The Voice of Higher Education: The Flagler Years

Flagler College, established

When Railroad Magnate, Henry Flagler, built his breathtaking Hotel Ponce de Leon in 1888, I am sure he had no idea that thousands of students would have their lives transformed as they lived and studied in these rooms.

From Italian frescoed ceilings to authentic Tiffany stained Glass, from wood carved pillars and marble steps, from terracotta roofs and turrets to magnificently landscaped grounds, the details of the Hotel Ponce de Leon are an architectural phenomenon and an inspiration before you even open a book.

Established in 1968, Flagler College is a small liberal arts college comprising a few city blocks and offering students four year degrees in a variety of majors. It is located in the middle of the charming historic town of St. Augustine Florida and has been named one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation.

I began my journey at Flager in 1980 and was assigned Dr. Douglas Taylor, the philosophy professor, as my guidance counselor. Philosophy 101, and studying the "Problem of Evil" under Dr. Taylor was my first introduction to the brilliance of this man. He would walk in, and with barely a note, would fill three chalkboards with an outline and proceed to expound to us. I learned the fast and furious method of note-taking and watched in awe as he expounded upon any subject with intelligence, wit and ebullience.

I had proclaimed to Dr. Taylor, in our first meeting, that I would excel in my chosen major of religion; he assured me I would be under the college's most challenging professor, a Dr. Mattie Hart. I am sure he said this doubting my resolve. I was young and foolish and he had seen my kind before. I did not come into college with a history of studiousness, ( high school having seen me more as cheerleader, dumb blonde and flower child), but I was determined to make good on my parents belief in me that I would excel. In our second meeting after first semester, he saw that I was determined to succeed in my goal. He became the first person in my life to truly encourage my academic pursuits and believed that I could achieve the goals I had set for myself, and beyond.

Dr. Taylor taught a course that was only available in Summer session. It was called "The Holocaust and Human Values." Dr. Taylor had been researching this subject for a book. It was was one of the most powerful classes I would ever take, and my note-taking skills had to go into hyper-speed to keep up with his rapid-fire instruction. Sadly, Dr. Taylor would pass away a couple years after my graduation, and his book was never published. I will always remember his kind belief in me, that perhaps I was not the "dumb blonde,'' after all, and that belief gave a fuel to my continued academic endeavors. His was a voice of encouragement that I could actually do what I had set my mind to do.

College is a time where we are looking for answers, not just the answers for the next term paper or exam. We have questions far beyond the scope of the syllabus. What I began to learn from Dr. Taylor was found in a simple quote from that Summer in his course on the Holocaust. As part of the curriculum we read Elie Wiesels's Night. Wiesel writes: "He explained to me with great insistence that every question possessed a power that did not lie in the answer."

Dr. Taylor posed many questions to me - and the answers were not always the point - sometimes the point was in the power that asking brings... the transforming power of asking questions. I became a more brave and courageous young woman because I learned that I did not have to fear the asking. What freedom that brings.

Thank you, Dr. Taylor - your belief in me was a sweet kindness I have never forgotten.

With Joy in this Journey,