More Than a Letter Grade

Dr. David Fraze: So I'm sure you all have other people who love you as well.
Who loves Aiden?
Okay, Mr. Bouquet.
One more for Rebecca.
How about Hannah down there?
All right, y'all are all loved.
This has become one of my favorite things in the entire world.
We're going to start with you, Aiden, because I'm scared of Hannah.
You thought you were going to be here what day?
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
So we're going to give her a little time to think.
Aiden Zingone: It's okay.
I also thought I was going to be here tomorrow.
Cody had to text me this morning at 1047.
Dr. David Fraze: Cody, you and Rebecca are saving the day.
Cody Boquet: I also didn't know it was today.
Dr. David Fraze: so Rebecca how important are emails from professionals and administrators it's on
Rebecca Kimanie: did you turn it off there we go hello oh okay um yeah did you just use slay in a sentence you know
that's not my it is it is actually like a full word full sentence I know what it is
Dr. David Fraze: Thank you.
Thank you.
So how important are emails?
Rebecca Kimanie: Yeah, you know, I'd say they're pretty important.
But, you know, things happen, you know, and we've got to give grace.
We've got to leave it at that.
Dr. David Fraze: I'm into grace.
You were the only one that knew it was today, though, so that's amazing.
Good.
These are outstanding seniors chosen from their colleges.
All right.
Aiden, I've known you for a while.
and then all of you all for a while,
but tell me your freshman self,
what would you tell that person?
Aiden Zingone: I think there are a lot of things
that I could tell my freshman self,
but if I had to pick one,
and this is probably going to be
a very, very unpopular piece of advice,
but if I could go back and tell my freshman self
any one thing, I think I would say
just because you can stay up late
doesn't mean you should stay up late.
I would say running cross country and track,
most days we have practice at 6 a.m.,
so I would have to be in bed by 9 p.m. if I wanted to get a full night's sleep.
And so my freshman year on Friday night or on Saturday night,
I wouldn't have practice.
Well, I'd have practice Sunday mornings,
but on Saturday at least I wouldn't have practice.
So I would stay up to like 1 a.m.,
either watching a movie or doing homework or something,
and that just made it horrible to get up early
and get anything productive done
when I had to switch back to that 6 a.m.,
you know, waking up at 5.30 for practice.
And now I've gotten to the point where I'm normally in bed by 10 p.m. at the latest most nights.
So I would say just because you have the ability to stay up late,
just because you can go to bed at like 2 o'clock in the morning doesn't mean you should.
And you're probably going to regret it if you have to get up at 8 a.m. and you've stayed up until 3 a.m.
Dr. David Fraze: Well, at least you got up.
See, that's the deal.
You got up.
So that's good.
What is cold?
You're from Alaska.
What is cold to you?
And have you ever been cold in Lubbock, Texas?
Aiden Zingone: Well, I think Cody's also from Alaska,
so he can either back me up here or disagree with me.
But I think anytime you get below, like, negative 20,
it's pretty cold.
Like, once you're getting close to that negative 20,
negative 30 range, it's pretty freezing.
And I have been cold a few times in Lubbock.
I think there are some times I don't.
Well, I hardly ever check the weather.
But there have been times when it's been in the teens
and I've showed up to practice in shorts and a t-shirt.
Dr. David Fraze: You may have wanted to tell your freshman self it does feel cold here,
but if you've ever seen one of our track guys when it's snowing
and people are running, that's him in shorts and t-shirt.
Cody, what part of Alaska are you from, by the way?
Cody Boquet: Eagle River.
It's just outside of where he's from, so not too far away.
Dr. David Fraze: Did you all know each other?
Go ahead, Cody.
Cody Boquet: I mean, we were rival schools,
but I don't think we ever ran into each other before coming here.
but yeah I mean we were in the same area but no we didn't know each other personally before
Dr. David Fraze: coming here all right well look at you awesome freshman self well I'd say probably read your
Cody Boquet: emails all the way through you can miss some information if you don't you know it is a little
difficult sometimes to sit there and read through a couple pages that they'll send you but you know
maybe one or two things in there is important.
No, but in reality, I would say definitely take advantage of everything that they have here.
I mean, they have the writing center.
They have incredible people over there at the library, the shop desk.
You have everything you need here to succeed.
And not using those resources is a hindrance to yourself.
So I would say absolutely take advantage of everything that we have here.
But, yeah.
Awesome.
Dr. David Fraze: Rebecca?
Rebecca Kimanie: I would first tell my freshman self, one, God definitely did place you here for a purpose.
And throughout the four years, he's going to affirm that.
That's one of the first things I would tell myself because I remember growing up here in Lubbock.
I'd be like, when I go to college, I'm leaving.
I'm going to a different state.
I'm going somewhere else.
And God said, no.
So, but he has a purpose for sure.
And then I would also tell myself that in hard moments, you deserve the same kind of love and consideration you give to others.
