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William Day Frederick Hagerman Stephen Hays, James Andrews Steve Hays Rodney Hood Seldon Strother Jack Matthews L.J. Hortin Gerald Dykstra Victor Whitehouse, Albert Gubitz, Gerald Dykstra Donald Clippinger Robert DeMott Walt Abendroth Edgar Whan, David Keck, Jeff Connor Seabury Quinn Ronald Socciarelli, Harold Robison, James Stewart Guido Stempel Father John Augustiniak Robin Lacy Robert Baker Waltraud Bald Janet Slater Karen Nulf Robert Winters Richard Danner, Dru Evarts, Daniel Keyes Hugh Bloemer Ralph Kliesch Art Marinelli Jr. Paul Hersey

Walt Abendroth Setting a great example It was 1975 ... I think. I can't be too sure because it was so long ago. I had returned to live near campus to continue my graduate work during the summer, although I desperately wanted to be home with my husband in Washington Court House. What got me through that time? A guy named Walt Abendroth (assistant professor of guidance counseling and student personnel education). I began my classes in the SABSEL counseling program, knowing that time would be my enemy. Except for the few classes I could eke out at the campus in Chillicothe, I would be required to return to Athens each summer to complete my degree. That didn't make me happy. I was young, in love and wanted to be making my nest. As luck would have it, Walt was my instructor in two classes that summer. His compassion and his humor kept me grounded and focused. I realized early on that he possessed characteristics that I could emulate in my own association with students. He knew each of us on a personal level and quickly developed an understanding of what made each one tick. For me, he acknowledged my desire to be somewhere else that summer. Yet he engaged me in some of the most interesting and challenging course work I had encountered. I remember that I wrote a paper for one of his classes, and in it I mentioned that I really looked forward to the weekends when I could return home because each visit was like a honeymoon all over again. Walt always bid us goodbye each Friday afternoon and wished us a good weekend. As I was leaving class, he wished me a "happy honeymoon." I often wonder where Walt Abendroth is now, for I would like to tell him that he served, and still serves, as an example to me of good teaching. I stayed in the public educational system, teaching high school for 17 years, and now am adjunct faculty at a community college in Washington Court House (yes, I still live here with the same husband!). I remember how Walt knew each of us back then. That's what I try to do now with my students, many of whom are adults working full time, raising families and trying to complete their educations. Walt doesn't know it, but he has touched all those lives I have touched by his example. Renee Snider, MED '79 Washington Court House, Ohio