JACKSON, Tenn. — May 2, 2026 — Patrick Basie first learned about Union University through Impact 360 and found that his time as a Union student shaped both his engineering career and his faith.
On May 2, Basie was among 506 Union University graduates who received their degrees during two ceremonies on the Great Lawn.
Basie, of Pine Mountain, Georgia, earned his degree in engineering with an electrical concentration and will join the team at Nidec Leroy-Somer in Lexington, Tennessee. A member of the Honors Community, he credited both faculty investment and Christian community as crucial components of his time at Union.
“The Honors professors have been an integral part of my spiritual formation,” he said.
As part of the commencement ceremony, Amy De Groot, of Sioux Center, Iowa, who double majored in public relations and history, received the Tigrett Medal, which is awarded to an outstanding senior in each graduating class.
Andrew Walker, dean-elect of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, delivered the commencement address. Walker, who also serves as associate professor of Christian ethics and public theology at SBTS and is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, challenged graduates to resist what he called the “mythology of disruption” — the cultural pressure to build platforms, chase significance and define success by visibility and accomplishments.
Instead, Walker called graduates to a life of ordinary faithfulness, drawing on 1 Timothy 6:6 — “Godliness with contentment is great gain” — as his central text. “The Christian life is not a disruption strategy,” Walker said. “The gospel does not primarily call you to change the world. It calls us to be faithful in the world. And those are not necessarily the same thing.”
Walker described the ancient Christian vision of a good human life: work done honestly and with excellence, marriages built with patience, children raised in faith, neighbors served without recognition and churches tended by people who understood that slow work is lasting work. He called that vision “stubbornly ordinary” but also the most demanding and rewarding he had ever encountered.
“You cannot change the culture,” he told graduates. “But you can change the culture of your dinner table.”
Walker pushed back on the idea that the church is immune from its own version of this ambition culture, acknowledging his own culpability before pressing graduates toward commitment to marriage, to a local church, to a city and to neighbors known by name.
“God will ask whether we were faithful, not whether we were elite,” he said. “That is your inheritance. Go claim it.”
For Brianna Correia, faithfulness and perseverance marked her entire journey through Union’s pharmacy program. Correia, who hails from Bermuda, found Union while researching colleges and chose to attend because of its Christ-centered commitment and strong academics.
“I appreciated the personal attention from professors and the opportunities to grow academically and spiritually,” she said.
One professor in particular, Jennifer Byrd, proved to be a steady source of encouragement throughout Correia’s time at Union.
“She believed in me even when I struggled to do that myself,” Correia said. “I can honestly say I wouldn’t have made it through this program the same way without her.”
After graduation, Correia will begin a residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. She carries with her a conviction shaped by the people around her at Union.
“They’ve not only helped me become a better student and future pharmacist, but they’ve also shown me the importance of pouring into others,” she said. “That’s something I’ll carry with me into the next chapter — both professionally and personally.”
The theme of faithful persistence also resonated with Wayne Lauderdale Jr. of Memphis, Tennessee, who earned his Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership through Union’s School of Adult and Professional Studies.
Lauderdale spent 14 years building his trucking business before realizing something was missing. Grateful for what his career had provided his family, he set out to earn his college degree — a pursuit made possible by Union’s BSOL program, which allowed him to pursue his education without stepping away from work or family.
He found that Union’s professors actively helped him apply what he was learning to strengthen and grow his business.
“The fact that Union aligns with my faith and values made the choice even more meaningful,” Lauderdale said. “It truly feels like the place God intended for me to grow academically, spiritually and professionally.”
Lauderdale’s graduation does not mark an ending. He is already enrolled in Union’s Master of Business Administration program and will continue his education at the same institution where he found his footing.