There's a lot of hard things you face as a freshman.
You're getting used to a new place, meeting new people, recognizing, like, learning more about yourself.
And that's just a kind of a lot to take in on top of getting an education, what you want to do for the rest of your life or even later on change your career.
But you first have to be considerate of yourself and recognize you're going to learn.
You're going to make mistakes, but there's grace in that.
that you already get from other people from God, so you should give it to yourself too.
Dr. David Fraze: Awesome. Good. Hannah?
Hannah Quick: I would tell my freshman self not to get bogged down constantly thinking about the big picture.
You cannot accomplish four years of college at one time, in one day, in one moment.
I think the most important thing is to make the right decision and the best choice that you can
with exactly what's in front of you at any given time.
it is important to think about the big picture and think about where you're going and where you
want to go and what you want to achieve but you can't do it all at once and the most important
thing you can do is make the right decision right in front of you step by step that's awesome
Dr. David Fraze: information so and great advice how where were you in your academic process when you realized
Hannah Quick: what you just said? Yesterday. Awesome. Yeah. I've thought about it and it's something that I've
learned as I go through my process, but I remember freshman year thinking, okay, four years, I'm
going to do everything. I'm going to accomplish everything. And when I started, I realized,
Dr. David Fraze: oh, not that easy. Yeah. Yeah. So we didn't, we didn't do this. I think it's important because
We're having so much fun.
What's your major?
Cody Boquet: Criminal justice.
Okay.
General psychology.
Hannah Quick: Social work.
Exercise and sports science.
Dr. David Fraze: Awesome.
Good deal.
So did you know everything when you were a freshman like she said?
Aiden Zingone: A hundred percent.
I already know everything.
You know that Dr. Phrase.
Dr. David Fraze: He was in my freshman Bible class and asking questions like Dr. Fredenberg would.
And I'm like, are you the reincarnation?
Have we been wrong about this?
is he reincarnated some professor back in the day.
So very nice.
Cody, did you understand everything?
Cody Boquet: I like to think I did, but that was definitely not the case.
I still remember, you know, my first class with Aiden there,
we were probably talking in the front of the class for about half the class.
That's probably one of my best memories here still.
But, no, I'd say, no, I didn't know anything.
Dr. David Fraze: Awesome.
And if you're in psychology, you have to grow a beard.
Is that true?
Cody Boquet: No, I was just told that, you know, it looks good on me.
So now it's here.
It does. You look very smart. Rebecca, did you know everything?
Rebecca Kimanie: Definitely not. No. In fact, I remember thinking about college in general and just kind of
exemplifying high school and just like, I'm just going to go to class. I'm just going to be
classrooms. I'm going to go home. And then I suddenly remembered that there's people from
everywhere that I would also interact with. And I was like, oh, it's a little bit more to college
Dr. David Fraze: than I realized. And so when you're, and some people are from Lubbock area and they come to
school here, you did a good job separating yourself from what was in high school and
becoming a college student. So it is different if you choose it to be. Is that what you're saying?
Rebecca Kimanie: Yeah, definitely. It's a little harder though, knowing that like your high school and high
school friends are kind of just around the corner. And so it was a transition to invest
in the community because it's like, oh, I kind of already have mine. Like I'm from here,
my friends are here. But it's also learning that there's a lot of growth that happens when you
choose to invest in where you're going to school in the community here. And they can support you
alongside that, your friends from high school. But I think they also understand, a lot of my
friends were, that there's a lot that here that will help me grow in that. Awesome. Okay. So,
Dr. David Fraze: Anna, you get to start this question. Great advice, number one, just each day is a time,
control what you can control. What would you tell some of these students who are, you're at
mile marker one, you're about to graduate. What would you tell these students who are coming
behind you just give me a piece of advice give us a piece of advice one thing that i would say
Hannah Quick: is to turn absolutely every experience into a learning opportunity don't take anything for
granted even in situations that you might not like you might find boring you might find pointless
or unpleasant everything is something to learn from and you can take something from absolutely
everything and that's what I would keep in mind throughout college and even beyond is to learn
Dr. David Fraze: from everything take something with you great Rebecca my piece of advice would be to invest
Rebecca Kimanie: in this community your peers upperclassmen the incoming class as well as faculty and staff
they are the people who are with you during this very formative time and those relationships are
really going to help you here, but also after, because, I mean, I don't know if you'll notice,
but the LCU community is huge, all across Lubbock, but also all across America, as you come to find
out. I learned this this last semester. I got to do the Washington program, and I was surprised by
the amount of people I ran into who knew LCU, were from LCU, Lubbock. I was like, oh my gosh,
they're everywhere, but it's a good thing. So, I would invest in that, but also because those
relationships are what are making the next chapter even more exciting because
they're the people who are supporting you the most and whose impact is gonna
Cody Boquet: last. Good. Yeah I thought about this for a while and I wasn't really sure what to
give until the other day but I think it's important to come here with the
intention of learning not getting an A right I think the majority of us on this
panel are honor students and so we're very used to chasing that that letter
grade and I mean here I've had many great experiences in like the
philosophy department and other departments like that where I've learned
way more than I came here to learn and I'm so glad that I took those
opportunities to take those classes and to learn those things that normally I
wouldn't have even really looked at so I would say you know chase the the
Dr. David Fraze: knowledge don't chase the letter grade that's really good so did you just want
to get through and go on to the next part of your life is that what you're
Cody Boquet: saying when I first came here that was the intention but now no absolutely not yeah so
Dr. David Fraze: if you didn't know we're a liberal arts university that's why you have to take things
that you may not want to the boring stuff as you say down there Hannah
but when you get involved with the philosophy classes and even watch this math
oh okay there we go just wondering the discipline of it are you saying that actually means something
Cody Boquet: Absolutely. I mean, all of the things that you learn here, they're going to bring you closer to God.
