19 STUDENT LIFE There was noticeable construction that took place on campus during the 2022-23 school year. What some students may not have realized was that the metal beams for the new Holland-Waller Center underwent a special ceremony during the fall semester. “There will be an opportunity where we ask the students, faculty and alumni to come back to campus once we have the bones of the building up so that we can write scriptures on the steel beams,” Board of Trustees member Rodney Waller said before this ceremony. “[We will] be able to bathe this building with scripture as we go forward knowing that you were able to contribute to this academic building.” Nov. 12, 2022, was a historic day for the Waller, Holland and Swaid families as well as the Harding community, since the building honored Sue Holland, Joelle Waller and the Swaid family. The ceremony included reading of scripture, prayer for the building and its future use, as well as speeches given by Dr. Swaid Swaid and others. Each attendee also received a special gift, coordinated by University Communications & Marketing (UCM), which was a small BUILDING The construction of the Holland-Waller Center starts with a special ceremony. piece of the steel beams that were used with Romans 12:1–2 engraved on them. Luke Humphrey, a UCM employee and recent Harding graduate, aided in the coordination of these gifts and the general set up of the event itself. “There’s so much history that Harding has that I’m only a small part of,” Humphrey said. “It’s really beautiful and humbling to see this huge, big picture. I’ve only just become an alumnus myself, but it’s really neat to see.” All three families honored by the building attended the event along with any faculty, staff, students or alumni that wanted to write a scripture. One of the students present was freshman Christian Swaid. “My family is just very involved in the Harding community just because of what it stands for and its Christian mission as well as very good academics,” Christian Swaid said.“We want to keep that alive, and that’s what my parents try to do.” Written by: Bailey Ridenour WISE WORDS Rodney Waller writes 1 John 4:19 on a beam. Guests were invited to sign the beams of the new building with scriptures. Photo courtesy of: Jeff Montgomery on blessings
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