2008-2009 PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Berea College

Tracy Espy:
How One Scholar
Followed the Call to Serve
Bert VanderVeen
BY DEB MCINTYRE, ’10
Tracy Willis, ’87, a young woman from
Bessemer, Alabama, thought she
knew what poverty in America
looked like. She had seen it in minority
neighborhoods in nearby Birmingham. But
while on a trip to Perry County in eastern
Kentucky as a Berea College student, she
saw poverty staring back at her through the
eyes of mountain people and realized she had
a lot to learn.
“Some of the homes were sitting on stacks of bricks. Red dirt
covered the outside walls, there was very little grass, and some
front doors were missing.” The people were shabbily dressed.
These images are etched in Tracy’s mind. “After seeing people
living under such poor conditions, I knew I wanted to help people
have a better life. I thought to myself, ‘I want to help change the
world so that people will not have to live in this manner.’ I
remember thinking that I could not just turn away from it. No
matter where I go to this day, I am humbled by that experience. I
think that an experience like that stays in your conscience and
quietly whispers to you the remainder of your life.”
Today, Tracy Willis Espy is provost and vice president for
academic affairs at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina—an
institution that began as a mission school for the underprivileged
and continues to serve students with financial needs.
Its motto: “The Nature to Serve. The Knowledge to Lead.”
Pfeiffer, which espouses a mission of diversity, service, and
Christian ethics, reflects the same values that steered Tracy to
Berea College.
Those virtues were first instilled in her through her
parents. “I cannot remember a time in my life when either of
my parents was not assisting the church or community in some
manner,”
she says. Her
mother cooked
meals and delivered
them to ill or incapacitated
friends and neighbors. Her father visited the elderly and ran
errands for them. She watched as her parents opened their
home to elderly family members who needed care. “I learned
first-hand the importance of sacrificing for others, respecting
people who are aging, and having a good attitude while engaged
in challenging situations.”
Tracy followed their example, involving herself in church
and school service projects. While serving as a hostess at her
high school’s college fair, she met someone who would change
her life—Carl Thomas, ’78, associate director of admissions at
Berea College. At that time, the young Tracy felt disappointed
by having to assist at a booth for a college she’d never heard of.
“But after spending three hours with Carl Thomas and talking
with him about what my passions were, he convinced me that
Berea sounded like the place for me.” A weekend visit proved
Carl’s claims. “I was so captivated by being able to work
through college and give back while getting an education. I
knew I could not attend college anywhere else and be truly
happy.”
Tracy initially began a major in chemistry, but after her
sophomore year, she found herself unsure. It was then that
her chemistry professor and advisor, the late Tom Beebe,
convinced her to take other electives. They spent a couple of
hours discussing her interests and going through the catalog
searching for possible courses to take. “He discussed the value
of opening my world to more possibilities and that the only way
that could happen was to explore. I remember that conversation
as one of the most significant of my undergraduate career.”
While finishing up a major in home economics focused on
consumerism, Tracy took advantage of opportunities to visit
Hazard, Kentucky, and other communities. “That experience in
Hazard caused me to begin wondering about how and why
people live differently than others, and how who you are and
where you live can affect your future.”
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BEREA COLLEGE MAGAZINE : FALL 2009