This is a Christian university, and something that I've always felt is that the more you know about the world, the closer God becomes.
And so I think that all of those things that you learn, they're going to slowly bring you closer to him.
Aiden Zingone: That's awesome. Advice?
I think there are a lot of things that could be said here, and the rest of my fellow students gave excellent advice as well.
but if there's only one piece of advice I could give to each and every person in this room
it would be that don't waste the time that you have here you're only going to be here for a very
limited amount of time and it's going to go by much much quicker than you think or even realize
and furthermore each and every day that we have each and every day that you wake up
it is a gift from God and you're not guaranteed another one none of us know what the future holds
in store, and we don't know what day, I mean, even if it's going to be our last, we imagine that we're
going to have forever, we're going to have 50, 60 years ahead of us, but we don't know that for certain.
So live each and every day, make each and every choice in such a way that when you get to the end
of your life, you're able to look however far in the future that may be, you're able to look back
on what you've done and say, that was a life well lived, that was a life that was spent glorifying God.
um there's i say each and every choice that you make today each and every action that you take
today that you take tomorrow it is setting you up for the person that you are going to be
10 years from now 15 years from now this time these years that you spend at lcu they are the
formative user they they are what is setting the foundation for the rest of your adult life
so live today live the rest of this time that you have here to set up what type of person you want
the character that you want to have, set up the work ethic that you want to have. So that way,
when you get to the end of your life, that way, when you, I say, when you look back 30 years from
now, you're able to say, yes, this was a life well lived. This was a life that glorified God.
Dr. David Fraze: That was awesome. That was good. All right.
She's so excited. That was great. All right. One word, it's kind of game we've been playing. If
of your LCU experience and boil it down to one word, what would it be? Hannah, you want to start
down there? Do you have a word? Okay, go ahead. Growth. Nice. I would say purposeful.
Cody Boquet: Easy. Okay, explain. Explain easy. No, I mean, like I said, we have all the things here that we
we could need to succeed and so I think that it's an incredible opportunity it's good growth
Dr. David Fraze: awesome I love to hear that word growth over and over again and nobody told y'all what to say huh
so we have a little bit of time what do you what's your next step do you know
Hannah Quick: after mall marker one what do you do next I do know I am going to grad school I'm going to start
a PhD in biomedical sciences at Texas Tech University's health science center awesome
Rebecca Kimanie: I'm also going to go on to grad school to get my master's in public service and administration
with a policy emphasis at Texas A&M awesome
Cody Boquet: I'm moving to Virginia here and still looking at some grad programs
but yeah I got a good job down there so great
Aiden Zingone: I've accepted a position working for the Alaska State Troopers
Dr. David Fraze: which is awesome so when you go home you got a person that can help you out there
how many polar bears do you think you'll shoot Aiden I mean have you ideally I'm not going to
Aiden Zingone: have to shoot any polar bears um if I ever get to the point where I have to shoot a polar bear
Dr. David Fraze: something went horribly, terribly wrong. All right. I need video of that when it happens.
Can we give our seniors a big round of applause?
So it's kind of weird. This is the first kind of interview I've had. And, you know,
Josh and I are big cry babies, but this is really strange, emotional. We're going to miss you guys.
So thank you for being part of our community. Speaking of community, here's what's going to
happen right now my wife and her friends from Johnsonville they have an incredible smoke two
smokers going out there and we're gonna have free brats there's chips there's all kinds of stuff
out there and also a brats eating contest that even though I was a champion you've seen it more
I could not compete this year.
I was banned.
So you're gonna see some of your peers, six of them,
stuff their face with brats in just a few short moments.
It's nasty and it's kind of fun to watch.
Hannah, since you're the last one here,
would you like to do the honors?
Hannah Quick: You guys are dismissed.
Dr. David Fraze: There we go.
Thank y'all for being here.
Come on.