Commencement looked drastically different than Baptist Bible College or the 65 graduates would have ever imagined just a few months ago. Nonetheless, BBC held its graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 7, 2020, at 10:00 AM, just as it had been scheduled. Rather than hosting the service at the W.E. Dowell Fieldhouse, it was hosted online.
The ceremony was prerecorded at Park Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, May 5, and streamed live on the planned day and time. Graduates were asked to submit photographs of them wearing their cap and gown to be shown after their name was called. There were four graduates from the seminary and 61 graduates from the undergrad program.
In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the BBFI, president Mark Milioni asked Bill Dowell, Jr. to give the commencement address. This year’s class speakers were: Michael Nall (male) and Katie Morton (female). Recipients of this year’s Key Awards were: Blaze Lehrman (male) and McKenzie Harkrider (female). There were also eleven graduate Summa Cum Laude, having a grade point average of 3.90 and above.
Alumni took part in a virtual singing of the school song. At the conclusion of the service, there were recordings from family, friends, faculty, and staff congratulating the graduates.
At the time of this post, there are over 9,000 views of the ceremony on the BBC Facebook page.
Click below to watch the ceremony. Visit the BBC website to read more, including a listing of all graduates, and view a copy of the program.
