What I Love About HPU

BY JESSICA CATLETT, HPU SENIOR

“For Howard Payne My All” – thank you! I have so many reasons to love Howard Payne. From the first time I came to Howard Payne, I could tell that this place made up a family. Before that first tour, I was a high school senior whose mother was forcing her to tour a school that she had never heard of. I did not want to be touring

HPU. Even though I did not want to be there, my attitude completely changed the minute I stepped on campus. I know it sounds crazy, but I could feel the presence of God on campus.

Every interaction I had was confirmation that Howard Payne was the place for me. Of course, when PJ Gramling is the first person you meet, how could you not love HPU?

I also loved the fact that HPU is a smaller campus. I was graduating from a class of ten people and did not want to be a student that was just a number to a professor. I wanted to be able to have relationships with my professors. I needed to know that they cared about me and that they wanted to push me toward success. During that tour it was evident that the professors and the staff here truly want what is best for the students.

There were several months between the day I first toured and the day I moved into Veda Hodge Hall. On move-in day, August 19, 2015, I was absolutely terrified. I almost threw up in the car on the way to HPU. There were so many times when I almost asked my mom to turn the car around and take me home. But something held me back. When I wanted to turn the car around, I remembered that feeling I had every time I toured HPU. I can’t put that feeling into words. It’s the feeling you get when you have had a hard day, and then you come home and someone you love gives you a hug – a hug that makes the day better. I felt like I was at home, and from that moment I knew I was welcomed into the Howard Payne family.

I have matured and grown so much since August 19, 2015, and I believe that is largely due to the fact that the Lord placed me at Howard Payne.

What I love most about Howard Payne is that I found a community and

I F O U N D A C O M M U N I T Y A N D

E N V I R O N M E N T T H AT

E N C O U R A G E D G R O W T H

I N M Y WA L K W I T H T H E L O R D .

environment that encouraged growth in my walk with the Lord. Having that community is invaluable to me. My life would not be the same were it not for the family I found here and the opportunities provided to me. I have been given the opportunity to love and serve others through the BSM. I have been able to travel the world through the Model UN program. I have been able to attend leadership conferences and meet incredible people through the Sumners Scholarship program. Most importantly, I have been encouraged to listen to the Lord and to strive to become the person He created me to be.

Jessica Catlett (pictured at left at Walker Memorial Library) enjoys HPU’s friendly, supportive environment. She is also pictured at the Hub, home of HPU’s Baptist Student Ministry (above), and with friends at Grace Chapel (below).

STORY BY COBY SAUCE, MBA ’14 ARTWORK BY ABI BROWN, HPU JUNIOR

YESTERDAY, TOD HPU THANKS GOD FOR 130 YEARS OF PROVISION AND LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE

he author of Hebrews penned one of the most awe-inspiring verses in the Bible. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, ESV). “Yesterday” in this verse spans back before creation (John 1:1) and “forever” promises that He will reign for all eternity (Revelation 11:15). The “today” part of the verse is as true in the present time as it was more than 2,000 years ago: Jesus Christ is alive and at work in the hearts of those who place their trust in Him (Ephesians 3:17).

Hebrews 13:8 is also the verse through which Howard Payne University draws inspiration for its 2019 Homecoming theme: Yesterday, Today and Forever. HPU, celebrating 130 years in 2019, takes this opportunity to reflect on its history and anticipate its future while thanking God for His everlasting love and faithfulness. Y, TODAY AND FOREVER

YESTERDAY

Among those who are a vital part of HPU’s past and who contribute mightily to the university’s present and future are the dedicated men and women serving on HPU’s Board of Trustees. The university is blessed by the group’s leadership and campus involvement. Three trustees share their thoughts in this article’s sidebars.

REV. CANDACE SMITH ’71, HPU TRUSTEE:

While attending Howard Payne, God dramatically influenced the spiritual trajectory of my life as He did for countless others of you. When my alumni friends spend time together, we celebrate the ways the Lord has worked within our lives, our calling and our families. The impact all over the world of those who have attended HPU is immeasurable.

Countless alumni prayed for you and me as students. These alumni, who believed God had placed His hand on our school, got up early in the morning asking Him to work powerfully within HPU.

Now we must do the same.

I think of Solomon, who stood at the altar and raised his hands before Heaven, asking God, “May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there’” (1 Kings 8:29, NLT).

Our place is HPU. God’s name is here.

As alumni, we must be on our knees thinking of our special place and about the students God is calling to impact the world. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to fill every life with His calling and purpose.

Through our prayers, God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).

In 1889, God placed the vision for HPU into the hearts and minds of the university’s founders. Dr. John D. Robnett and Rev. Noah T. Byars had no way of knowing how God would use their obedience to Him. Early benefactor Edward Howard Payne, Robnett’s brother-in-law, could not have known that the effects of his support would span more than a century and counting. The men were simply being faithful to God.

Alumni throughout the generations have displayed this same faithfulness through contributions, the referral of new students and regularly remembering HPU in their prayers. These alumni who give so freely of their time, talents and treasures are as much a part of HPU’s present and future as they are of the past.

It’s impossible to reflect on HPU’s past without also remembering the many men and women who have served as the university’s faculty and staff throughout its history. The accumulated time and effort HPU personnel have poured into students’ lives over the years is immeasurable.

Thanks to God’s provision and the faithful people who comprise the university’s “yesterday,” HPU continues in its important Kingdom work.

