第一课

那是1976年的秋天. 我要上大专了, but the pastor at my church home in Brea recommended I look into a new Lutheran school that was opening — Christ College in Irvine. 我查看了一下，很喜欢我所看到的. 在教会的经济帮助下, and a work-study job with Dale Hartmann’s father-in-law, 格斯, 谁来维护校园?, I found myself among the first 50 students who called the Irvine campus home.

我们在一栋楼里见面，楼里有我们所有的宿舍, 教室, 图书馆, 行政办公室等. I was really impressed with our faculty members — all five of them. They were high-quality professors, but also good and kind people. Professor Bob Holst, the dean, was like a father to me when I really needed one. I could call him at home or walk into his office and he would talk to me about anything — school, 选了希腊语(这门课我很头疼), 人际关系中的问题, 家里的麻烦. 不管我经历了什么, I could stop by and he would drop everything to spend time with me. 它意味着整个世界.

The students in that first class came from all over the country, 还有一些来自遥远的香港. 在我们这群杂七杂八的人中有农民, 嬉皮士, 超级保守的人和相反的人, 还有一些像我这样的人在中间. Dr. 月亮, 该大学的创始人之一, once said that the student body in 1976 was “outside the sociological norm,这句话既搞笑又真实. 这是你能说的最好的说法了. 我们从“与众不同”到“古怪”再到“有点疯狂”.“这是非常有趣的一年.

I recall the time we decided to have a spaghetti dinner to get to know each other better. 在我们决定的学生大会上, somebody asked if we could have vegetarian spaghetti sauce. 有几个人支持这个想法. 然后一个保守的牛仔跳起来说:“不可能! 我们的意大利面里有肉!” An argument broke out and some other people had to calm it down. Our solution was to have two separate sauces: vegetarian and meat. 这抓住了第一堂课的气氛.

那一年学生人数从50人减少到35人. 在情感上, 这一年一开始就像坐过山车一样, going from the high feeling of church camp to some pretty serious lows after that. But from the middle of the year onward, things were good. 我们做礼拜的时候礼拜堂总是坐满了人. Sometimes people held a Bible study or a prayer meeting on their own. There was still tension between some groups, but that’s the way life is. Each year things mellowed out more and the group gelled.

土狼还是鹰?

第二年, 学生人数翻了一番, and I was elected to be one of three “co-counselors” as we called them. It was our non-conformist way of electing student body officers, 因为我们不想要一个传统的总统, 秘书, 司库等等. We started making decisions, like choosing our mascot and school colors. We decided on green and gold, then had a lot of discussion over which animal should represent us. A large group wanted a coyote because there were a lot of coyotes around campus at the time, “基督学院土狼”听起来很酷. 每个学生都对这些事情投票, 作为协理律师，我们尽力维持秩序, 这几乎是不可能的. 会议是一场惨败，但事情还是完成了. The eagle won on a close vote, and it has been our mascot ever since.

The college offered soccer as a PE class in its first year, 第二年我们有了一个真正的团队. We played in a kind of county league with firefighters and church groups. The next year we began playing third string teams from UC Irvine and nearby junior colleges. 我们还组建了一支篮球队. 我们甚至有制服. Those were humble beginnings, but it was nice to be there for the beginning of Concordia athletics.

We grew close as a student body, becoming like brothers and sisters. 这些关系真的帮我找到了方向. 当然，恶作剧也是其中的一部分. 有一天我下课后发现我的车不见了. 我想，“这是一所小山上的学校. 怎么会有人从这里偷车呢?” I was getting ready to call the police when a friend started laughing and the guys all showed me what they had done: moved a big trash can out of its shed and ten guys had carried my car into that area and hid it from me. 我松了一口气，我们大笑起来.

骑摩托车的教授

As a commuter student for the first two years, I drove my Ford Fiesta to campus every day. Professor Holst commuted, too, on his moped from northern Irvine. 我经常在高速公路上与他擦肩而过. 有一天我在路边看到他. 他的摩托车坏了. 我知道我要考希腊文，心里想, “如果我假装没看见他, I won’t need to take that test because he won’t get to school on time.“但我不能对我最喜欢的教授这么做. 所以我把车停在路边，把他的摩托车放在我的嘉年华里. 它挂在后面. On the ride to school I asked him, “So, does this mean I can escape the test?他笑着说. “No. I appreciate the ride, but you’re going to take the test,” he said. 我对他的期望并不低.

我搬到学校住了三年, and after my fourth year I graduated with a BA in behavioral science. 我的行为一点也不科学, yet I was blessed with an amazing wife and 3 great kids. I ended up driving a truck, and years went by before I reconnected with my fellow alums. 2012年左右, 我的孩子们都不在家, and my wife and I decided to make some life changes to get healthier in a bunch of different areas. We started exercising, reading the Bible and praying more frequently. Part of that improvement was connecting with people who meant something to us. My wife attended her college reunion and encouraged me to do the same. 所以我回到了康考迪亚·欧文的校园.

It was my first time back in many years, and of course the campus looked amazing. So many buildings, so many programs, so many students, and all of such high quality. 我很自豪能从那里毕业.

作为周末返校节的一部分, I got back in touch with a bunch of people from those early years, 这些联系仍然存在. 我们一起出去玩，度过了最美好的一天. Since then we stay in contact by phone and text all the time. They’re encouraging people, part of my spiritual family, my brothers and sisters in Christ. 如果需要，我可以打电话给他们. 我们分享快乐时光和重要的生活事件. When someone becomes a grandparent or their kids get married, we all celebrate by text. We also look forward to seeing each other at homecoming every year. In the middle of winter, after Christmas, I know I can look forward to seeing my friends again. 这对我来说是一种真正的祝福.

A lot of miracles happened for Concordia Irvine to exist today. 人们多次为保持学校开放而斗争. 我觉得这对我来说也是一个奇迹, to be there in the beginning and to have such a strong connection to my classmates today. I am happy to be part of Concordia’s history, and I’m proud of what the school has become.

如果我能回到过去，我想学海洋生物学. Watching the university start from humble beginnings reminds me of the early days, 我每年都期待着它们的成长.

I am happy to be part of Concordia’s history, and I’m proud of what the school has become.