ermil b. frye
in every college town there are many openings for the young man and woman who wish to earn their way through college. there are always men who will make room in their homes or in their place of business, for that young man who is anxious enough about acquiring an education to work for it with his hands. seldom do we find such a person making his way through school by working at the same thing each year. more frequently we find them working at the best thing that offers. it is in this way that i have made and am making my way.
usually young ambitious persons work their way through school because it is their only means of acquiring an education. in other words, they are self-supporting. others, however, who are not forced to do outside work in order to go to school, find it very advisable to take upon themselves a certain amount in addition to their studies.
the first thing i asked myself was: am i able, physically and mentally, to work my way through school? some are not physically able to do outside work and to carry their school work at the same time. others are not mentally qualified to 216 pursue their studies in an official manner while making their expenses, in whole or in part. i have found, however, that by making a definite schedule for each day, i can give a certain amount of time to outside work, though the time allotted to each of my school subjects may possibly be more or less than the time required by others for those same studies. it may be seen that it is not for everyone to carry regular work in school and while doing so to earn his expenses. yet if a man can he is better off to busy himself with work that is bringing him an income. in taking outside work, i feel that i can do it without detracting from the time required for the preparation of my studies.
again, i have always been taught that for a man who has never been placed under obligations to himself in any way, it is better that he bear a little responsibility. the young men who jump out into the whirl of life’s battles are at a great disadvantage, but the young men who, while in school, have learned how to contend with impending circumstances, will be enabled to cope more successfully with the circumstances which will surely confront them after their school days have ended. i believe that every thinking person will bear me out when i say that the strongest college graduates are those who have known what it was to roll up their sleeves and to help do the ordinary commonplace things. if, by being responsible, one acquires a new experience and added strength, it is essential that 217 we assume some responsibility. therefore, i feel that i am making my education twofold in value by working my way through school.
to many there comes the opportunity of doing some work along the line of their intended profession and in such cases outside work is to be encouraged. such is my privilege. i am studying for the ministry and have been preaching for four years in connection with my school work, earning in this way the greater part of my expenses. in that four years, i have written, in outline form, three hundred and ninety-two sermons. to some this may not represent much, but to me it represents a great deal, including extensive research along different lines and the task of putting together my thoughts in a logical form. i feel that i will be more capable of preaching my first sermon after leaving school, having had all these experiences in the pulpit and in the study.
furthermore, practical experience brings us into close touch with people. in this manner, have i learned the different ways of the church and i have become acquainted with the various classes of people which are represented in the church. this means a great deal to any man, for there are many complex situations in connection with the church, and there are also many matters associated indirectly with the church, which demand solution.
the first means by which i made a part of my expenses was by scrubbing halls and washing windows. 218 this i did in compensation for my board and a part of my room rent. it was new work to me; for i had never scrubbed a floor in my life. yet it enabled me to see the world from the standpoint of the porter and i frankly confess that, after i had once gone through this experience, i had a different regard for the men and women of this occupation.
later by selling and delivering papers, i got to see the world from the standpoint of the newsboy. this proved to be a valuable experience to me. for the first time in my life i faced the mobs of the street and transacted business with them. the many faces into which i looked made impressions upon my life, some of which have been lasting. the care free and the burdened; the hilarious and the melancholy; the custom-bound and the independent; the victims of disease and those to whom disease was unknown; in fact, people representing every condition and every class of life were among those with whom i came in contact. the good which i received from dealing with these widely different and distinct types of humanity is measured only by the resolutions that a man makes when he sees the beautiful and the unattractive, the uplifting and the debasing, the efficient and the inefficient, all within the experience of a day.
after my experience as a newsboy, i secured a place in the college dining hall to carry off and to scrape the dishes. this i did for a school year. 219 though i had little liking for this work, i am better off because i did it and i have more sympathy for the housewife, the daily routine of whose duties every true mother must endure. from this place i was transferred a step higher. i began to wait on tables—a good place in which to cultivate one’s temper and to learn the art of being patient. here one deals with all kinds of temperaments. the waiter must listen to the reasons (given by the girl who came in late) why toast is better buttered before it is served, and why coffee ought to be eliminated from the menu. of course, he comes in contact with others who do not care what they have to eat, just so they have enough of it, and so it is hot. hence, such work is valuable experience, and the waiter who for two or three years finds these faults repulsive to him and then allows himself to drift into the same sort of thing, deserves little pity.
at the present i am holding a student pastorate in the methodist episcopal church. i can reach my appointment by leaving saturday night, being able also to get back in time for my first class monday. a great deal of fault is found with the student preacher, and usually this criticism originates within the college halls. in some schools he is regarded as one who cannot do anything else but preach—a sort of abnormal being; in others, however, he gets the respect which is justly due him. we do not need to investigate very far to find that most denominational schools owe their very existence 220 to the never-tiring work of the clergy. by making my school life twofold, i am enabled to state my theories and conclusions from actual experience; for each day i receive incentives which serve to promote the line of work which i am pursuing and if i should once more go through the process of finding my place in the world, i am of the opinion that i would be drawn into the work of a student preacher.
we often hear that the college is a place where preparation for the work of life is made. our elders tell us that the work of the college serves to broaden our horizon by changing our perspective; but the college, to the man who has never supported himself, will not mean a revelation to the world’s activities in their most true and real form. after graduating from college a man will find that he has awakened in a real world in which men are bearing responsibilities, and will realize that in every phase of life the world is calling for men who have had the most experience, who have received the strength which comes only from carrying a load.
indianola, iowa.