Summer is in full swing, but as we get closer to August, it’s certainly feels like back-to-school time here in Tennessee. Our son, a rising sophomore at The Ohio State University heads back in two weeks and our daughter, a rising high school junior goes back a week later. We just finished our first round of college visits with her a few weeks ago. She is leaning towards becoming a UT Vol, which makes me happy.
For some of you, this story means nothing. You’ve probably experienced the pre-college rush or have sent your kids off many times. In our case, these events are significant, for they would have never taken place had it not been for two determined mentors.
My wife and I are the first in our families to get a college degree. We didn’t do it the traditional way; in fact, neither of us ever intended to go to college. My parents both had good-paying jobs in aerospace and didn’t have degrees. My wife’s parents were truckers who had a successful business, without degrees. We both joined the Navy in 1983 (meeting years later, in 1989) without any real career direction.
Fortunately for us, we crossed paths with Greg Nelson and Paul Magat. Greg was the dentist I worked for at NAVCOMMSTA Harold E. Holt, Australia and Paul was my wife’s supervisor at the Sand Point Naval Station in Washington State. Greg and Paul needled us consistently about attending college and eventually we both began taking classes at night. When I met my wife-to-be at Naval Hospital Long Beach in 1989, she immediately enrolled in a program for a degree in Health Care Management. About a year later, I enrolled. After we got married and stationed in Guam and later in Bremerton, Washington, we finished our Bachelors and later Masters degrees, again going to class in the evenings and on weekends. Our experience made us adamant that our kids attend college, and not like we did, but with the traditional college experience.
Which brings us to today. It’s never been an option for our kids NOT to go to college. They’ve been programmed from a young age that this is their path. We’ve gone out our of our way to push them and encourage them. When it came time for our son to pick out colleges, we visited campuses all over the country, at his insistence. Our daughter is doing that now. I suspect that both will do the same with their children years from now.
And it’s all because Greg Nelson and Paul Magat pushed us in the early 1980s to get off our ass and go to class.
Why not take some time this week to encourage someone to push beyond what they believe they’re capable of. Your guidance may have an impact for generations to come.
