Kuyper Celebrates Commencement
“How are you feeling in your body and spirit?” Daniel Przybylski asked the Kuyper College Class of 2026, inviting them to close their eyes for a moment of reflection.
Przybylski, who served as this year’s Commencement speaker, addressed graduates and their families gathered in the Boonstra Fitness Center on April 24 for Kuyper’s 87th Commencement. He noted that encouraging this kind of reflective pause is just one of the many ways Kuyper prepared him for a life of service.
As a Senior Institutional Chaplain with the Michigan Department of Corrections, the ability to pause and measure his internal state helps him stay connected to his own moral compass and the God who guides it, Przybylski continued.
“In other words, through a biblical teaching and worldview lens, Kuyper has taught me to get up every day and try to do the right thing,” he said.
Following God’s direction on this journey helps us shine the light of Christ in a world that desperately needs it, Przybylski emphasized, encouraging the Class of 2026 to continue on this path in their post-graduation lives.
“Tonight, celebrate and be proud of what you have accomplished, but tomorrow and in the days, months and years ahead, lead a life of ministry with integrity, and model the fruits of the Spirit well,” he said.
These themes were familiar to the Kuyper community, which spent the 2025–2026 academic year focused on the theme “Seek First” — and they permeated a Commencement Day that created many lasting memories.
The day’s events began with students gathering midmorning in the Kuyper gymnasium for Commencement practice, rehearsing the look and feel of the ceremony. Next up was the Commencement luncheon, which included remarks by Kuyper President Patricia Harris.
A few hours later, Harris opened her final Commencement ceremony as president with a welcome message to all those gathered for the auspicious occasion.
“This afternoon, we are celebrating how God has been at work in and through the lives of our graduates, and how He is going to lead them forward in their different callings,” she said.
One of those graduates is Kaeden Costen, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Ministry Leadership and delivered a special message from the Class of 2026. Considering the great sacrifice Christ made on our behalf, he urged his classmates to remember that we are called to surrender our lives to Him in response.
“As we leave this place, the question is not ‘What do I do next?’ but ‘Who am I living for?'” he said.
After receiving their diplomas, the Class of 2026 heard similar words of commissioning from President Harris, who closed with a charge that captured the spirit of the day.
“May you go and shine brightly and boldly into every square inch of God’s world,” she said with a wide smile. “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly as you serve and love God and your neighbor. Congratulations!”
