How Did Faith’s Faculty and Staff Impact Students?
Ask Faith alumni about a professor or staff member who shaped their time at Faith, and you’ll get more than a list of names.
You’ll get stories that are specific, vivid, and surprisingly funny. Stories about people who saw students as more than just a seat in a classroom.
When we asked our alumni to share memories about faculty and staff, this is what they had to say.
The Look, Then the Conversation
Jared Loucks has a specific memory of Dr. Alan Cole—a look of unmistakable disapproval as Jared and his roommate skated across campus on their skateboards. Dr. Cole’s expression apparently got even better when he followed them into the classroom.
But that’s not the whole story. A few months later, Dr. Cole sat down next to Jared at church before the service and simply wanted to get to know him. That conversation became several conversations and eventually an invitation to the Coles’ home.
“That little impact kept me studying at Faith for four years,” Jared says, “even when it would have been easier to just throw in the towel. Thank you, Dr. Cole!”
He Already Knew Her Name
Susan Smith arrived at Faith as a freshman, eight hours from home.
She knew one person on campus. Her parents had gone home.
Walking to class one morning, her professor, Dr. John Hartog II, passed her with a smile and said, “Good morning, Susan!”
She was stunned. How did he already know who she was?
She found out later that Dr. Hartog and his wife prayed through the student directory by name.
Every student. By name.
Supper Before the Exam
Rosanna Peterson studied elementary education at FBBC from 2005 to 2010, and she still remembers Ginny Stratford’s exams. Not with dread, exactly, but with a mix of respect and exhaustion.
Instead of multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank, Miss Stratford’s tests were built around case studies—read the situation, analyze it, and explain what you’d do as the teacher.
One day, Rosanna and her friends mentioned to Miss Stratford that her exams were the hardest they were taking that year. Miss Stratford seemed genuinely surprised.
Her immediate response? She invited the whole class over to her home for supper and a group study session before the next exam.
“Studying with the professor before the exam is definitely a highlight,” Rosanna says.
It’s the kind of thing you don’t forget.
Always There
Jenessa Anderson’s memory is short but pointed. She loved seeing Kara [Wilcox] in Student Life. “She was always willing to chat,” Jenessa says, “and she was a huge encouragement to me.”
Lifting More Than Weights
Kevin Smith (’72) spotted Dr. Manfred Kober at Sorenson’s Gym on 14th Street in Des Moines during the winter of his freshman year. Dr. Kober was in the weight room doing overhead military presses with a heavy barbell. Kevin was surprised to see him there, and Dr. Kober’s explanation made the moment unforgettable.
Every summer, Dr. Kober traveled behind the Iron Curtain to visit family, smuggling in Bibles, books, blue jeans, and ballpoint pens.
He lifted weights all year so that, when he traveled, he could carry heavy luggage without drawing attention. If he struggled to hoist a bag to the overhead rack, it might raise questions he couldn’t afford to answer.
“His dedication, strategic planning, and heart for his family and other believers behind the Iron Curtain was inspiring, to say the least,” Kevin wrote. “Thank you, Dr. Kober.”
Never Fell Asleep Again
In 1974 or 1975, Renae (Radloff) Hodgin took an afternoon doctrine class from Dr. Patton, who had Parkinson’s disease. The medication made his voice very quiet, and with only a few students in the room, the afternoon hour made staying awake a real challenge.
After one class, Renae apologized to Dr. Patton for dozing off. He raised his voice to the students who hadn’t yet left the room and asked them to pray for her that she wouldn’t fall asleep in class again.
“I never fell asleep again,” Renae says, “and it was one of my favorite classes.”
Lives on Lives
These aren’t extraordinary stories in the usual sense (okay, maybe Dr. Kober’s is). They’re stories about a professor who prayed through a directory, a staff member who stopped to chat, and a teacher who invited her class for supper.
Small moments, but clearly, not small at all.
This is the Faith that our alumni remember, and this is the Faith that still exists today.
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to share their stories!
