From The Foundation Chair

Reflecting back on the past year, I have a couple of thoughts. First, has it really been only a year? With the coronavirus pandemic, serious racial justice issues, a very contentious election and a country more divided than I have ever seen it, it seems that surely more than a year has passed or that at least there is more than one year of wear and tear on our bodies and emotions. But then I think about Waldorf University and particularly the 2020-2021 academic year and it is my sense that while the University has had to deal with and through these same difficult issues, it has also stayed the course and that the "Waldorf experience" you are all familiar with has been much more "normal" than you might expect. I won't go into any detail but I can tell you that Waldorf University under the leadership of President Alsop has done everything possible to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors from COVID-19. The results have been largely successful and have allowed the university to continue with "in-person" classes, a luxury not matched by all colleges and universities, and that in virtually all other aspects, life at Waldorf has been relatively normal.

I have been writing these letters for a number of years so many of you would know that I love to get acquainted with Waldorf students and find out about each of their "Waldorf stories." Over the past couple of years I have been following the Waldorf football program and I have had the pleasure of forming friendships with Head Coach Will Finley and two of his assistants, Shawn Henry and Kevin Roehrich. In 2020 the Waldorf team had a very successful season with a 7-3 record and for the first time a top 25 ranking in the NAIA. So it occurred to me that it would be interesting to find out more about the football program by talking to some of the players and getting their "Waldorf stories." The coaches helped me identify three players and I met with each. I did learn a lot about Waldorf football but, wow, I learned much more about the players' Waldorf experiences and I also discovered that the Waldorf coaches were teaching these guys much more than football! In fact, I feel their job title would more aptly be Football/ Life Coach.

I will merge my discussion about two of the young men as there are many similarities in their life journeys. Both Jacob Ray ("J Ray"), a sophomore majoring in Sports Management, and Landon Watkins, a junior majoring in Criminal Justice, are from the San Diego area. Both faced challenges while growing up and each credits football as a big factor in keeping them motivated and "on course." J Ray's father had absolutely no presence in his life and he says that as a youth he "bounced around" quite a bit. He credits his brother with teaching him to have a strong mindset and to always focus on who you want to be. His eighth grade football coach "took him in" and helped him get into Helix High School, a prestigious charter school in La Mesa, Calif. Landon grew up in a more affluent family (they waldorf.edu had a nursery and sold flowers into the Las Vegas market) but he clashed with his father who left him with the feeling that he was never quite good enough. The third young man, Deqwunn McCobb hails from Bradenton, Fla., and is a junior majoring in Criminal Justice. This is his first year at Waldorf as he transferred in after two years at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge. He said that his father was in and out of prison and that he and four siblings were raised by a "very strong" mother.

Now, my first observation was that each of these guys came from areas where the weather was vastly different from that in north Iowa. In fact, I mentioned to J Ray and Landon that I had always thought of San Diego as having the best year-round weather of any area in the United States and, of course, the weather in Bradenton, Fla., is not too shabby either. Each young man told me what I have heard many times before: they came to this small university in this small, sleepy town in Iowa which had virtually no "action," then winter came and they had no idea that it could actually get that cold (Landon brought only shorts and tank tops), they had to purchase new warmer wardrobes and each recalls wondering why they had ended up here. But again, as I have heard before, each now says he was extremely fortunate to come to Waldorf and he would not change anything. J Ray says that Waldorf has given him the opportunity to better himself as a person and grow into the man that he wanted to be. Landon says that he has learned life lessons that he will cherish for the rest of his life thanks to his coaches and teammates. He says that he has matured significantly since coming to Waldorf and now has a firm sense of what it means to be truly successful. All three young men offered accolades for the professors and other staff for truly caring about their students and spending time with them to discuss both academic and personal issues. Deqwunn struck me as a wonderful example of a young man whose glass is always half full. His ever present smile symbolizes a young man who sees the positive in every person and every situation. Deqwunn is black and we talked at some length about the racially charged events of the past year. I asked if he experienced any racial prejudice or heard any racial slurs during his time at Waldorf and he said: "No sir, I have not." (After I met with this amazing young man, I felt such a sense of pride for him but also for the vast majority of the Waldorf community who embrace diversity as a hallmark of the Waldorf experience.) I would further note that after graduation Deqwunn plans to counsel incarcerated and at risk young men and there is no doubt in my mind that he will "make a difference!" These young men literally could not say enough good things about their coaches and the family bond that exists with them. They know that the coaches truly care about them as a person and not just as a football player. They also like the fact that the coaches hold them accountable and, for example, they know that if their grades start to slide, they will be spending some time with the coaches in a study hall.

I have really enjoyed writing this letter because I got acquainted or better acquainted with six amazing people-three coaches and three student athletes. And I was once again able to affirm (as I have many times before) that Waldorf really does change lives one life at a time! We ask for your continued support of the Waldorf Foundation so that we can award scholarships which will provide more of those life changing experiences.

Raymond M. Beebe Chair, Waldorf Lutheran College Foundation Retired Vice President, General Counsel Secretary SPRING 2021 // Winnebago Industries, Inc. 1974–2012 WALDORF MAGAZINE