Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tennessee is where I earned my Associates of Arts degree in 1992. It has been a place very special to me because it helped shape me into the person I am today. Without it you wouldn’t know me most likely. People from all walks of life and all around the world came there and were changed for the better. A few weeks ago it was announced as a shock to many its closing at the end of this term. The college has been serving and educating for over 170 years. Many people have gone on to make the world a much better place for having gone to college here. Me included.

Today I visited campus for probably the last time where I went to an Alumni Association meeting and a question and answer session from the president and board of trustees. It was like a funeral of sorts. A time to ask hard questions and to express grief and to seek some level of understanding and comfort.

I am grateful to Hiwassee and I will miss it very much. I am indeed grateful for all it gave me and for what it meant to so many others.