2008 Baccalaureate Speaker:
Andrew Carico
As president of the Evangel Student Government Association for the past two years, Andrew Carico has been characterized as a productive leader by campus administration and is highly regarded by students.
Carico, a government major from Bristol, Va., was selected by his peers to speak at the Baccalaureate, Awards, and Honors Day ceremony on May 1, 2008.
The graduates of 2008 have the distinction of being the 50th graduating class at Evangel.
Carico shared thoughts on how the class of 2008 has been prepared to fulfill God's call through experiences at Evangel University.
Showing pictures from his kindergarten and eighth grade promotion and high school graduation, Carico discussed how each of these moments marked the end of one phase and the beginning of a new stage in life.
"For many of us, our graduation from Evangel is the end of an era permanently in our lives. Even if you are going on to pursue graduate studies, you are — for all intensive purposes — ending any kind of pre-adult life and will now be entering the 'real world.'"
Carico read Scriptures from Isaiah 6:1-8.
"In verse 8, the passage culminates: 'Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?''
"And Isaiah responded, 'Here am I. Send me.'
"I had heard these verses my whole life, but it was never more pertinent than at this time now."
Carico encouraged classmates to be faithful to God.
"Be holy. Acknowledge God's holiness. Let the attitude of your heart and the actions of your life say, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.'"
Carico believes that Evangel has uniquely prepared graduates.
"One of the great things about Evangel is that it provides unique opportunities for us to grow in and out of the classroom."
He recalled an experience in which he attended a leadership conference in Atlanta, Ga., during the summer after his freshman year. Evangel's LifeWorks — The Center for Leadership and Life Calling — funded this opportunity.
"The trip was great. I learned so many practical leadership principles when I was down in Atlanta for those two weeks.
"Many of you have been involved in opportunities like that — that Evangel has provided for you to prepare you and build you up for this time in your lives. Maybe it was missions trips, maybe it was something through your department, maybe it was another program that LifeWorks provided for you to go do. But Evangel has prepared you."
Carico encouraged classmates to respond willingly to God's call — fulfilling the Great Commission.
"I’ve also heard the Great Commission to be interpreted as: 'As you go and wherever you go.'
"For some that’s going to be the classroom, for some that’s going to be the courtroom, for some that’s going to be a business or organization, hospitals, police departments, boardrooms, break rooms, operating rooms — everywhere.
"The Lord is calling you to not only be a great servant of society and to be productive, but to fulfill His will and spread His love and His salvation. We have been uniquely prepared here at Evangel. And with that unique preparation, we hold unique responsibility."
Carico said that God is asking, "Who will go for me? Whom shall I send?"
"I encourage you tomorrow — as you walk across the stage [at graduation] — to in your heart tell the Lord: 'Here am I — all of me, all my love, all my hopes, all my dreams, my future, where I go, who I go with. Lord, I submit to You. You are mine. Send me.'"
Carico shared a note that his mother had inscribed in a copy of "Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan," a book that she gifted to him when he first came to Evangel. Carico adapted his mother's words to become his prayer for graduates of the class of 2008.
"Follow your dreams, pray for God’s guidance, and if you do that with a heart that’s willing to follow wherever He leads you, you will find His perfect will for your life — His hand of providence."