Commencement Speakers
In honor of a longstanding Moravian College tradition, the graduating class elected a student and a faculty member to speak at the commencement ceremony.
Bachelor's Graduates
Anna Whetstone (Hummelstown, Pa.) will deliver the statement of the Bachelor’s Graduates. Whetstone will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience (with honors) and a minor in Spanish. During her career at Moravian, she was a student advisor, 26 points ambassador, HUB building manager, 2012 homecoming ambassador, recipient of the alumni fellow award (2011-2012), president of Omicron Delta Kappa the leadership honor society, member and former editor historian of Alpha Sigma Alpha, member of Tri-Beta biology honor society, Phi Sigma Iota foreign language honor society, Gamma Sigma Alpha Greek honor society, and former president of both the Campus Community Connection and The Environmental Coalition. After graduation, Whetstone will be working at Johns Hopkins as a clinical research coordinator.
Faculty
Gary Olson, professor of political Science who has taught at Moravian since 1974, has been selected by 2012 graduates to present the Faculty Statement. Olson, an expert in international political economy, labor politics, U.S. foreign policy in the Third World, received his B.A. from Concordia College; M.A. from University of South Dakota; and Ph.D. from University of Colorado. Olson has authored books including How the World Works, The Other Europe, and U.S. Foreign Policy and the Third World Peasant. In 1977, Olson was awarded a Fulbright to Finland; in 1990, he received a Fulbright to Egypt and Jordan, and he received another in 1995 to Mexico. He was also awarded the Malone Fellow to Syria and Kuwait in 1993. He is a recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching at Moravian.
Master's Graduates
From the Comenius Center, M.S. degree candidate Joan Snyder, R.N. (Macungie, Pa.) was selected to deliver the statement of the Master's Graduates. Snyder, a major in nursing, and the nursing administration track, is currently coordinator for clinical quality improvement at St. Luke’s University Health Network. She received her diploma degree in nursing from Allentown Hospital School of Nursing, and Bachelor of Science in nursing from The Pennsylvania State University. Snyder is a certified professional in health care quality, a member of the Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the Pennsylvania Eastern Region of Nurse Leaders, the National Association for Health Care Quality and the Alumni Association of Allentown Hospital School of Nursing. She is also an active hospice volunteer with the VNA of St. Luke’s.
Baccalaureate Speaker
The honored speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Craig D. Atwood, associate professor of Moravian theology and ministry, and director of the Center for Moravian Studies at Moravian Theological Seminary.
Atwood was ordained as a minister in the Moravian Church after graduating from Moravian Seminary in 1987, and he received his Ph.D. in historical theology from Princeton Seminary in 1995. He believes that modern congregations should draw upon the wisdom and insights of generations of Christian thinkers in the great tradition of the faith. In his several books and articles, Attwood has offered new interpretations of Moravian history, especially the radical aspects of Zinzendorf’s theology. He is helping the broader Christian church rediscover the riches of the Moravian theological heritage, including concepts like the Motherhood of the Holy Spirit and the woundedness of the Savior. He has served as chaplain of two Moravian institutions of higher education (Moravian College and Salem College) and taught on the faculty of Salem College and Wake Forest University. He was also Theologian in Residence at Home Moravian Church where he taught the Adult Bible Class, which was broadcast live on local radio. He is overly fond of Monty Python and Eddie Izzard, and his annual reading of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was a tradition at both Salem Academy and Wake Forest University School of Divinity.