Winter 2012 - Wayland Baptist University Alumni Association

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Stephen Padilla, his wife, Judi, and daughter, Elizabeth are joined by WBU President Dr. Paul Armes, right, and Alph Chi faculty sponsor Dr. Perry Collins, after a pinning ceremony signifying Padilla’s induction into the national honor society. Because they let me Alpha Chi inductee admits reason for choosing Wayland Story by Richard Porter Stephen Padilla has an interesting reason for attending Wayland Baptist University’s San Antonio campus. He signed up for classes there because they let him. While that may seem like a strange reason, Padilla elaborated while visiting Wayland’s home campus in Plainview for his induction into the university’s chapter of the 16 footprints Alpha Chi Honor Society. He made the almost 900-mile round trip journey with his wife, Judi, and their daughter, Elizabeth. Padilla, who currently is getting a master’s degree in Christian ministry after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Wayland in scientific analysis technology in 2010, spent 25 years in the United States Air Force. He enrolled at the university’s San Antonio campus after completing an associate’s degree through the Community College of the Air Force. However, when he began trying to enroll in a four-year program he discovered that many four-year colleges would not accept the work he had done for his associate’s degree. Enter Wayland Baptist University, which has a long history of working with the military to provide opportunities for higher education to servicemen and women, and allowed him to transfer all of his credits.
“Wayland is one of the military-friendly schools that partners with the Air Force in a program called the Associates-to-Bachelors Cooperative. I started with Wayland for my four-year degree because they accepted my two-year degree,” he said matter-of-factly. Padilla spent much of his time in the Air Force working in nuclear treaty monitoring and research and development. He and Judi both are on their third marriage and he acknowledged that much of his adult life was anything but conducive to strong family values. “Judi and I are both divorced twice. This is our third marriage each. We’ve seen firsthand what it does to adults and children,” he said as he explained the choice of an advanced degree in Christian ministry despite all of his training and prior education in science and technology. “I want to educate people to help prevent divorce and help heal people who have done it anyway,” he said. One of his primary focuses will be on the impact of divorce on children and he plans to pursue that work by volunteering through Family Life Ministries and as a writer and author. In his own experience, he explained, he heard a lot about how the Bible condemns divorce and how those who get divorced and remarry are committing adultery. “They don’t give practical and day-to-day solutions,” he said. Padilla explained that when the Air Force transferred him to San Antonio, he and Judi decided that church would be a good place for their family. However, he acknowledged, he had not always felt that way. “As a child I had been raised Roman Catholic. As an adult, I realized that my childhood faith was not in Jesus but in the rituals of the Church,” he said. “I drifted away from anything even nominally Christian. “I spent the first 20 years of my adult life as an alcoholic and the Lord saved me from that,” he said. Padilla became a Christian in 2004 and he and his family attend Northwest Hills Christian Church. His trip to Plainview for the induction ceremony into Alpha Chi was a whirlwind affair that both he and Judi felt was important for their family. From a personal standpoint, Padilla said there were two reasons he wanted to make the trip. The primary reason was because Judi said they were coming. “When I told Judi I was inducted into this she asked me, ‘When’s the ceremony and where?’ Then she said, ‘I guess we’re going to Plainview in two weeks,’ ” he said, adding that when the time came, the couple pulled Elizabeth out of school for the day and headed north. From his perspective, Padilla continued, a secondary reason was that the induction into Alpha Chi provided affirmation for what he wanted to do with his talents through his education. “I’m already in Mensa but Mensa is a recognition of the gifts God gave me. Alpha Chi is recognition that I’m using those gifts the right way,” he said. The family perspective? Judi responded to that. She pointed out that because both she and Stephen are full-time students, their young daughter “sees a lot of homework” being tackled at their home. “It’s important that Libby sees (Stephen’s) recognition and what she can accomplish, as well. It’s important that she sees that the hard work pays off,” Judi said. As for her take on the trip? “I’m very proud of him and it doesn’t matter how far we have to travel,” she said. Padilla said that he decided to stay at Wayland for his master’s degree because he had such a good experience with the school as an undergrad. “I had such a good experience with Wayland philosophically, educationally and culturally that I decided to stick with Wayland,” he said. Once he completes his master’s degree he plans to become a high school science teacher through the Troops-to-Teachers program while pursuing his passion for ministry. footprints 17
Page 1 and 2: Welcome Miss Wayland
Page 3: FOOTPRINTS Volume 58, No. 3 Editori
Page 6 and 7: her. She left school and took a few
Page 8 and 9: As Dr. Herbert Grover summed up the
Page 10 and 11: Wayland grad and physician Dr. John
Page 12 and 13: Anchorage student finds Christ in t
Page 14 and 15: Operatically Gifted WBU music stude
Page 16 and 17: Fountain releases ‘American Ivory
Page 20 and 21: Oldest alum celebrates 104 (This st
Page 22 and 23: Members of the Wayland Student Chap
Page 24 and 25: Harrelson tagged as Player/Coach Th
Page 26 and 27: Fall success for Pioneer sports Way
Page 28 and 29: Athletics Wrap saves while allowing
Page 30 and 31: From a Friend Dr. Joel Boyd Bachelo
Page 32 and 33: Wayland Mission Center Dr. Richard
Page 34 and 35: $5 million gift will fund Dean muse
Page 36 and 37: News in Brief Enrollment up; studen
Page 38 and 39: Class notes In Loving Memory Christ
Page 40 and 41: Gifts that Keep on Giving Want to r
Page 42 and 43: 2010s LANCE HEINEN, BA’12, accept
Page 44: 1900 West Seventh Street, CMB 1291

Winter 2012 - Wayland Baptist University Alumni Association

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