Why Wabash? A Reflection
“Why Wabash?” I have been asked this question frequently ever since I first opened that letter of acceptance back in the Spring of 2007. I was fortunate that I got in since it was my last option in hoping to go to school out of state. That being said, another question I’m always asked is “why leave sunny Florida for something else?” Both are simple questions and I am always more than happy to answer them. I often answer with a smile and tell the same story.
It was by random chance that I even stumbled upon the name Wabash. I was in the market my junior year of high school looking for a good private college that fostered an excellent academic environment, was small in terms of class size, and more importantly was located outside of Florida. I had been schooled for twelve years in Florida, and though the weather is pleasant most of the time, I wanted to challenge myself. I’ve never been away from home for long periods of time and I wanted to experience living in another part of the country. It just so happened that I picked up the recent issue of Newsweek magazine which had an article about the top liberal art schools in the nation. What made Wabash stick out to me was that it met all the criteria I was looking for in a college and more. One of the appealing features to me was that a common major chosen by students was history. That led me to assume that Wabash must have a good history department. I told my parents I was really interested, and we sat down and did some research on the college. When I later discovered that it was an all male school my interest grew. The idea of going to an all male liberal arts college reminded me of the movie The Dead Poets Society, which appealed to me since it seemed like an interesting experience living in a community that fostered a spirit of brotherhood. My mom asked me if I wanted to take a trip to see the college and I said, “Sure, why not?”
So a flight was booked, and we set off to the rolling plains of Indiana. Upon arrival I was nervous about how the campus may look, but once I saw the red-bricked buildings and the architecture I knew that this may be the real deal. I met with Chip Timmons and he gave me the 411 of Wabash. A tour of the campus revealed more of the true beauty of Wabash which included a chance for me to sit in two classes, one with Dr. Warner on Latin American history and the other with Dr. Abbot on rhetoric. At the end of the day I was really impressed and added Wabash to the top of my list of colleges. Yet, my mom was a little apprehensive at first. “It’s a really beautiful college,” she told me “but I don’t think we can afford it. And do you think you can handle being 16 hours away from home?” Chip Timmons overheard her and said “Oh don’t worry. We wouldn’t have you come all the way up here for nothing.” Just saying that confirmed to my Mom that there was something special about Wabash and that it was worth the risk. After I received the letter in the mail and later learned that I was granted a scholarship, I began the transition moving up north. I became very nervous and wondered if I couldn’t handle it and if I would have to come back to Jacksonville and go to the city schools. Yet I had a smooth transition and started to learn to live a Wabash life. I still remember President White’s speech at the ringing in of the class. What really stood out was him telling the parents “don’t think of this as you losing your son for four years. But rather, think of this as gaining a college for a lifetime.”
Nonetheless, I don’t think this story fully answers “why Wabash?” I still seek to answer that question every now and then. The easy answer would be that Wabash is an excellent liberal arts school that fosters an exceptional academic environment. However, there is so much more than that. There is something about the college that gives off an aura of romanticism that makes you fall in love with it. As the late Professor Bill Placher once said, “walking around this campus at night with a new fallen snow, I always fall in love with it all over again.” It can also be that despite the recent losses we as a campus can still come together and proclaim Wabash Always Fights. Whatever the answer may be, I continue to revise my responses over time. The reason being is that as I continue to attend this school I see more examples of what the answer is, for the answer simply cannot be explained in words. It is just part of the experience the College offers— an experience I’ll admit that I am and will likely be ever grateful for. I’m sure that even as an old man with my college days long past, “when future days shall bring its name before me” still “my greatest joy will be to shout the chorus…”
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