Tom Graham, Leaving Senior, Looks to the Future, 1936

From The Clarion, The Brevard College Weekly, May 15, 1936

What Can We Do for Brevard College?

By Tom Graham, retiring president of the Student Council

We who are about to leave salute you, Brevard College. A part of us has gone into laying the foundation of a College which shall grow with the help of each succeeding class until someday it shall achieve wide renown. Is it possible that some of us do not realize the pressure that this brings to bear on every one of us? Success for ourselves and the College can be gained only by the best efforts of each of us throughout our only too short stay. Is it not true that we gain only as much as we venture in any enterprise; then is it practical for us to loaf on the job, only receiving a small interest from our investment and at the same time injuring others in many and devious ways?

We succeed as the College does. Unless we use our influence to shape correctly the many characteristics of college life, we too shall suffer with sluggards. Those who plan to enter universities will be allowed entrance only if the reputation of our College is good. If our College has a reputation for laxity in its rules, curriculum, and morality, a student has a poor chance of being accepted at any reputable college or university. Brevard College is judged by those students who leave here and enter other colleges or business concerns. If some students make bad records because of unpreparedness, immorality, or incompetence, many innocent competent students will be made to suffer. Is it not then to our advantage to strive always to do our best in molding the fundamental characteristics of a growing college so that in later years we shall reap a harvest of good will and honor?

We are a part of everything that we touch; we, therefore, gain because of the hard work we do in bringing honor to our College. If we could look into the future, I am sure we would be able to see many students whose characters will in many ways be shaped by rules, regulations, and traditions that we have fostered, governed, and left as our early college landmarks (our “footprints on the sands of time”). Let us, if necessary then, will to, and impart in, the corner-stone of Brevard College the best that is in us.