Erskine College & Seminary Erskine College & Seminary
More than 150 college and seminary graduates were recognized at a cer- emony under the towers of the Erskine Building May 10, with U.S. Rep. Sheri Biggs serving as Erskine’s commencement speaker. “You are stepping into a world that desperately needs light, integrity, and hope,” Biggs told the students. “You are not just graduating into a career. You are stepping into a calling.”
of Representatives, Biggs holds a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministries from Carolina Bible College and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Samford University. health nurse practitioner and a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. She worked as an intensive care unit nurse and a nursing home adminis- combat support missions in Afghanistan. Biggs said she wanted to share her story with the graduates, not because she considers it extraordinary, but because it is “a testimony to what God can do and to what he can do with a willing heart.” A native of rural Mississippi, Biggs was not born into privilege. “I worked two or three jobs at a time for most of my life,” she said. “I’ve always main- tained a deep sense of duty and desire to serve, which drew me into nursing.” Her path into the Air National Guard began when she was a nurse serv- ing as an administrator in a facility for veterans. “Graduates, listen, because sometimes, God just whispers to you,” she said. “A lot of times we wait for a big clap of thunder or something just to fall in our lap, and I can tell you, it doesn’t happen like that.” While hosting a program for veterans at the facility, Biggs mentioned to the guest speaker her sense of regret that she had never considered military service. The speaker told her that the age cap for medical service personnel was higher than for other enlistees.
“From that moment on, I’m not
sure if I was running from some- thing or running to it,” Biggs said, “but after careful consideration and prayer, God whispered to me and made it very clear to push through that door.”
Making her way “through that
door” required a lot of effort, but she was determined. At the age of 40, Biggs found herself on a run- ning course, seeking to meet the military’s physical requirements. She could hear the other candi- dates, most of them half her age, running behind her. “All that did was make me go faster,” she said. “I would rather have died on that course than to let any one of them pass me.”
Based on her experience, Biggs issued a challenge to the graduates. “Be someone known for your drive, your grit, and your work ethic, and it will take you very far,” she said. The speaker encouraged the Class of 2025 to “go forward bold- ly” with the assurance that they can trust God with the future. “Take the lessons you’ve learned here—in
Seminary graduates pose in Bowie Chapel with members of the seminary faculty.
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