Wednesday, March 04, 2009

I just hope he gets accepted

We got back a little while ago from taking my son to visit Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. Between my two sons, we've looked at several "small" schools. I was quite impressed by this one.

There are several reasons for this, but foremost is the university's president, Dr. Charles "Tim" Summerlin. First if all, I can totally picture him saying, with proper inflection and accent, "There are those who call me... 'Tim'...?"

Anyway, meeting Dr. Summerlin is a normal part of the campus tour at Schreiner. He made small talk with us for several minutes, including his "reading" of the patches my son's high school jacket to learn more about him. He was a very congenial guy and called my son by his first name several times, as if committing it to memory.

After meeting him, our tour guide mentioned a couple interesting facts about Dr. Summerlin. First, we found out that he and other top school officials still teach classes at the university. The fact that they are still in the classroom won big points with my wife, who is a high school teacher.

The other thing we found out is that the Schreiner Mountaineers have two mascots: One is a student in a cougar costume. The other, dressed as a mountain man, is Dr. Summerlin himself. Take off the bow tie and I can easily picture him playing the part.

Finally, he had a question for us, and sought us out later on in the Welcome Center to ask it. He really seemed to be trying to get to know our son.

From top to bottom, though, the people that are the university seemed to personally connect with us, especially with our son, more than those at any other school. They seemed to think he would be accepted but it can't be official until we submit some additional information. I hope he gets in.

1 comment:

Rat Trap Press said...

Tim the Enchanter, Awesome!!!

Kerville would be a nice place to go to school.