What would you tell people if it was your last chance to address them?
Each spring, the Honors Council invites a highly respected faculty or staff member to talk with students as if it was their final opportunity. The 2024 “last lecture” speaker was Assistant Professor of Spanish and Co-Director of Hispanic Initiatives Sonja Bontrager, who drew approximately 60 attendees to her fireside chat in March.
“We started this tradition five years ago,” said Kelly McFall, Professor of History and Director of the Honors Program. “Sarah Evans was our inaugural guest, followed by Joanna Pryor, Sister Therese Wetta, ASC, and Audrey Hane.”
In her talk, Bontrager discussed the impact a person’s community has on their sense of family, faith, belonging and ultimately their place in the world. She also shared how language and culture are lenses through which one can experience the world, and these experiences shape one’s beliefs and personal narratives.
“Being open to wisdom from unexpected sources may be as important as seeking it,” Bontrager said in her lecture.
Bontrager shared clementines with the students as an invitation to reflect by engaging their minds and senses both individually and collectively.
“We considered the many parts of the fruit, and perhaps how we also become something beautiful and good when we are gathered in community,” Bontrager said.
Takeaways to remember
First-year biology student Matthew Fowler found Bontrager’s lecture to be a “wonderful balance of inspirational and thoughtful.”
“My biggest takeaway was a greater curiosity of and appreciation for the value of understanding others’ individual experiences, especially when viewed through the lens of differences in language,” Fowler said.
Fowler shares an important element of Bontrager’s speech for those who didn’t attend the talk.
“One thing that Professor Bontrager conveyed that I think others should know is that, before judging others’ beliefs or actions, it is important to think about how their different experiences may have led them to that belief or action,” he said.
McFall emphasized another takeaway: “She reminded me how important it is to give ourselves and others the grace to remember that we are all doing the best we know how.”
Bontrager was an ideal speaker and McFall is glad Newman students had the opportunity to learn from her wisdom.
“In listening to her, I was reminded how lucky I am to work in a community of people like Professor Bontrager — people whose wisdom and kindness bless us all.”
The Honors Council looks forward to hosting more fireside chats in the future.
Before judging others’ beliefs or actions, it is important to think about how their different experiences may have led them to that belief or action.
Matthew Fowler’s takeaway from Bontrager’s talk
Newman University Honors Program
In the Honors Program, we will build a strong community, hone our academic skills, learn more about our earth and the people on it, engage with the world and more.
