Vanguard University Commencement 2024: Well Done!

Vanguard University celebrated its 102^nd commencement on May 2, 2024. Family and friends of the 542 bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates filled the main sanctuary at Mariners Church in Irvine, celebrating the completion of an academic journey.

“I had the privilege of shaking the hands of 542 testimonies to the transformational power to a Vanguard education,” said Michael Beals, PhD, president of Vanguard University. “For a majority of the undergraduates, this was their first in-person graduation ceremony. The atmosphere of enthusiasm, accomplishment, and praise was clearly evident to all.”

Bryan Hardwick celebrated the endurance of his son as well as the rest of the Class of 2024. “It was an incredible celebration that honored God, as well as the graduates and spoke to the challenges they faced to get to that day!” said Hardwick. “I was so blessed by the worship, the prayers, and the joy in the room.”  

Rev. Wilfredo “Choco” de Jesús, general treasurer of the Assemblies of God and former lead pastor of New Life Covenant Church, celebrated the special significance of the ceremony for the undergraduates who graduated high school amidst the COVID pandemic. “I believe every student has gained a slogan, and that slogan is, ‘Well Done!’” said de Jesús. “’Well done’ is about pressing on, it is about perseverance, it’s about moving forward. . . You are the class that survived 2020!”

The 2024 event was the second VU commencement for Provost Ryan T. Hartwig, Ph.D. “This ceremony is the culmination of thousands of hours of dedication of our graduates, as well as our faculty and staff,” said Hartwig. “Celebrating their accomplishments in such an uplifting, God-honoring, and Spirit-filled ceremony is a fitting end to an academic year full of God’s movement in our university.”