Nine years feels like an appropriate amount of time.
Time enough for a college graduate to really find their way in the world, to establish good professional habits, and to carve a real path to personal success.
On a day in late April, two members of the Wabash Class of 2017 – Anthony Douglas and Rory Willats – were on campus to reconnect, catch up with current students, and share a few thoughts.
Douglas, a psychology major who graduated from Indiana University medical school and is now a trauma surgeon resident at the University of Chicago, was on campus to talk about his path to being a physician, while Willats, a psychology and theater double major, was in the Fine Arts Center directing the production of “And You Will Stand on Windswept Beaches.”
For Willats, the time away from campus, and the return, has offered a new perspective. Students often feel pressure to prove themselves capable and up to the job. He now more appreciates the lesson of the Wabash theater.
“One of the things that Wabash theater does at its best is ask something else of the young men here, of the people involved, and of the audiences,” he said. “It becomes about what space opens when you try. When you try without the sense of competition, without the sense of ranking, without it being about what you are, without the sense of mastery. It’s about something else and something that, as men, we could use a lot more of.”
Douglas, too, appreciated that his Wabash education pushed him to think differently.
“Wabash not only broadened my horizon and sharpened my tool set, but it challenged me to think about the world, not only that I live in, but that others live in around me,” he said. “Wabash forces you to strive not only to be a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher, but to be a facilitator within the spaces or community you find yourself.”
Douglas understands the demands of his current position, where he advocates for and helps people at some of their most vulnerable moments. He also appreciates that he’s found his calling.
“It’s such a privilege and a blessing to feel like I have purpose and that what I’m doing makes a difference,” he explained. “Most everybody has a job. Some have a career, but not everybody finds purpose, and I’ve been able to find both a career and purpose. I feel very fortunate.”
But that thought pulled him back to his first day of classes, sitting in Baxter Hall for a psychology 101 class, and the realization of how far he has come in these last nine years.
“There’s an element of nostalgia being here, but there’s also an element of disbelief,” he explained. “I know what it felt like to be a student in that room and watch others present. It’s an adjustment to know that I’m that person; I’ve flicked into a different role.”
Being back on campus also provided Willats with bouts of nostalgia. As he was directing the cast in Ball Theater, he was struck by the sense that some influential voices were aiding his efforts.
“Who do you hear in your head when you’re trying to make difficult decisions?” he asked. “For me, it’s the voices of the Wabash theater department that I hear when I’m in my rehearsals. Those are the foundational voices for me, Dwight Watson, Jim Cherry, Michael Abbott, and Jesse Mills.”
Willats offered this reflective closing thought.
“It feels really good to do this, to be lucky enough to pay my bills doing the thing and to feel like I am at a place where I know my own artistry and have something specific to say. My career is a gift to me, largely from Wabash. So, this visit is a little offer back.”
