Lent 2018 -- Gratitude Diary, Day 10

Christy Administration Building and the 77 Steps

Let me express my gratitude for Southwestern College in Winfield, KS where I began my collegiate studies in the fall of 1977. Southwestern was an unlikely place for me to attend college. I had never heard of the school until an Admissions Counselor showed up in my senior year at Will Rogers High School. The Athletic Director, Basketball Coach and Golf Coach, Bill Stephenson, offered me an opportunity to play intercollegiate golf and offered me an Activity Grant to do so. For four years I played golf as a Moundbuilder, lettering all four years and simply enjoying myself more than words can say.

On the academic side of things I met two professors my freshman year who would become two of the greatest influences on my life. A.D. Cope was my Freshman Composition professor. She was feisty, deeply intelligent, provocative and she was pushy. The best thing she did for me was to introduce me to Flannery O'Connor (who will be a subject of gratitude in a later post). Dr. Cope plunged us into the world of provocative literature; Camus, Bellow, Graham Greene, Dostoevsky, and many others. She also taught us to do research, support our arguments and make no claims we couldn't substantiate.

I also met Dr. Cecil Findley that fall. Cecil was an ordained United Methodist Minister and an unapologetic liberal thinker. He opened a world of scholarship for me in theology, the history of Christianity, preaching, and biblical scholarship. Cecil was simply amazing. I served as his student assistant my senior year and he helped me secure a two-point charge at Gouda Springs, and at Arkansas City Grandview United Methodist churches. Cecil still comes to mind when I think of the Four Source Theory of Authorship and Historical-Critical study. He was deeply influential for me.

At Southwestern I met a great many wonderful and intelligent students. I enjoyed the campus life. I learned and made a base for how I would see the world as an adult. I am proud to be a Moundbuilder, and I am grateful to Southwestern College. www.sckans.edu

The Mound at Southwestern