Warrior Magazine June 2020

with Class.” While including the college’s EC initials, the meaning behind the motto actually stems from the lessons learned by one of the greatest influences in Stewart’s life: his father, Billy Stewart, Sr. “He was hard, tough on me and my sister growing up. The one thing he demanded is that if you do something, do it well. My dad only worked for one company his entire career. When I was a high school student, he got me a job one summer in the warehouse where he worked. The night before my first day on the job that summer, he came in my room and he said, ‘I’m taking you to work with me tomor row. I got you that job, son, and I want you to understand, I’ve worked at this company over 20 years, and I’ve worked hard to establish a good reputation at the company. You need to know and understand that what you do this summer not only reflects on you, but on me, your mother, and your

through their instructional pursuits. The second leg is the physical area, where students learn how to live a healthy lifestyle through opportunities like a tobacco-free campus, a wellness center, walking trail, and sand volleyball courts, among others. Stewart says while most colleges stop with these first two and think they’re complete, East Central allows opportunities for students to develop two more im portant areas. He said, “We want our students to also develop socially. If you come to East Central, at some point you will have to tell your story. We all have a story and we can share and learn from each other’s. That’s what life is about, relation ships and being able to share our story. When students are in a job interview, they have to tell people about themselves and if they don’t know how, they aren’t getting the job. It’s also important for us to help our students grow socially to

sister. You share my name, son, and I want you to wear it well.’ As a high school kid who sometimes resented a dad who was hard on me and demanded my very best all of the time, that made an impression on my life. I guess in many ways, I’ve been trying to do that ever since—wear his name well. “I once heard someone say that every job is a self-portrait of the one who does it, so auto graph your work with excellence. To me, the EC Way is just that.

work with students of different faiths and backgrounds, to work together, to show empathy and respect to each other, to walk in someone else’s shoes, to function as a team together. And I think EC does that well. “The last leg of the chair in volves the spiritual development of a student. I acknowledge that we are a public institution that welcomes people of all faiths or no faith and I value and defend that fact. Everyone is welcome here. However, I also know what

“ ” I once heard someone say that every job is a self-portrait of the one who does it, so autograph your work with excellence. To me, the EC Way is just that. Do everything you do the right way. No short cuts. No jobs done halfway...Just do it well.

Do everything you do the right way. No short cuts. No jobs done halfway. Be excellent and produce excellent results. If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Hopefully that not only reflects my professional life, but my personal life with my family as well. I’m not a perfect dad or husband, but I want to be an excellent one. I fall short so many times, but that’s what I want to be. So, it’s simply doing things well no matter what, whether someone is watching or not. Just do it well.” If one has heard Dr. Stewart speak, whether to students, staff, or community groups, they might have heard him speak about four legs of a chair. For him, the chair legs represent the four main areas of personal development East Central offers to students. The first leg is the academic area, where students are taught to prepare for their future

Christ did in my life as a college freshman and continues to do in my life each day. Students have a wonderful opportu nity here through things like the Baptist Student Union, Fel lowship of Christian Athletes, Wesley Foundation, Newman Club, and College Worship at Clarke-Venable Baptist Church, to grow spiritually. We don’t force anything on anyone, but we want students to simply have the opportunity to grow in that area of their lives. “Life will throw things onto a student’s chair that are difficult. Since being at East Central, I’ve had things put in my chair that were difficult including the death of my father and my nephew. The goal is that the four legs of the chair don’t collapse when difficult times come in the life of a current or former student. That the four legs of their life developed while a student here will sustain them through

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