From the President

Graceland encourages the development of values — learning, wholeness and community — for the enrichment of lives and the betterment of the world.

Celebrating the accomplishments of these outstanding people makes me cherish the value of a Graceland education.

Higher education is not a factory line where all the products come out looking the same. Students are individuals with different backgrounds, goals, skills and learning styles. A one-size-fits-all program doesn’t produce the quality of recent alumni that you’ll read about here.

While we provide a common foundation of the essentials, Graceland would not be Graceland without the profound respect for the inherent value of each student as an individual. We provide the launching pad, but we must never try to program the destination. The alumni you will read about in this issue are unique, with different visions of themselves and the world they want to create. They are living the values of learning, wholeness and community for the enrichment of lives and the betterment of the world.

Welcome to a window into the world of Graceland, “the center of everywhere.” I hope you enjoy the stories of the alumni featured, and, if you want to meet upcoming graduates, come for a visit. We’ve got hundreds more just like them — but different.