by Barry McNamara / Photos by Kent Kriegshauser
In the early days of her presidency of Monmouth College, Patricia Draves provided a directional compass for the school through the recognition of five foundational pillars.
This year’s Commencement speaker, 1989 Monmouth graduate Brad Nahrstadt, shared a similar handful of advice, offering “five life lessons” to his alma mater’s Class of 2026, which numbered 178 students.
The college’s 169th Commencement Exercises were held on Wallace Hall Plaza on a humid, 80-degree day under mostly sunny skies, with a noticeable breeze ruffling the flags on the decorated platform.
Nahrstadt, a standout student at Monmouth who went on to become a highly accomplished lawyer and author and national president of his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, offered the following five pillars: when opportunity knocks, open the door; do not be afraid to fail; find yourself a mentor or series of mentors and don’t let them go; invest in yourself – you are your greatest asset; and always maintain your integrity.
To his first point, Nahrstadt said, “Experience is not a prerequisite of opportunity, it is a consequence of it.” To his second, he said, “Failure is a natural consequence of trying. It is also a major part of success.”
One of Nahrstadt’s many interests is presidential history, and it’s only natural that he’s drawn to Abraham Lincoln who, like Nahrstadt, was an Illinois attorney. Nahrstadt listed Lincoln’s many failed election attempts – a road that was paved with failure – before becoming, arguably, our nation’s greatest president.
To his latter pillar of integrity, Nahrstadt cited a Bart Giamatti quote, “You must know that idealism is not a paralyzing but a liberating force,” and also told the graduates, “Know what you value. Your value is the sum of your values. Think carefully, act ethically and act honestly these are small acts, but accumulated over a lifetime, they are enormous.”
As he closed his speech and commented on Monmouth being a “magical place,” Nahrstadt became a little choked up, before closing with, “Today, like every day, it’s a great day to be a Scot.”
Draves followed Nahrstadt to the podium, noting, “As you can see, this place stays with you for life.”
Earlier, Monmouth’s Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy, Turner Plumer ’26, addressed his classmates. He drew on a key idea expressed by Todd Shapiro, chancellor of the Lincoln Academy.
“He told us the most important word we will ever learn is a three-letter one,” said Plumer. “It’s ‘why.’ That is our way to continue to learn, to never stop exploring, to find our ‘why.'”
To help illustrate that point, Plumer remembered wondering why he had to take a professional ethics course that seemed to be short on the math and physics to which the engineering major was accustomed. But the course turned out to be “one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken,” he said. “We were challenged to think about complex dilemmas and difficult ideas. I realized that’s why I had to take an ethics class.”
The day before, during a Baccalaureate sermon titled “Keep On Keeping On,” the Rev. Dr. Kathleen Fannin, Monmouth’s former chaplain, referenced Hebrews 12:1 as she spoke to the Class of 2026.
“Take what you have learned here and run you race well,” she said. “You are never alone.”
Fannin shared the story of three young Christmas carolers at her door, their lyric sheets smudged by rain, who mistakenly sang, “The Savior resigns,” rather than reigns.
“What would life be like if God quit?” Fannin asked. “Fortunately, God doesn’t work that way. God’s love shall endure forever.”
As the Chorale sang “A Flame of White and Crimson” to close Baccalaureate, most of the members were in red gowns, but the graduating seniors were in their black Commencement robes. One of them, Hannah McGhee, was clearly emotional as she sang on the Dahl Chapel stage for the final time.
“I think singing ‘Flame’ has been such a staple for us,” she said Sunday as she stood on the Broadway sidewalk a few minutes before noon, waiting to process. “It was just knowing I was singing it for the final time with this group,” which she then did moments later for the final, final time as a student during the Commencement ceremony. “The next time I sing it after today, I’ll be an alum. I’m definitely going to miss this place.”
“There’s a lot of nostalgia today,” agreed Izzy McDermott, who was standing next to McGhee as the carillon played in the background. “It’s the last time hearing these bells. Every time I look at my friend (Nicole Fitch), she’s crying. We’ve all changed a lot in a good way over these four years.”
Ninety minutes later, Dean of Students Karen Ogorzalek made things official for the Class of 2026, instructing, “If the wind hasn’t done it already for you, please move your tassels from right to left.”
The Class of 2026 then recessed back toward Broadway, this time as graduates, greeted by a line of faculty members who gave them hugs, high fives, handshakes and fist bumps before they completed the line and headed off for much more of the same with their gathered family members – those who Plumer said were “why” he and his classmates got to walk across the stage. And there were even more tears for McGhee, among several others, as they officially closed what had been such a meaningful chapter in their lives. But, as Nahrstadt had reminded them just a few minutes earlier, the day is called Commencement – “It is not the end of something – it is just the beginning.”
Plumer was one of Monmouth’s 21 summa cum laude graduates, receiving a bachelor of science degree. The others in that category were Carina Engst, Ella Goodrich and Thomas Henson. Graduates who earned summa cum laude honors and a bachelor of arts degree were Isaac Anderson, Amelia Bennett, Payton Crims, Parker Davis, Bronte de Zwart, Dean Duncan, John Ross Hess, Allie Hoy, Jason Huber, Ryan Phillips, Evan Privett, Averi Rangel, Alana Robertson, Cameron Shook, Cally Tate, Taylor Whitaker and Dawsyn Wilson.
