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Westmont

The Willis Family

When D’Aun and I were seniors at Westmont College we signed up for a 2-week program called Sierra Treks. This program had us in the Sierra Mountains learning to cross-country ski, rappel off mountains, navigate by compass, and other fun things. Sounded like a simple and fun way to earn a couple of credits.

It turned out to be a life changing experience. The outdoor activities were great fun, although I remember one sub-zero night when I wondered what I was doing in a sleeping bag in the Sierras in January! But the outdoor times were only a part of …

Random Thoughts, Westmont,

A liberal arts life

I recently gave a personal testimony to the Westmont College Board of Trustees. The challenge was to answer the question, “How did you become who you are?” An interesting challenge for anybody! But considering the intellectual power of my audience, and considering their wide range of interests, it was not an easy thing to summarize in 10-minutes. In fact, it was much harder to prepare for this brief presentation than I ever imagined!

In the end, I described myself as having led a liberal arts life. Here are my expanded notes. Not the best writing, but as I said, they …

Westmont,

Westmont Urban Program

Spoke at the Westmont Urban Program in San Francisco yesterday. It’s the second time that I’ve been asked to speak to the students toward the end of the semester. The topic is faith, calling and vocation. An interesting subject for a guy who’s put in about half my time in the for-profit world, and about half in the non-profit world. So I talk about that and share how we’re called to live in the tension of the two. We must be comfortable in both the world of the poor and the world of the rich, then find a way to …