{"id":3883,"date":"2026-05-12T16:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/?p=3883"},"modified":"2026-05-13T09:44:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:44:53","slug":"my-career-is-a-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/2026\/05\/12\/my-career-is-a-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMy Career Is A Gift\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Nine years feels like an appropriate amount of time.<\/p>\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n

On a day in late April, two members of the Wabash Class of 2017 \u2013 Anthony Douglas and Rory Willats \u2013 were on campus to reconnect, catch up with current students, and share a few thoughts.<\/p>\n\n

\"Anthony<\/a>
Anthony Douglas ’17 in Hays Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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<\/a> of \u201cAnd You Will Stand on Windswept Beaches.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cOne 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,\u201d he said. \u201cIt becomes about what space opens when you try. \u00a0When 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Douglas, too, appreciated that his Wabash education pushed him to think differently.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWabash 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,\u201d he said. \u201cWabash 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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\u2019s found his calling.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt’s such a privilege and a blessing to feel like I have purpose and that what I\u2019m doing makes a difference,\u201d he explained. \u201cMost 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n

\"Rory<\/a>
Rory Willats ’17 in Ball Theater.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere’s an element of nostalgia being here, but there’s also an element of disbelief,\u201d he explained. \u201cI know what it felt like to be a student in that room and watch others present. It\u2019s an adjustment to know that I\u2019m that person; I\u2019ve flicked into a different role.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWho do you hear in your head when you’re trying to make difficult decisions?\u201d he asked. \u201cFor 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Willats offered this reflective closing thought.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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