by Dr. Kere Frey ’82

A simple yet far-reaching question, “What would you like to study?” was sufficient to induce a pinball anxiety. Time has not diminished the recollection of an uninitiated farm boy. It was clear from where I came – but not where I should be headed.

Enter Hesston College.

Fixated on the (barely) undulating lowlands of south central Kansas, one could easily overlook the cosmopolitan nature of this place, yet it offered fellow students and professors from other hemispheres and classes and activities to accommodate and stimulate many spheres of interest.

My fascination evolved from physical education disciplines to biology and chemistry. I was afforded the chance to participate in athletics, music and theater while fostering and fortifying my Anabaptist heritage.

Like red winter wheat, Hesston encouraged me to thrive.

Of course, Hesston College is about more than a study focus. Ideas and experiences should take you out of your comfort zone. Hesston nurtured an engagement that led to life lessons – lessons that resonate today in my role as physician, educator and administrator.

Hesston College offers to sometimes nudge, sometimes kickstart a receptive student on a fruitful life journey. It is a relationship that merits cultivation. It is a relationship that deserves to be sustained.

I have been blessed to be included in the Hesston Experience, and I choose to help offer that experience to others.

Dr. Kere Frey is Clinical Director for a Chicago hospital. He has also worked as an anesthesiologist and assistant professor at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine (Chicago).