HIGHER ED
WHY A COLLEGE EDUCATION CAN B
I grew up watching movies and television about
college life. The old black and white images
of the Andy Hardy movies, and of course
Dobie Gillis with Maynard G. Krebs on weekly
television, were mainstays to me. The thought
of attending a midwestern or northeastern
college presented an idyllic educational life to
me.
And when I graduated high school. I stabbed at
junior college as a commuter, but it didn’t seem
like “real” college. It seemed like 13 th grade. I
just didn’t have the discipline necessary even
though I feared the military draft and a trip
to Vietnam, and by staying in school I could
navigate away from that ordeal.
There were too many distractions in those
days and the “call” of music a couple of years
following my conversion experience won out. I
saw many of my friends go on to complete their
college education, only to end up in a sales
position wearing brown shoes. And “Brown
Shoes Don’t Make It”. Music won out for me.
And the Lord had something different for me.
As part of the Jesus Movement, God opened
up amazing opportunities and experiences for
me. I played drums and percussion on many
hundreds of projects and toured with artists
and bands that were only a dream to me early
on. But I always had it in the back of my mind,
“What about college”? After all, my wife had a
college degree.
Many of us “Jesus People” were told that the
Lord was coming back soon, and there was no
need for a higher education. We were told that
“seminaries are cemeteries.”
But in spite of my poor academic record, I had a
great deal of background and experience, and
God opened doors for me to begin working in
the Christian Music Industry with a record label.
This led to my employment with several labels
over the next 27 years
were absolutely great, a
extremely challenging. C
people. People are peop
But everything changed
Armed with a whopping
I re-enrolled in college.
And to my surprise I n
to do well. After 5 ye
commitment rewarded m
What else did college d
few examples…
• It sharpened my m
abilities
• It allowed me to
prepared for whate
• It got me out of th
allowed me to mee
• It gave me new t
others
• It gave me “backg
intuitive nature
Succeeding in college
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June 2020