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| Student Says Knox College Shaped Him |
A graduating senior says he had never even heard of Knox College when he got a letter in the mail from the school saying they were interested in him attending over four years ago.
Sean Bullock was the senior class speaker at the Knox commencement on Saturday and he says pressure from his mom was the reason he completed the application. Bullock says he had never heard of Knox, didn't want to leave his Virginia home to come to Illinois, and quite frankly wasn't even a fan of the color purple.
Bullock says those attitudes changed once he began to develop relationships with friends who had the same interests. Before his friendships developed, Bullock told the students and their families at the graduation, he asked a Knox student many questions before accepting to come to Galesburg, including one answer he says he'll never forget.
"I said, 'What is there to do in Galesburg?'" Bullock said. "There was an uncomfortably long pause, immediately followed by the reluctant reply, 'Well, we have a Target and a Wal-Mart," Bullock said, as the crowd laughed.
Bullock says he eventually saw and learned about beautiful places in Galesburg even though he says he missed mountains and beaches and just about anything that wasn't flat or windy.
He says his honors project led him to learn the freedom of failure, a twist on the Knox motto of "Freedom to Flourish". He says the freedom to fail includes books he never read, discussions he never attended, or volunteer opportunities he never took, but those failures shaped both him and his fellow students.
Bullock was accepted at over a dozen graduate schools but the English Literature major will be attending Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in the fall.
To download Bullock's speech in its entirety, CLICK HERE.
(Students take part in the processional to the back of "Old Main" on the Knox College campus Saturday. WGIL News Story and Photo by Dominic Fortini.) |
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| 06 08 09 by Newsroom |
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