{"id":61548,"date":"2026-05-06T17:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=61548"},"modified":"2026-05-06T18:00:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T22:00:51","slug":"commencement-speaker-dr-lederach-says-emu-and-cjp-alumni-taught-her-to-speak-the-language-of-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/commencement-speaker-dr-lederach-says-emu-and-cjp-alumni-taught-her-to-speak-the-language-of-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement speaker Dr. Lederach says EMU and CJP alumni taught her to \u2018speak the language of justice\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In her address to the 304 graduates gathered at Yoder Arena for EMU\u2019s 108th annual Commencement on Sunday afternoon, Dr. Angela J. Lederach<\/strong> quoted the late Kenyan peacebuilder Dekha Ibrahim Abdi<\/strong>, a former student and instructor in EMU\u2019s Summer Peacebuilding Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeace is like an egg,\u201d Lederach said. \u201cIt is delicate and fragile, but in the right conditions, it gives life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lederach is an assistant professor of peace and justice studies at Chapman University. She has spent more than a decade working with grassroots peacebuilders in Colombia to transform violent conflict, expand possibilities for environmental justice, and cultivate more just and livable communities. She is the author of Feel the Grass Grow: Ecologies of Slow Peace in Colombia<\/em> and co-author of When Blood and Bones Cry Out: Journeys Through the Soundscape of Healing and Reconciliation<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commencement weekend served as a homecoming for Lederach, whose father, John Paul, co-founded EMU\u2019s internationally recognized Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and served as its first director. Her presence at the ceremony coincided with the center\u2019s 30th anniversary celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graduates of the Class of 2026 attend EMU’s 108th annual Commencement on Sunday in Yoder Arena.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Angela J. Lederach (left) recalled attending EMU commencements as a child and fully immersing herself in the campus fountain\u2019s \u201ccrystal clear waters\u201d while dressed in her Sunday best. \u201cIf you want to know the real reason why you are inside today instead of outside, you know where to direct the blame,\u201d she joked with graduates. Kylik Bradshaw (right), a liberal arts graduate, beams during the big day. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lederach spoke about how she has learned from peacebuilders and CJP alumni around the world to listen for the sounds of justice. Alumni such as Emmanuel Bombande MA \u201902<\/strong> and Leymah Gbowee MA \u201907<\/strong>, who worked to bring peace to West Africa and Liberia, taught her to speak the language of justice, while Larissa Zehr MA \u201911<\/strong> in Colombia showed her how to walk alongside people pursuing peace in the wake of dehumanizing violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo speak the language of justice requires courage,\u201d she said. \u201cNot the loud bravado that conceals cowardice and blares from the world stage today, but the quiet courage found in the register of everyday life, in the recognition of our shared humanity, in our willingness to stand up and say \u2018never again,\u2019 and in our ability and willingness to sacrifice for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That courage emanates from the lives of people like Michael \u201cMJ\u201d Sharp \u201905<\/strong>, who was killed in 2017 while working as a United Nations expert on armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe language of justice is rooted in hope,\u201d Lederach said. \u201c\u2026And I have to say, Class of 2026, the work of guarding hope is not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd yet, as graduates of this institution have taught me over and over again,\u201d she added, \u201cit is precisely by slowing down enough to notice and attend to the lives and possibilities found close to the ground that dreams are protected and held and continue to grow, even amid violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cords of Distinction recipient Irais Barrera Pinzon, a political science and Spanish language & Hispanic studies graduate, smiles wide during Commencement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arelys Martinez Fabian (left) and Yenifer Dottin-Carter \u201923 (right) present the graduate perspectives.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Undergraduates Dylan Hall<\/strong> and Arelys Martinez Fabian<\/strong>, along with MA in Counseling graduate Yenifer Dottin-Carter \u201923<\/strong>, presented the graduate perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hall reflected on the bittersweet emotions many were feeling as they left behind the dorms they once called home, the friends who joined them on their journeys, and the places on campus where memories were made. \u201cBut those memories are not leaving us,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are a part of us. They are who we have become. As we turn this page in our lives, we will be taking a part of EMU into our occupations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading from Matthew 5:13-17, he called on his fellow graduates to act as the \u201csalt of the earth\u201d and \u201clight of the world.\u201d He said it\u2019s easy to go through the motions, to blend in and lay low. \u201cBut I encourage you, whatever you do, to go the extra mile. Be a light in people\u2019s lives. Stand out, work hard, and make an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martinez Fabian recalled feeling a mix of excitement, fear, and uncertainty when applying to colleges four years ago. She said she didn\u2019t know where life would take her, but she knew she was stepping into something bigger than she could ever imagine. Like many of her fellow graduates, she wasn\u2019t just chasing her own dreams but also carrying the hopes of her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis finish line isn\u2019t just about my goals, it\u2019s about my parents\u2019 goals,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about their journey, the miles they traveled from their homes, the long years of difficult work, and the challenge of learning a new language and navigating a new culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through it all, the late-night study sessions and Common Grounds conversations, she said, \u201cwe found our people.\u201d She said she has been fortunate to meet friends who have become her lifeline throughout her time at EMU. \u201cSo I ask you this: How lucky are we that saying goodbye feels this hard? That kind of sadness only exists because of how meaningful those connections are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dottin-Carter shared the story of her path to EMU, beginning with her family\u2019s immigration from the Dominican Republic to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and her eventual move to Harrisonburg with her then-boyfriend, now husband, Isaiah MA \u201922 (restorative justice)<\/strong>. She invited graduates to imagine the countless stories lived among them, of triumph, hardship, laughter, and sorrow, that will be carried within them as a collective memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She encouraged graduates to find a space where their story is honored, their presence is valued, and their legacy is seen. \u201cAnd if you cannot find it, build it,\u201d she said. \u201cFind your people, find your place, find space where you are loved, understood, and validated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus presides over EMU\u2019s 108th annual Commencement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The ceremony recognized 304 graduates from 23 states, Puerto Rico, and 15 countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This marked Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus<\/strong>\u2019 first Commencement as interim president. In her opening remarks, she said many of the Class of 2026 graduates began their time at EMU during a season shaped by significant cultural and political change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve navigated a world marked by tension, rapid shifts, and real questions about identity, belonging, and truth,\u201d she said. \u201cIn the midst of it all, you stayed grounded in your learning. You stayed grounded with one another. You demonstrated resilience, discernment, and a willingness to engage complexity rather than turn away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n