This is your place now. What mark will you leave?
And, I think it’s important to say: Years ago, those former students, when they sat in those chairs, at their first Convocation… they didn’t know what God had in store for them, either. They didn’t know if they had it in them. But God was faithful then, and God is faithful still. So I can say with some confidence: you’re going to be okay.
So, President Corey, I present to you the incoming class for Fall 2015, for your welcome and your blessing. They’re ready to go.
