BETHANY – Graduates in the class of 2017 at Bethany College were reminded Saturday how fortunate they are to be Americans, how this country was built, and were urged to stand up for others.

Former majority leader of the U.S. Senate and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, Sen. George J. Mitchell, D- Maine, offered those sentiment during Bethany’s commencement ceremony Saturday afternoon in the Dr. Fred H. Tilock Amphitheatre at the Pennington Quadrangle. Mitchell, whose mother was an immigrant who could neither read nor write, and whose father was a janitor, said anything is possible in the United States.

He stressed the importance of every child receiving an education and how is own education led him to become the man he is today.

“If you believe that every American child regardless of background or family status is entitled to a good education, you must oppose any action that would prevent them from having that opportunity. And if you believe that every American citizen is entitled to equal opportunity and equal justice, you must stand up and speak out against all forms of discrimination and injustice.

“Never forget that in the presence of evil, silence makes you an accomplice. The education that you have received is important, even necessary, but it is not a guarantee of self-worth. It is not a substitute for a life of effort. What you do is important, but how you do it is just as important. If you take pride in what you do, you will excel. If you do not take pride in what you do, you cannot excel,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell also said the United States was a great power before it was an economic and military power. “Power is clearly important. We must be prepared to use it, including military force … the power of America is in our ideals.”

“The more things that you acquire in life, the more evident that it will become to you that real fulfillment in your life will come not from acquiring things, not from leisure or self-indulgence. It will come from striving with all the physical and all the spiritual might for the worthwhile objective led to help others and larger than your self-interest. I hope each of you graduates is fortunate enough to find such an objective in your life,” Mitchell concluded.

Mitchell was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Bethany Collge President Tamara Nichols Rodenberg, and Robert J. McCann, vice chair of the board of trustees.

Olivia Ashley Konopka of Pittsburgh was announced as valedictorian.

Rodenberg praised the accomplishments of the graduates. “This is a day where tradition collides with the future. A rite of passage – a well-deserved and much-deserved recognition. What is in a degree? It is, if you will, your passport. A document that allows you to enter into conversations, positions and research that takes you from one place to another. A degree is a testament to the world that you have changed. You have learned. You have grown, and you are prepared.”

Rodenberg also presented an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree to Larry Grimes, Ph.D., vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, and long-time Bethany employee. During Grimes’ 51-year career at the college, he served as director of church relations, Perry E. and Aleece Gresham Chair in Humanities, Professor of English and Chair of the Department of Literature and Language.