On Friday, Feb. 12th, the Honors Program celebrated the upcoming retirement of Beverly Matiko, associate professor of communication and English, after 29 years of service at Andrews. Under the theme “Deeply Committed,” the Agape Worship honored Dr. Matiko's notable passion for writing and communication. Dr. Matiko attended Andrews and earned BAs in both English and communication, as well as an MA in English literature. She received her doctorate from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. She has worked in the English and Communications department at Andrews university since 1992.
Over her 29 years of teaching, she has touched the lives of many students. L. Monique Pittman, professor of English and director of the J.N. Andrews Honors Program and Vanessa Corredera, associate professor of English and chair of the English department, read selections of the many tributes that came in from current students, alumni, former colleagues and friends. Dr. Pittman connected Dr. Matiko’s attitude towards pursuing one's passions with 2 Corinthians 4:9-10. She shared that we have been, “cast down but not destroyed” as experienced through 2020 but we must remember to “bear about the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ so that his life can be made manifest in us.” This is to be our main passion.
Alexander Hess (sophomore, English) said, “After attending this year's Agape Worship, I was inspired to be deeply committed through the model of Dr. Matiko. Her life and career at AU really shows me how we, as good humans, should be deeply committed to God, others, and ourselves.” After Dr. Corredera and Dr. Pittman’s tribute, the audience was split into pods to discuss the topic, “Deeply Committed.” Questions such as “What is your passion?” and “How can our passions help to promote the gospel?” were asked.
Elianna Srikureja (junior, English) shared, “I was really inspired to be deeply committed through the pod activity. My group, in response to the question “how do you define passions,” answered that passions were things that someone enjoyed learning more about. However, we cannot approach our passions with passivity; we need to nurture our interests and engage with our passions. This really inspired me to recognize that to have a life of purpose means that I need to be ‘deeply committed.’”
It is clear that the pods brought new insight on how to live a purpose driven life in 2021 regardless of how 2020 went. Andras Murayni (junior, biology) reflected on the event, sharing, “The worship helped make us really appreciate the blessings God has given us throughout the pandemic. Even through our struggles, we realize that there is hope beyond our present circumstances. Dr. Matiko's farewell helped show that there is a legacy in persevering through our difficulties. That is what we need to realize now more than ever.” The legacy that Dr. Matiko leaves behind reminds us that we should pursue our passions relentlessly because it is our God-given purpose.
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