Greeted by the sounds of horns, whistles, cowbells, excited shouts and yes, even a harmonica, the more than 400 graduates of the Class of 2002 proudly received their degrees during Wittenberg’s 157th Commencement exercises, May 18. 

Despite the threat of rain and a slight chill in the air, 2,500 friends and family members attended the annual ceremony in Commencement Hollow.

Bill Press, former co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire,” author of Spin This, as well as a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and an award-winning radio talk show host, presented the keynote address and encouraged the graduates to “Live boldly, dream boldly, love boldly, and whatever you do, don’t do it halfway.”

He also advised them to “rush into life with your hearts on fire. We’re counting on you, God bless America.”

Press received an honorary doctorate of humane letters during the ceremony as did Michael John Root, a professor of theology at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and a member of the Board of the ELCA Division for Ministry. Root also served on the drafting teams that produced the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and Call to Common Mission, which established full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church.