Defiance College welcomes Dan Benjamin as commencement speaker

May 4, 2016

DEFIANCE, Ohio – One hundred and seventy-eight graduates will be awarded diplomas during Defiance College’s 2016 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 7. The ceremony will begin at 12 noon on the Colonnade Green in front of Pilgrim Library.

The highest-ranking senior of the graduating class is Sara Hammon of Sherwood, Ohio.

Guest speaker for commencement will be Dan Benjamin (pictured right).

As an alumnus of Mount St. Joseph University, Benjamin is currently serving as their head coach in his fourth season with the women’s basketball program. The 2015-2016 season marks his second year as head coach after spending two seasons as an assistant coach.

During his first season as head coach he had the great privilege, and life-changing experience, of coaching Lauren Hill during her only intercollegiate basketball season. Lauren died in 2015 after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Their player-coach relationship illustrated the powerful impact that sport can have on humanity as we collect the necessary courage and hope that are required to create a better world.

Preceding commencement will be a 10:30 a.m. baccalaureate service in the Weaner Community Center during which Rev. Jim Brehler, pastor of St. John United Church of Christ, will deliver the meditation.

Rev. Brehler is a certified Stephen Leader and Stephen Minister, as well as being certified in general mediation by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Institute. He has been active in the local associations and conferences of the United Church of Christ in Michigan and Ohio, including the areas of congregational growth and vitality, personnel, administration, and discernment. He is a member of the Brothers and Sisters of the Way, a protestant monastic order. Rev. Brehler is currently serving on the board of the Defiance County United Way and is active in the Defiance Area Ministerial Fellowship.

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.