November 20, 2024
East Texas Baptist University honored 125 graduating seniors by presenting their official ETBU Class Ring. The Ring Blessing was held Wednesday, November 20, for the December 2024 graduates. Inspired by Deuteronomy 6, the class ring allows ETBU Alumni to carry and display the love of Christ.
"The Ring Blessing Chapel is a beloved tradition at ETBU, where graduating seniors receive their ETBU class rings," said Scott Bryant, Vice President for Advancement and Administrative Affairs. "We take great pride in these students and are confident they will honor both the Lord and the University as they step into the next chapter of their lives."
Each ETBU Class Ring features the seal of East Texas Baptist, surrounded by the cornerstones of the University – Veritas, Mores, and Scientia, which translate from Latin to Truth, Character, and Knowledge. Significant icons of ETBU and the Christian faith are inscribed in the ring, such as the historic Marshall Hall, the Light on the Hill, Max Greiner's Divine Servant Statue, and the Bible. These symbols remind alumni of God's work in their lives and their transformational experience at East Texas Baptist University.
"Graduating from ETBU means so much to me," senior Christian ministry and business major Cade Nettles said. "This University has deepened my relationship with Christ and surrounded me with friends who have become family, all sharing the same goal of preparing for lives and careers that honor and glorify God."
The ceremony celebrates students' accomplishments during their time at ETBU and serves as a milestone marker leading up to commencement. As a token and gift of appreciation from the University to graduating seniors, the ETBU Class Ring symbolizes the University's blessing over students as they commence from ETBU to pursue their career callings.
"ETBU has provided me with an incredible opportunity to integrate faith and learning," senior biology major Zoey Connor said. "In science, it's often thought that science and religion are at odds, but it's amazing to see how God, as the creator of all biological life, is at the core of biology. I'm excited to share this perspective with others, whether it's the future generation or anyone I encounter in my work."
Scott McCurdy, ETBU Assistant Vice President for Advancement and Administrative Affairs, delivered the chapel message at the ETBU Ring Blessing, offering a charge to the graduating seniors. His message highlighted the significance of this milestone, inspiring students to reflect on their growth and future paths.
"God told Joshua to go back into that dry dirt where the riverbed had been flowing for hundreds, if not thousands, of years... and take something with them," McCurdy said. "He wanted them to have a real, personal, tangible reminder of His provision and His power. That's what your rings are. They're tangible, real, personal memorials to the God that you serve—the God that has equipped you and called you and shaped you and is moving you forward in your story, that is also His story."