Ali Shams (left) and Misael Salmon watch and wait for fellow graduates after Trinity Lutheran College’s final commencement ceremony Saturday.

Ali Shams (left) and Misael Salmon watch and wait for fellow graduates after Trinity Lutheran College’s final commencement ceremony Saturday.

Final Trinity Lutheran grads walk as Everett college closes

EVERETT — Trinity Lutheran College said goodbye to the class of 2016 on Saturday.

It was the last class to graduate from the small school, which has now closed its doors.

A day-long series of events took on the tone of both a celebration and a wake as the school marked its 72 years of history.

The commencement ceremony in the Everett Civic Auditorium was packed, with family, friends, school staff and alumni. They vastly outnumbered the 75 graduates sitting in front.

“It’s really pretty miraculous,” said Jim Lindus, the school’s executive director. “The community stayed together, the students stayed with us.”

The school announced in January it was shutting down, unable to fulfill its financial obligations. Lindus, a pastor on Whidbey Island, was tapped to lead and wind down the school after Executive Director John Reed resigned.

The school had 166 students enrolled for the spring semester, including some juniors who accelerated their programs or set up internships so they could graduate this spring, Lindus said.

In delivering the commencement address, Bruce Grigsby, professor emeritus of biblical studies, called out 15 students by name who represented the best of what the school had to offer.

“For me to have you in my class is the heart of this experiment, Trinity Lutheran College,” Grigsby said.

“The reason you are here is to fulfill what you were designed for: to think,” he said.

He drew an analogy of a toaster — an object created for one purpose — to exhort the students to continue learning.

“My hope is that you go on toasting, you go on thinking,” Grigsby said.

Over the course of the year, the school set up credit transfer agreements for its remaining students with other schools, including St. Martin’s University, Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle Pacific University, Northwest University and California Lutheran University.

Only a few students haven’t found a place yet, Lindus said.

The faculty stayed on to complete the year, although some staff members left when they found other work. “We’ve encouraged that,” Lindus said.

In February, a group of students launched a fundraiser, trying to keep the school open. Later, when it became clear they would not get anywhere near their $1.5 million target, they changed the focus to helping support the school in its final months.

“It was exactly what you’d expect from a bunch of young, idealistic students,” Lindus said.

Bello Dondja, a senior who led the fundraiser, said students managed to raise only about $5,000, which was donated to the school.

“They were going to try and use it wherever it may be needed ‘til the year is through,” Dondja said.

Dondja said he was experiencing a mix of emotions in the final days of the school.

“I’m joyful that I’ve been able to spend four years here and walk,” he said. “At the same time, this place won’t be here any longer.”

Dondja said he’s planning to attend graduate school in the fall, studying international business in the United Kingdom, where he’s been accepted at three schools.

In leading the group in prayer, the Rev. Erik Samuelson, the campus pastor, called on everyone to try to gather close to “lay hands” on the graduates or someone else nearby.

“The reality of our life is we’re connected to one another,” Samuelson said.

At a reception in the school’s commons, students hugged friends, family members, faculty and each other, posing for pictures.

“I’m OK, but now I have to prepare for the next step of the journey,” said Ifiokobong Okon Ekpo, who graduated summa cum laude with a degree in business. He plans to attend graduate school at Hult International School of Business in London in the fall.

“It’s like a dream. It feels real good, but bittersweet,” said Makaela Hayward, who double-majored in psychology and children, youth and family studies. She plans to study for a master’s degree in mental health counseling at Oklahoma State University in the fall.

“This is a big day, for sure,” said Amy Lynne Stamatiou, another family studies graduate. “It’s incredibly sad, but it went out on a positive note.”

Stamatiou, who is 36, was one of several students of “non-traditional” age who found a home at the school.

Pamela Karas, 72, was another. She learned about the school from her church in Mukilteo, and was able to transfer credits from her earlier education and finally earn her degree in biblical studies this year.

“It’s just surreal right now,” Karas said. She plans to next study for a master’s in divinity, she hopes at the Luther Seminary in Minnesota via distance learning.

“It would be hard to commute,” Karas said.

After the school’s closure, the Trinity Education Foundation will take over the ownership of any assets, paying out scholarships and other business-related obligations of the school. It will maintain accreditation through May 2017 to accommodate any students still wrapping up projects or internships outside the classroom, Lindus said.

Saturday ended with a closing celebration and worship service, which for one last time brought together students and many alumni who remember the school’s previous incarnation as the Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle and Issaquah.

Jean Wahlstrom a former professor and academic dean, spoke of how many of the Lutheran schools evolved over the course of the 20th century.

“Most movements have a lifespan off about 60 years, three generations,” Wahlstrom said. “Afterward, they either die out, get absorbed into another body or morph into something else entirely.”

The school “made it to 72, thanks be to God,” Wahlstrom said.

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.