Painting the Town Maroon - McMurry University

Nathan currently attends McMurry, pointed
to the important role of McMurry alumni
in the Artesia community by stating that
“the special connection is due to the alumni
who live here. They are truly advocates and
continue to recruit from each group of fine
students who graduate from Artesia High.
The alumni are very active and are respected
citizens in our community.” The Worleys also
noted how alumni encouraged their young
protégés: “Shelly Ebarb would always say to
Nathan, ‘you would fit perfectly at McMurry,
and I can see you as a leader on campus.’”
Other alumni like Ronnie Null ’66 and Cherie
Widmayer were singled out by the Worleys for
their influence: “Ronnie was always positive
about McMurry and Cherie was one of the
first phone calls Nathan made when he heard
the good news that he received his awesome
scholarship.”
At the same dinner, others emphasized the
influence of the McMurry family in Artesia by
sharing their stories. David Codding, father
of Jennifer Codding ’04 and Diane, a senior at
McMurry, shared that “the important part of
the Artesia-McMurry connection is the people.
Artesia Public Schools have a number of teachers
who are alumni and who have taken an interest
in the children growing up here, and they have
set a good example for our children.” Charlie ’78
and Shelley Ebarb ’78 share the same sentiment.
“There are several teachers in our school system
who went to McMurry and had good experiences.
They want to share that with students in hopes
that they will have the same good experiences
and find their place on campus.” As if to add an
exclamation point, Dr. Kay Younggren ’02, who
is now a dentist in Artesia, and Ronnie Null ’66
voiced their agreement that McMurry alumni in
Artesia were the key factors in students finding
their way to Abilene.
While McMurry alumni and friends visited
over dinner, they shared with me the important
role that McMurry had played in their lives. While
attending McMurry, Ronald and Paula Davis ’72
were a young married couple with two young
M c M u r r y U n i v e r s i t y 7