Success Stories - D. Wes Rist '97
Job: PHD student at University of the West of England, Bristol, UK/ Part-time teaching staff
Town: Grew up in Quakertown, Bristol UK
Favorite Food: Fried Chicken
Favorite Sports Team: Pittsburgh anything
Life Verse: Micah 6:8
Girlfriend: Lisette Broadfoot
Years at Upper Bucks
While all of my teachers at UBCS were very helpful, I remain especially grateful to three of my senior high teachers that took extra time out of their lives to offer encouragement and advice to me as I began to consider life outside of Sellersville. Mr. Al VanOsten was probably the teacher I had most frequently, as I took every science class the UBCS offered, as well as spending three years with him as my debate coach. Mr. Van Osten was always willing to take the time to discuss his time at college and what he considered to be important professionally, as well as spiritually, in making a decision about which college to attend.
Miss Patti McKeown was my literature teacher from tenth grade until graduation and managed to keep me engaged in class, even when I had already read the material we were reading or reviewing. She gave me my love of Shakespeare, and my habit of wanting to read a book for myself instead of accepting another’s judgment of its value. By the time I graduated, Miss McKeown had ensured that reading would remain a lifelong love of mine, and that even with that love, I would never blindly accept that which I read. She also managed to hammer some grammar into me, which, much to my dismay, I actually use quite frequently.
Finally, Mr. Rick Harris was our senior class advisor and an especially trusted teacher to me throughout high school. He and my father were close friends from their long years of work together designing school bus routes for UBCS, and he was one of the first adults that I grew up obeying that began to treat me like an adult myself. Mr. Harris always pushed for the best in all of us, and often forced us to grow in ways we hadn’t imagined we could. Rick Harris gave us a lot of the practical advice about life that I think many of us found extremely useful once we actually got out on our own. These three teachers epitomize to me the concept of good role models. They were solid, Godly influences on my life at a time when I especially moldable.
What Does Christian Education Mean to You?
I used to think of Christian Education as an escape from the deprivations and degradations of public schools. It represented a place for Christians to go to avoid the troubles often associated with public schools. But my opinion of Christian Education has changed the more I have ventured into the “real world” composed primarily of non-christian individuals. My perspective on Christian Education now is one of proactive training. Christian Education gives parents, and later on, young Christians, a chance to prepare either their children or themselves for a live of service in the world, As Christians, we are commanded to not be of the world, but to remain in it. And in order to live our lives daily in the world, and still maintain our Christian identity, it is vital that Christians receive the proper foundation. This can be accomplished in many ways, including training at church as well as vital training and interaction in a Godly home.
Christian Education offers a way for students to be uniquely prepared to respond to the challenges that face young Christians in a growing social climate focused on further education and professional employment. Whether that be a trade skills, technological skills, or more traditional higher educational tracks, young people are facing an increased pressure to get further education. While that training is good, and can be greatly used by God to further His work, often times that training carries perils of its own. Faced with skeptical or even outright hostile professors, young Christians are often tempted to hide their Christianity, or attempt to slide by “under the radar.” Christian Education, especially at the high school level, offers an opportunity to prepare students for that challenge and equip them with the spiritual tools needed to fight those battles. Christian Education can never replace the responsibility placed on parents by God to raise Godly children with upright character, but it can very effectively aid parents in that task, and seem well-equipped, Christ-reliant young people out into a world that desperately needs the Lord.