Old Main, looming large in HPU’s history

Celebrating a national championship in 2008

TODAY

Naturally, the HPU of today looks quite different than the Howard Payne College of 1889. But the university’s mission still harkens back to the founders’ original intentions: preparing students for lives of service to God and humanity.

The university accomplishes this mission through intentionally engaging the life of the mind and the life of the Spirit. Since God is the creator of all things, the study of all academic subjects is done in ways that glorify Him and direct students toward His holiness.

HPU personnel continue to invest in the lives of students outside of the classroom. Working at HPU is a ministry. Whether in the classroom, through interactions with one of the campus offices, at an event or just walking around campus, students know they are valued and can see God’s love at work.

Worship at Chapel

Fun at HPU’s recent Wellness Fair

ROBERT MORRISON ’82, HPU TRUSTEE:

I try to read my Bible every morning and every afternoon. Through these daily readings, God has shown me that some of His greatest work happens during times of adversity. HPU has gone through struggles throughout the years, but God’s blessing and favor on our university is evident.

I see this in a special way in my interactions with current Howard Payne students. There is the perfect mesh of personalities and diversity on campus. When I am at Howard Payne, students come up to me, smile and say “Hello.” They often remember my name and will greet me the next time they see me.

Students have a great attitude about Howard Payne’s future. I even interact with some students on social media and they are very positive about the changes they are seeing on campus. As we went through the recent search for the university’s 20th president, it was inspiring to hear the students’ concerns and dreams for Howard Payne’s future. The Lord is working at and through Howard Payne.

May you be blessed with enough.

FOREVER

PASTOR RAY STILL, CHAIR, HPU BOARD OF TRUSTEES:

The writer of Hebrews gives us great confidence and security to know that our Lord and Savior’s generous grace and abundant love never change. However, the work He started is always adapting to the changing landscape of the world.

Over the decades at HPU, changes have been many but the mission of influencing and educating our students for the glory of God has not changed. I pray it will never change. Like other institutions of Christian work, HPU has navigated through times of rough and challenging waters. By God’s grace and guidance, we have, and will, continue to endure. The days ahead are exciting times for our university with the coming of a new president and the incredible challenge of ministering in our world today. I know our faithful God will pilot us through whatever lies ahead, showing us how we can be the university He wants us to be today, fulfilling our ultimate goal to glorify Him.

King David said in the scripture, ‘Who knows what God might do.’ Get on board for the ride and see where God will take His university.

The people and campus structures that comprise HPU as we know it will one day fall away. The university itself is far from eternal, but the work God has done and continues to do through HPU will last forever. We know this because He has been kind enough to allow us a glimpse of this Kingdom work this side of eternity.

Students who encounter Jesus Christ for the first time at HPU have gone on to become missionaries both at home and abroad, through which God has reached a countless number of people. Family trees have forever been altered because one family member came to know Christ in an HPU Chapel service, classroom or residence hall.

Even those who knew Jesus before they arrived at HPU have learned essential lessons about experiencing a more intimate walk with Him. Notably, students throughout the years have learned to approach their future careers as a calling from God.

Jesus says in Matthew 24:35 (ESV), “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

To be certain, the Lord’s work is the only thing eternal about the university. We look forward to many more years in His service here at HPU and thank Him for 130 years of faithful provision.

Daily reminder of service and commitment

HEBREWS 13:8 IN GREEK J. HOWARD HODGE MEMORIAL BELL TOWERS

BIBLE STUDY YELLOW JACKET

STING ’EM! HAND, BOWL AND TOWEL FROM JESUS STATUE

OLD MAIN TOWER WORSHIP AT CHAPEL ICHTHUS SYMBOL, REPRESENTING CHRIST

STUDENTS AT MIMS AUDITORIUM IN EARLY DAYS

OLD MAIN DR. GUY D. NEWMAN, LONGTIME PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF HPU’S HONORS ACADEMY

GARLAND FROM CHIME IN AND CHIME OUT, SYMBOLIZING HPU TRADITIONS

BOOKS

DR. JOHN D. ROBNETT, FOUNDER RED BRICKS COMMON TO MANY OF HPU’S BUILDINGS

This opportunity has been an amazing experience. I’ve definitely come out the other side with a deeper understanding and appreciation of Howard Payne University. I didn’t realize how much I would be learning about HPU’s history, traditions and even architecture. Who knew there could be so much meaning in the simplest of things?

I transferred to HPU the fall of my sophomore year, so there are a lot of experiences common among most students that I don’t share, such as freshman traditions like Jacket Journey and Chime In. Working on this design has given me the unique opportunity to come to appreciate HPU’s traditions in a new and unexpected way. It made them that much more meaningful to me, and I have really come to see the value of our history as a part of our identity as a school.

What was especially exciting (and challenging) for me was working on the right half of the design. The purpose of this portion of the design is to portray HPU today and into the future. I had to ask myself: What makes HPU what it is today? What about HPU is special? What aspects of HPU will last? There are elements such as the books and yellow jacket that represent education and our school spirit and, although these do have an incredible impact, I also wanted to represent the eternal impact of HPU. The students worshipping, the hand and bowl from the Jesus statue on campus and the ribbon of ichthus fish all represent aspects of HPU that will last: worship, servanthood and our pursuit of Christ.

These aspects are, I think, what make HPU special. Generations may pass, leaders, teachers, staff and students will come and go, but ultimately Christ and His cause go on forever. Our part in the building of His Kingdom will last through the ages.