Testimonials

Missing credentials — the bachelor's degree

By Stan Compton, AGS alumnus

Although having been successful in manufacturing management, and having previously earned two associate’s degrees, I had always known that one day I would finally be denied a promotion because of a missing credential, the bachelor’s degree. - Stan Compton

It’s human nature to attempt to visualize where we will be 5, 10 or even 20 years into the future. During the months and years leading up to the fall of 1996, these visualizations had always been associated professionally with business aspirations, and personally with the plans my wife and I had for our daughter.

Although having been successful in manufacturing management, and having previously earned two associate’s degrees, I had always known that one day I would finally be denied a promotion because of a missing credential, the bachelor’s degree. This indeed occurred in 1996 and was the watershed event that led me to Southern Wesleyan University.

I entered the LEAP program, now known as AGS, as a business major at the time reluctantly and somewhat bitter, with merely professional and somewhat selfish motives. I graduated in 1998 hardly remembering those selfish motives that were so compelling two years earlier.

Yes, the degree from SWU was instrumental in my appointment as a department head at Tri-County Technical College, but the true value of my degree runs deeper.

The essence of my education at Southern Wesleyan is manifested by a new perspective of the business world and what it means to be “successful.”

It has now been almost 10 years since I first began my studies at Southern Wesleyan. My only regret is that I waited so long to make the decision. The two years were rich with friendships and caring faculty that I will never forget. In fact, one of my warmest memories is the gift I received on my first evening at SWU, which I keep in my desk at all times -- a small Gideon New Testament signed by Dr. Bob Moore.