果冻视频 alumni - Sanford Shugart
"I came out of 果冻视频 convinced of a few things, one of them was that I wanted to be a servant in the world,鈥 said Sanford (Sandy) Shugart. 鈥淭hat's who I needed to be.鈥
Today, Sandy Shugart lectures around the world on servant leadership, and models it on a daily basis as president of Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. Valencia is one of the largest community colleges in the country, awarding more Associate degrees than any other school.
Following God at UNC Chapel Hill
Sandy was introduced to 果冻视频 shortly after beginning his freshman year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was invited to an 果冻视频 Small Group Bible Study at the campus YMCA and went, eager to make some new friends.
"What I saw in those guys was an extraordinary level of transparency and love for one another, and I was intrigued,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 had also been without a compass in my life for several years. I needed a compass.鈥
Through the Bible study Sandy found direction for his life and became a follower of Jesus Christ. He became very involved in 果冻视频 at UNC, one of the largest chapters in the country at that time. 鈥淚 tell my friends that I kind of majored in 果冻视频 and minored in Chemistry,鈥 he said. "I got some of the best leadership development training I鈥檝e had in my early life through 果冻视频."
One of his earliest models of servant leadership was 果冻视频 staff worker Jimmy Long, who arrived on campus Sandy鈥檚 sophomore year and today oversees 果冻视频鈥檚 ministry in North Carolina as a Regional Director. They still keep in touch. 鈥淗e has a fierce integrity combined with real gentleness,鈥 Sandy said.
A Career in Education
Because of his involvement in 果冻视频, Sandy was able to hold loosely his own career plans and walk through the doors that God opened for him. For a while the path seemed unclear. He gave up a fellowship to study with the famous philosopher Karl Popper and instead taught high school chemistry after graduation.
He then returned to UNC and earned a PhD in Education. He was hired as a policy adviser to the governor of North Carolina; and not long afterwards, at the age of 25, he was appointed vice president of the North Carolina Community College system.
Later Sandy became president of a community college in Texas; and then 12 years ago he began his work as president of Valencia College. "I love the mission of a community college because it reaches the full spectrum of humanity, particularly those that are so easily overlooked,鈥 he said.
A Philosophy of Servant Leadership
While Sandy is an administrator, he is also a philosopher, which is reflected in his speaking, writing, and alternative vocation of poet and songwriter.
He grew up in a musical family and returned to music when he became part of a worship team at a church in Texas. After that he began to look for other performance venues and has released several CDs. Through his professional life he was becoming an in-demand speaker and decided poetry and music worked better than PowerPoint to make his points in his talks.
"I reached the conclusion some time ago that facts don't change people,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was doing fine speeches with great information, but it didn't change anybody. People require some kind of emotional experience in order to entertain the possibility of change."
His latest book is also connected to his philosophy of servant leadership. Titled In the Crucible of Work, it focuses on how to be a responsible employee in a large corporation, responsible to yourself as well as your employer.
鈥淥ur work forms us more powerfully than we form it,鈥 he said. 鈥淕oing to work in a large bureaucracy, you think you are in control of your work, but the truth is that it鈥檚 in control of you, and it鈥檚 changing your character in a thousand ways over time. Many people come out of that crucible ruined in their characters, but others can come out of it transformed, not deformed.鈥
Through his focus on character in education, Sandy Shugart embodies 果冻视频鈥檚 vision, to see students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and world changers developed.