As I write this, the class of 2006 is only one week removed from their careers at William Jewell College. 

The spring semester is always one of sadness, satisfaction, and excitement as we watch the seniors move toward the end of one very significant chapter in their lives and anxiously await the start of the next. 

There is sadness because we have all become very attached to these students.  We know them well and they know us well.  We have often helped them deal with the best and worst of times.  We really hate to see them go. 

There is satisfaction because we get to hear them talk about their journey and see them present their research and perform their recitals and play their final games.  We see how they have changed over their time here.  In chapel each spring several seniors reflect on their journey.  I love to hear them talk about where they started and where that spiritual journey has taken them.  I am always grateful, as a result, for the guidance they have received from their faculty colleagues and from each other.  It is humbling to think about what is going on in the lives of the students in our care.  I wish we could share these senior reflections with all of you.  I believe you would be very proud of this generation of the Jewell Family.

There is excitement because of the thrilling next steps that students are about to undertake.  For some, it is graduate school or law school.  For some it is a job and marriage and a family.  For some it is a year off to make decisions and focus on the future.  For every one, it is a major change from the pace of college.

It is our hope that William Jewell College has been a positive factor in their development toward living responsibly in the world under God. 

A year ago, we adopted this promise and we work hard to make it live. 

William Jewell College is a campus of achievement that promises to offer students an outstanding liberal arts education with a focus on cultivating leadership, service and spiritual growth within a community inspired by rigorous intellectual challenges and Christian ideals.

Fulfilling the promise does result in a spring semester of sadness, satisfaction and excitement.  And that is how it should be.

Thank you for all you do to assist us in living up to the promise in the lives of our students.