“Here is the particular case of Mr. Al Yoder, who gave me great support when I was struggling in my classes because of my poor English.”

Victor Carrasco’s words echoed dozens of his fellow Hesston College international students who studied English with Yoder and who sent prayers and words of encouragement during their former instructor’s battle with esophageal cancer.

“This situation was not all bad because it helped us build a very good friendship,” continued Carrasco, a 1992 graduate from the Dominican Republic. “I often remember those words that came from Mr. Al Yoder: ‘Do not give up, Victor. You can make it. Do not give up, keep going.’ Those words still come to my mind every single day, and those words encourage me to understand that dreams come true when you one day [finish the things you started].”

To say that Al Yoder influenced the lives of the students he worked with would be an understatement. Yoder was more than an instructor – he was a mentor, a father-figure and a friend – especially to the students who studied English as a second language with him. Even with years and miles separating Yoder from his former students, many fondly remembered him and the way his encouragement, enthusiasm and passions helped them adjust to life and education in the United States. His nurturing and supportive ways provided them with a foundation for the rest of their lives.

Yoder, Hesston College faculty emeritus, passed away on April 3 after battling cancer for several months. In the months leading to his death, notes filled his email inbox and the wall of the CASS (Cooperative Association of States for Scholarship)/Peace Scholars Facebook page remembering the man who touched so many lives.

“You were certainly a teacher in its truest sense, and you never gave up on any of us no matter how much we struggled with English,” Cesar Dubois, a 1995 graduate from Nicaragua, said in an email to Yoder. “Even more, you were an inspiration for integrity and dignity and a wonderful ambassador for introducing us to the U.S. way of life.”

Yoder arrived in Hesston from Garden City, Mo., for the first time as a student in 1947 studying teacher education. He started his career in one-room schools in Missouri, teaching alongside his wife, Irene. He then taught in Glenwood Springs, Colo., before moving on to administration and serving as an assistant elementary principal in Denver. After returning to school himself, he worked at the University of Wyoming (Laramie) Laboratory School where he developed curriculum and innovative teaching techniques before returning to Hesston in 1974.

Upon his return to Hesston, Yoder served as the principal at Hesston Elementary School and curriculum coordinator for U.S.D. 460 before transitioning back into teaching when he began as teacher education instructor at Hesston College in 1980. In 1984 he became co-director of the Title IV program, a federally-funded precursor to today’s academic support services. He added an ESL certification to his skill set, and in 1990 began teaching English as a second language to international students until his retirement in May 2005.

“Teaching is my passion, so these 25 years [at Hesston College] have been wonderful and the most fulfilling,” said Yoder upon his retirement. “I love the cultural interaction with the students and the excitement with which they learn.”

When Yoder began teaching ESL classes, the college had just become part of the CASS program administered by Georgetown University (Washington D.C.), which hosted economically disadvantaged Central American and Caribbean students to prepare them for successful careers in their home countries.

Hesston College was no stranger to international students. Students from Canada had been a part of the student population since the college’s early years, with students from Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and South America attending beginning in the mid-1940s. Dozens of international students from dozens of countries add a unique perspective to the campus community every year.

And Yoder himself was no stranger to international students. During a sabbatical in 1986-87, Al and Irene taught English at Chongqing University in China. They also taught at Lithuania Christian College (Klaipeda) during the summer program in 1997. For 15 years, Al was the primary Hesston College instructor to teach English and American culture to hundreds of international students.

Gerry Selzer, Yoder’s colleague at both Hesston Public Schools and Hesston College, said Yoder was a mentor to him as an educator who shared his passion for teaching and education.

“Al was not afraid to entertain new ideas or to have old ideas challenged,” said Selzer. “I discovered that he had time- and experience-tested ideas that spoke to some of my uncertainties about education. He truly understood how learning happens.”

That passion spilled into all the areas in which Yoder worked. In 2001, Hesston College and U.S.D. 460 hosted a banquet in celebration of his 50 years of teaching and for all the contributions he provided to the schools in the community.

Former students remember Yoder’s sense of humor, his passion for teaching and his encouragement. Some recounted stories of how he introduced them to brownies, carving pumpkins, and roasting marshmallows and hot dogs over bonfires.

Al Yoder helped establish an atmosphere for international students to feel safe and encouraged as they integrated with a new culture and language. His legacy will live on in the students who had the privilege to call him their teacher, mentor and friend.

“Al is the type of teacher that has the power to leave an undeletable mark on his students,” wrote Donaldo Samayoa, a 1994 graduate from Guatemala, who now lives in Maryland. “Thank you, Al, for all you did, for your dedication, your patience and love.”

Located 30 miles north of Wichita, Hesston College is the two-year liberal arts college of Mennonite Church USA.