“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -Stephan Grellet
Daniel interviewed for a full ride academic scholarship this past Monday. I never had to worry about such interviews back in the day. Thankfully Daniel and Randall both have taken after their mother in terms of their capacity to excel in higher education. The interview day brought back memories of Randall having a similar experience in 2007. I could not help but think back to my own college days.

I started at Texas Tech in 1980. I had little direction in my academic pursuits at that point. I was mainly concerned with shooting pool in the university center between classes, and developing my social life the remainder of the time. Many of my classes had over 100 students. I was not a very self motivated student, so that environment was probably not the best for me.

The fall semester of 1981 proved to be a time of transition. There were personal things going on in my life that caused me to stop going to classes before mid-term. I did not have the good sense to drop all of my courses, so I ended up with a semester of failed grades. At that point, I decided to go to work fulltime and not return to college.

I drifted for several months. Thankfully a group of men I worked with in an auto parts warehouse urged me to get back in school. Tech had placed me on academic probation, so I could not return until the fall of 1982. I ended up enrolling in Lubbock Christian University that spring of 1982. They were kind of enough to allow me to take classes on a probationary basis, because of the failed semester. I signed up for a full load and tried to figure out how I was going to pay tuition at a private university. I also needed a decent part time job that would allow me the time I needed to study, and thus stay off of academic probation!

My dad died suddenly when I was 15 years old. As a young man, I was determined to be independent. I did not want to have to lean on his good reputation to help me get started in life. In looking back on it now, I realize that was foolish. When we are young, we need all kinds of people to help us get established. Family friends are honored to reach out to young people trying to get an education and learn how to work.

One of my dad’s friends urged me to go see Norm Rishel. Mr. Rishel assumed my dad’s position managing a group of farm and industrial equipment dealerships, after his death in 1978. My dad had been friends with Norm, but I did not know him. I felt very strange about asking him if he could put me to work part-time. I did not want to take advantage of a friendship or put him in an awkward spot. And…I was just intimidated by the idea of going to talk to a total stranger. It took me weeks to get up enough nerve to go talk to him.

Finally one afternoon I drove out to the dealership to see Norm. I put on nice clothes and made sure I was clean shaven! I was so nervous. I had seen him from a distance. He just looked intimidating. I had also heard through the grapevine that Norm was a little rough around the edges. He was a Canadian citizen who had been transplanted to Texas of all places by the Case Corporation. I had my speech rehearsed before I arrived. Mr. Rishel…you don’t know me, but my dad was Art Knox… I was shaking in my boots!

I experienced quite a surprise upon my arrival that winter day early in 1982. Norm welcomed instantly. We chatted in his office for quite awhile. I even began to relax. My rehearsed speech went out the window. Was he a little rough around the edges? Well…I suppose you could say that! I also found him to have a really good sense of humor. And underneath that rough exterior, I found a man with a very genuine heart.

He offered me a part time job. And he also offered to contact corporate headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin about a scholarship for children of deceased employees. The wheels in corporations sometimes move very slowly, and of course this was a time period well before electronic mail. Norm had a way of getting those wheels to move a little faster!  He made phone calls and wrote letters on my behalf. I returned to school that very semester with a generous scholarship that covered most of my tuition costs.

I went to work for Norm at the Lubbock dealership. It was fun to work side by side with men and women who had worked for my dad. It was actually very healing too… Norm had his gruff side for sure, but I knew what was underneath that exterior. I grew to appreciate his humor. I was thankful for his efforts on my behalf. I grew to love Norm in a special way. He good not have been any kinder to me at an impressionable and critical crossroads in my life.

I graduated from LCU in May of 1984. I had to go to summer school and take very full course loads, but thankfully I finished in a four year time frame. One day Norm mentioned that I should enroll in an MBA program and consider going into a management training program that the Case Corporation offered. At that point, I told him that I was going to pursue a graduate degree in theology and pursue a career in ministry. He could not have been more supportive. He certainly inserted some vintage Norm humor in the process, but ultimately he was totally behind my decision.

I went on to enroll in graduate school at Abilene Christian University after getting married in the summer of 1984. Norm passed away very suddenly, while I was still working on my master’s degree. I felt the loss profoundly at the time. Even though I had sent him a lengthy letter of thanks for his kind assistance, I felt as if I had not thanked him sufficiently for what he had done for me. I will never forget Norm.

I will soon have two sons in college. There are so many things I cannot do for them .They too long for independence, just like I did back in the day. But I so hope that they will meet people like Norm Rishel along the way. People who are willing to reach out to a young college kid who is desperately seeking some direction in life. I hope Daniel’s scholarship opportunities work out well for him. I know this for sure…his interview last week made me think about my own scholarship “interview” back in January of 1982.

“I expect to pass through this world but once…