Professors Greene, Gombert offer some ‘Unsolicited Advice’ to the Class of 2024 at annual Maryville College Baccalaureate service
May 3, 2024
It was billed as an afternoon of “Unsolicited Advice,” but the Baccalaureate sermon delivered by two retiring Maryville College professors on Friday was warmly received regardless.
The 2024 Maryville College Baccalaureate service took place at 4 p.m. in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts, and Dr. Carl Gombert, professor of art, and Dr. Jenifer Greene, professor of management, combined efforts “to provide twice the inspiration but NOT twice the length of the traditional meditation,” Greene joked as she opened the sermon.
Members of the Class of 2024, who will take part in the annual Commencement exercise on Saturday, May 4, were the intended audience for said advice, which ran the gamut of both faculty members’ experiences throughout their combined 53 years of service to Maryville College. MC President Dr. Bryan Coker introduced the pair during the service, a traditional affair meant as a more solemn and intimate time of reflection before the pageantry of Commencement.
A dynamic duo of scholarly observation
As the address is typically referred to as a sermon, Greene took the opportunity to deliver one to heart. Noting that the Scripture readings chosen for the service are ones she often turns to for “spiritual support,” Greene then relayed a story of ballerina Suzanne Farrell, who served as both a dancer and a muse for choreographer George Balanchine. Farrell grew frustrated, Green explained, when one particular combination of moves seemed impossible to perform.
“Farrell, in a moment of utter frustration, asked Balanchine exactly what it was she was supposed to use for support in the attempt of this maneuver,” said Greene, who will retire this month after joining the MC faculty in 2002. “Balanchine’s response: ‘Hold on to the air.’ Certainly, Balanchine had no true conviction that the air could offer much support, and he probably never thought of it in any other context.
“However, I think we can all relate to Farrell’s plight as we blithely go through our lives looking to find a toehold somewhere, anywhere, when all the while, God as our Shepherd wishes to be and is our ‘air,’ surrounding us with love and support, if we would only reach out and grasp.”
Yet even when choosing not to seek divine guidance, God is there regardless, Greene explained. Such unceasing and unconditional love is a source of strength in difficult times, and a reminder that such love is manifested in more earthly ways was evident among those attending Baccalaureate, she added.
“You are surrounded by those who love and support you,” she said. “Never be afraid to reach out to them in the midst of challenges or celebrations as they will often serve as God’s angels on earth, for God loves you and will always be with you.”
Piggybacking off of Greene’s remarks, Gombert — who will also retire after beginning his MC teaching career in 1993 — echoed the congratulations and well-wishes to the Class of 2024, urging its members to take a moment to reflect on all of the preceding times in their lives when they had been the recipients of “unsolicited advice.”
“I … know there are certain times in one’s life when one receives lots of unsolicited advice, things like choosing a job, deciding whether or not to have children, moving away, buying a house, and so on,” Gombert said. “And if you think back to four years ago, you might recall getting all kinds of advice about where to go and where not to go to college, what majors to pursue and what majors to avoid, what classes to take, all kinds of other advice, some of which was wise or helpful, and some of which was not.
“Like it or not, this is one of those times. In fact, it might actually be that nature itself requires old folks like us to offer advice at times like these.”
While Gombert’s guidance included plenty of practical counsel — “wear sensible footwear and get adequate sleep,” for example — but also a good bit of challenging advice that reflected the College’s liberal arts approach to education: never cease to ask deeper questions, and always strive to remain teachable. Ecclesiastes 5:18 and 7:15-17 were two verses read earlier in the ceremony by Kelton Bloxham ’24, past president of the Student Government Association, and the book itself, Gombert said, “offers a pretty solid example of virtue ethics.”
“By reminding us to be neither overly wicked or overly righteous, the writer counsels us to find a middle way, to avoid extremes, and to find balance, and this, too, is very good advice,” he added. “In a similar vein, the other verse I chose for today reminds us that we do not know how much time we have. What I love about this verse is the encouragement to enjoy whatever time we do have. It tells us that life is a glorious banquet on a sunny afternoon; that life is full of gifts, and that it is ‘good and comely’ to enjoy them.
“It teaches us to cultivate and maintain a sense of gratitude. Of course, life isn’t an unending string of good times, delicious treats and amusing diversions, but this verse reminds us to pay attention and to look for them, and more importantly, it gives us permission to enjoy them. And that is very good advice indeed.”
Wright: It’s all about community
Senior class President Mackenzie Wright was also one of the speakers at the Maryville College Baccalaureate service, offering the service’s traditional Senior Remarks that touched on the profound difference Commencement 2024 will be from the members’ high school graduation ceremonies, which took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Having been the most recent class to start college with no resources for connection and being forced to distance ourselves from each other, this class really found a way to come together,” Wright said. “And although we have such an adventure ahead of us, for the next few moments, we are still students. So, before we leave, I want to give all of us together, for one of the last times, a few pieces of advice from the lessons that Maryville has taught me.”
Remain open-minded. Remember that everything happens for a reason. Don’t lose touch with one another. Each homily was punctuated by Wright’s personal experiences, from her initial inclination to choose another school over Maryville College to the losses she endured running for student government seats before winning to the sense of community fostered by the shared experiences of four years of transformation.
“Without the community that is Maryville College, being a Scot would not mean what it does, and leaving would not be as hard as it is right now,” she said.
Wright, a Psychology (counseling track) major from Franklin, Tennessee, is one of 235 members of the senior class who will receive diplomas during the following day’s Commencement ceremony, which will take place on Humphreys Court, located between Fayerweather and Anderson Halls on the MC campus. In addition to remarks by Wright and Scripture readings by Bloxham, the Baccalaureate service included contributions from Amelia Shelton ’24, a Religion major and Isaac Anderson Scholar from Lenoir City, Tennessee, who read two verses from Psalms before Coker introduced members of the Maryville College Board of Directors. Chair Mike Davis was joined on stage by Jane Carl, Dr. Peggy Cowan, Steve Diggs ’88, Diane Humphreys-Barlow ’70, Wayne Kramer ’74, Judge Neal McBrayer ’86, Dr. Ken Bell and Cate Biggs.
Kyler Long ’24, a Mathematics major from Harmony, North Carolina and a servant leadership member of the Maryville College chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, read the Prayer of Thanksgiving and The Lord’s Prayer as the service came to a close, and two members of the Maryville College Concert Choir — which provided music for the ceremony — were featured soloists: Connor Goins ’24, a Theatre Studies major from Cleveland, Tennessee, and Gavin Lester ’24, a Music (Vocal) Education major with licensure from Maryville. Interim Campus Minister Jamie Webster provided both the Opening Prayer and the Benediction, and Dr. Traci Haydu, professor of exercise science and chair of the Division of Health Sciences and Outdoor Studies, served as the macebearer.
