Isn’t interesting how a physical location can impact us? A recent occurrence in my life has me thinking out loud how a location in a quiet part of North Carolina, USA can elicit just such a phenomenon.
Spaces
can have incredible meaning for us. The grandeur of a National Park. The
sentimentality of our childhood homes. That restaurant that was the location of
the first date with someone that eventually becomes your spouse. A favorite
watering hole that was the nexus of many good time memories, albeit some may be
a little fuzzy! And you if you have been on social media lately, influencers
are losing their selfie-stick minds over Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe!!
Spaces
have the power to elicit visceral responses from us. A trip to Glacier National
Park and onto the Canadian Rockies a couple years ago constantly filled me with
awe and wonder of its stark beauty. Locations have the power to inspire, to
motivate, to replenish, and to revive us. Sometimes, though, these places can
become lost to us due to fire, natural disaster, new ownership, or they just slowly
fade away.
My
undergraduate college was just such a place for me. Growing up in Georgia, I
was fully anticipating attending the University of Georgia. It was just what
you did, half of your highschool went to Georgia Tech and the other half UGA.
Then one day at a college fair, a fast-talking recruiter introduced me to St.
Andrews Presbyterian College located in the small town of Laurinburg situated
in the Sandhills region of North Carolina (thirty minutes or so south of
Southern Pines for golf fans). I had never heard of the college, but something moved
me to take a different path, to see what I could do on my own so I decided to
take a visit. The day of my visit was a college recruiters dream, modern
architecture, well-kept grounds, dogwoods in bloom, and a bunch of young people
enjoying a warm spring day without adult supervision – UGA would wait!
St.
Andrews provided me an incredible educational experience. We were taught by
tenured faculty who were well known in their fields but wanted to actually
teach and interact with undergraduates. We read Great Books. Who would have
imagined a bunch of sophomores would still be debating Descartes or Thoreau in
the 1980’s? We all lived on campus and ate our meals in a common cafeteria and,
gasp, actually talked to each other! It wasn’t perfect, we certainly disagreed
and argued, griped about the workload, we lost hot water for part of a
winter, and wished we did not have to share a bathroom with 12 other people.
But we learned to become independent (we were from all over), to work out our
differences mostly peacefully, and to look out for each other at a
nearby biker bar that had “college night” which is a whole other story! St.
Andrews was what some researchers call an “under-manned” environment so most of
us were involved in some organization or department on campus just to help keep
the place running.
Sadly,
I learned this week that St. Andrews will have to cease operations after May
graduation. A long history of deferred maintenance and administrative missteps became
exasperated when the area experienced two hurricanes in quick succession. The
subsequent damage (and lack of adequate insurance) ripped the heart out of the
place. Students and their parents could hardly be blamed for not wanting to
attend an institution in such disrepair, especially in this era where college
and universities wage an amenities arms race against each other.
In
an unintended way, St. Andrews became a victim of its own success. Many of us
went on to attend graduate schools because we were very well prepared academically
but in the final analysis, we adopted the values, intentions, and curriculum that
emphasized an orientation to a life of service and our eventual professions reflected that. As one of our faculty shared
with me when we were catching up during a past reunion, “Bill, you guys have
all these interesting jobs that unfortunately do not pay that much!” You see
St. Andrews did not graduate many hedge-fund heroes or Wall Street tycoons. We
are educators, artists, therapists, physicians, writers, and allied health care
providers. We are researchers, small business owners and local administrators. Wonderful
jobs that unfortunately did not produce that unicorn donor.
The
moral of the story is that if such a place holds such value and meaning to you,
then go visit as often as you can. If there is currently no such place for you,
then go find one. It can be natural or constructed, just as long as the art,
music, people, technology, and/or other wonders it contains rejuvenates and empowers you.
Thank
you for allowing me to depart from my usual content and share this story that I believe is worth being told. A
story of heroic staff and faculty that sacrificed much to keep the lights on.
The story of generations of graduates that took a road less traveled by
attending St. Andrews and continue to impact others. The story of this quirky
university in the Sandhills that continued to inspire, educate, prepare and
change lives until the very end. What more could the founders have really
asked? Wasn’t that really the point? At the end of the day, it was not about
the buildings, labs, classrooms, sport fields, equestrian rings, and grounds
but rather it is the human capital all those facilities produced that really
matters. What was created in these spaces will long out live them.
I
do believe that even though the doors will soon close, the spirit of St.
Andrews lives on in the people who studied, lived and worked there. You will
see it in classrooms, laboratories, hospitals, churches, and businesses all
over world as evidenced by the lives changed for the better.
Perhaps
the last lesson St. Andrews has taught me is that even though it was bruised
and battered, maybe starting to show its age just a little, St. Andrews hung on to its
purpose until it could do so no more. I intend to do the same.
Hail
all hail to thee our Alma Mater!
Bold
thy banner waving o’er us!
Let
each loyal son and daughter
Proudly
stand and raise the chorus:
From ol’ Scotia’s lofty lands
To Carolina’s gentle plain.
Now
thy noble name St. Andrews
Every
glorious shall remain!
Yours in leadership,
Bill Faulkner
Independent Coach, Speaker,
and Trainer with Maxwell LeadershipTM
Certified DISC Profile System
Consultant and Gallup Strengths Coach
Certified Designing Your Life
Coach
Email
= bill@outloudinc.com
Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com
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John Maxwell Team, please visit
http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/
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