On Friday, May 19th, 2023, the graduates from Regents Academy of Nacogdoches heard an unusual graduation charge. Addressing the 17th graduating class from Regents Academy, Rich Halloran, the head of school at Providence Classical School in Spring, TX, issued a charge crafted from the wisdom literature of Ecclesiastes. He said, "Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. When was the last time you heard that advice?!" But he immediately tempered it with the rest of that passage: "Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things" (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
Why that advice?
Well, that advice reflects a central piece of what distinguishes Regents Academy and their goals for graduates. Regents offers not merely private education, but "decidedly Christian and distinctively classical education," according to the school's mission statement. Do they want to turn out long-faced religious automatons? Certainly not. Do they want to turn out vivacious graduates who flourish and enjoy life? Absolutely! But they also want to turn out graduates who have a sober view of eternal realities. Andrew Kern, a voice in support of classical education, offers this helpful definition of classical education: "The cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on the true, the good, and the beautiful so that in Christ the student is better able to know God, to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever." That reveals the heart of the school's leadership as they pray over the graduates.
In addition to hearing Mr. Halloran's charge, every attendee got to hear the delightful addresses from salutatorian Katelyn Anderson and valedictorian Susannah Vermillion. As a fun case-in-point that graduates from this program have both a sense of the expansive fun and the sobering realities of life, it stands to mention that one quoted Dr. Seuss while the other drew her analogies from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.
The Conferring of the Diplomas
Dr. Mark Sowell handed out all the diplomas, except for one. Board member Christie Middlebrook Rasberry had a special moment to confer the diploma to her nephew, graduate Quint Middlebrook.
To conclude the ceremony, Pastor Randy Booth, grandfather of graduate Gabe Shipp, offered the closing prayer, leading students and parents alike to commit their futures to the Lord.
As part of the recessional, the graduates continued the Regents tradition of
hugging each faculty member, showing honor and thankfulness to the men and women who invested their time, energy, and talent to educate these students.
Best wishes to these precious graduates!
May you all lead flourishing lives, aware of eternal realities regarding what is Good, True, and Beautiful.
