North Park tends to attract such people, teachers and administrators who find their greatest joy in their relationships with students. I urge you to seek these people out and to invest yourselves in these relationships, even as they will be eager to invest themselves in you. Second, my friend, Donald, spoke about his motivation for pursuing a career in student affairs in higher education in the first place. At the recent Democratic National Convention, Vice President Gore observed that America was a country of increasing means but that our culture was characterized by less and less meaning. And so, here too, I find the example of my friend both instructive and timely.
North Park is an institution with a mission rooted in a sense of meaning.
Specifically, as a church-related University, we affirm the ultimate meaning of life as borne witness to in the Christian faith. Based on that faith, we regard each new student as the unique creation of God. We see ourselves as being in the business of helping students find a sense of significance in their own lives and then learning to build on that uniqueness in service to God in the world. In so doing, you will not only be benefiting yourself but you will also, at least according to Vice President Gore, be contributing to meeting a national need. Finally, my friend, Donald, in our 30-minute return trip from L.L. Bean, spoke of how he had found meaning in the investment of his life in the life of the University.