First Class

It was the fall of 1976. I was headed to junior college, 但我家乡布雷亚教会的牧师建议我去看看一所新开的路德教会学校——欧文的基督学院. I checked it out and liked what I saw. With financial help from my church, 和戴尔·哈特曼的岳父一起勤工俭学, Gus, who did campus maintenance, 我发现自己是第一批把尔湾校园称为家的50名学生之一.

We met in a single building which held all our dorms, classrooms, library, administrative offices and more. 我们的教职工给我留下了深刻的印象——他们五个都是. 他们是高质量的教授，也是善良善良的人. 院长鲍勃·霍尔斯特教授在我真正需要的时候就像我的父亲一样. 我可以打电话到他家里，或者走进他的办公室，他会和我谈论任何事情——学校, taking Greek (which I had trouble with), problems with relationships, trouble at home. No matter what I was going through, 我可以去拜访他，他就会放下一切，和我在一起. It meant the world.

第一堂课的学生来自全国各地, and some from as far away as Hong Kong. Among our motley group were farmers, hippies, super-conservative people and the opposite, plus a handful of people like me in the middle. Dr. Moon, one of the university’s founders, 曾经说过，1976年的学生群体“超出了社会学规范”,” which is hilarious and true. That’s about the nicest way you can put it. We ranged from “different” to “odd” to “a little crazy.” It was a very interesting year.

我记得有一次我们决定吃意大利面晚餐，以便更好地了解彼此. In the student body meeting where we decided this, 有人问我们能不能来点素食意大利面酱. A couple of people backed that idea. Then a conservative cowboy jumped up and said, “No way! We’re having meat in our spaghetti!“一场争吵爆发了，其他人不得不让它平静下来. 我们的解决方案是有两种不同的酱汁:素食酱和肉酱. That captures the mood of that first class.

The student body shrunk that year from 50 to 35. Emotionally, the year started out like a roller coaster ride, 从教堂露营的高潮到之后的低谷. 但从年中开始，情况就好转了. Chapel was always full when we had services. 有时人们自己举行查经会或祷告会. 一些群体之间仍然存在紧张关系，但这就是生活. 年复一年，事情变得更加成熟，团队也更加团结.

Coyote or Eagle?

In the second year, the number of students doubled, 我被选为我们所说的三位“联合顾问”之一. 这是我们不墨守成规的选举学生会干事的方式, because we didn’t want to have a traditional president, secretary, treasurer and so on. 我们开始做决定，比如选择我们的吉祥物和学校的颜色. 我们决定用绿色和金色，然后讨论了很多关于哪个动物应该代表我们. 有一大群人想要一只土狼，因为当时校园周围有很多土狼, and “Christ College Coyotes” sounded cool. Every student voted on these things, and as co-counselors we tried to keep order, which was nearly impossible. Meetings were kind of a fiasco, but things got done. 鹰以微弱优势获胜，从那以后它就成了我们的吉祥物.

这所大学在第一年开设了足球体育课, and the second year we had an actual team. 我们与消防员和教会团体一起参加了一种县联盟. 第二年，我们开始和来自加州大学欧文分校和附近大专院校的三流球队比赛. We also started a basketball team. We even had uniforms. 这些都是卑微的开始，但很高兴能在那里见证康科迪亚田径运动的开始.

作为一个学生团体，我们的关系越来越亲密，变得像兄弟姐妹一样. The relationships really helped me find my way. Of course, pranks were part of that. One day I came out of class to find my car gone. I thought, “This is a tiny school on a hill. How could someone steal a car from here?“我正准备打电话给警察，这时一个朋友开始大笑，他们都给我看了他们做了什么:把一个大垃圾桶从它的棚子里搬出来，十个人把我的车拖到那个地方，把它藏起来. I was relieved and we had a great laugh.

Professor on a moped

作为一名通勤学生，头两年我每天都开着我的福特嘉年华去学校. 霍尔斯特教授也从北欧文骑着他的轻便摩托车上下班. I would often pass him on the highway. One day I saw him on the side of the road. His moped had broken down. I knew I had a Greek test and thought to myself, “If I pretend I don’t see him, 我不需要参加那个考试，因为他不会准时到校.” But I couldn’t do that to my favorite professor. So I pulled over and put his moped in my Fiesta. It was hanging out the back. 在去学校的路上，我问他:“那么，这是否意味着我可以逃避考试??” He laughed. “No. 我很感激你载我一程，但你必须参加考试，”他说. I expected no less from him.

I moved onto campus for year three, 第四年毕业后，我获得了行为科学学士学位. There was nothing scientific about my behavior, 但我很幸运有一个很棒的妻子和三个很棒的孩子. 我最后开了一辆卡车，过了好多年我才重新和我的校友们联系上. In 2012 or so, my kids were all out of the house, 我和我的妻子决定改变一些生活方式，在很多不同的方面变得更健康. 我们开始锻炼，读圣经，更频繁地祈祷. 这种进步的一部分是与对我们有意义的人建立联系. 我妻子参加了她的大学同学聚会，并鼓励我也这样做. So I came back to Concordia Irvine’s campus.

这是我多年来第一次回来，当然校园看起来很棒. 这么多的建筑，这么多的项目，这么多的学生，所有这些都是高质量的. I was proud to have graduated from there.

As part of Homecoming weekend, 我重新联系上了早年的一群人, and those bonds remained. We hung out together and had the best day. 从那以后，我们一直通过电话和短信保持联系. 他们在鼓励我的人，我属灵的家人，我在基督里的兄弟姐妹. I can call them if I ever need to. We share happy times and significant life events. 当有人成为祖父母或他们的孩子结婚时，我们都会通过短信来庆祝. 我们也期待着在每年的同学会上见到彼此. 在隆冬时节，圣诞节过后，我知道我可以期待再次见到我的朋友们. It’s a real blessing to me.

今天康考迪亚·欧文发生了很多奇迹. People fought to keep the school open many times. I feel like it was a miracle for me as well, 从一开始就在那里，今天和我的同学们有如此紧密的联系. 我很高兴能成为康科迪亚历史的一部分，我为学校的发展感到自豪.

If I could go back I would love to take Marine Biology. 看着这所大学从卑微的起点起步，让我想起了它早期的日子, and I look forward each year to see how they’ve grown.

我很高兴能成为康科迪亚历史的一部分，我为学校的发展感到自豪.