Spirits were high and students particularly proud Thursday when Whittier College held its 122nd graduation commencement.

There were 224 students, including seven master of arts in education recipients, assembled at Harris Amphitheatre in the bright morning sun. Hundreds of friends and family members also were on hand, waving signs, holding flowers, aiming cameras and sharing with exuberant shouts of praise and applause.

Analise Kusleika, a summa cum laude graduate majoring in child development, touched the spirit of many of her classmates as she described what she said was a “complicated” experience at Whittier College, owing in part to the tribulations of COVID-19, as well as the disappointments of the school cutting some sports programs in 2022 to save money.

“This class is one of the strongest I have ever known,” Kusleika said, getting teary. “It has been a true pleasure and honor to watch you all grow and transform into mature, well-rounded, brave people. I am so proud.“We are who we are, not because of what happened to us but because of how we responded, not because of our experiences, but our reactions.”

Kusleika described how the students stepped up and rallied for support to bring back golf and, next year, football. “We showed that we not only had the passion to lead this school, but also the maturity and the skill as well,” she said. “Now that our programs are back, we could not be more excited and proud.”

President Kristine Dillon praised the class for its resiliency and teamwork.

“This class is a remarkable group,” she said, “not only because they successfully bested the impact of COVID on their lives and their studies, but because they have helped the Whittier College community do that as well.”

J. Stanley Sanders, an attorney and the first Rhodes scholar from Whittier College, spoke about the impact that college has on one’s lives for several reasons.

“Your college experience, I like to think, is divided into two parts,” he said, including both the academic experience and the ideals that are developed. “In this environment, the ideals that you have cultivated … you take those with you and they last a lifetime.”

He called 2025 a very fraught moment in American history, in particular for colleges, citing racial and political divides.

“Whittier College has reminded me of the ideals of sportsmanship, the ideals of fair play, the ideals of equity — all of the ideas of hope, faith, charity … Those you have to take with you,” he said. “I can say, with the conviction, that I am the man I am today because of Whittier College, and I think it’s because of those ideals … Today, I’m asking you, Class of 2025, to embrace those ideals.”