Mike Raymond as a Stetson University Freshman, 1964

Mike Raymond as a Stetson University Professor, 1995

(Excerpts from a 2003 talk to alumni at Stetson Weekend)

"Consider the history of one student from Orlando. He came to Stetson in 1964 as a lump of lead – the basest of metals. To him, education was merely a means to an end. A college education was an expensive piece of paper that would admit him to law school…. My Stetson education transformed me. (After graduation) I was a shiny new English major on my way to graduate school and a vocation of teaching and writing. Learning had become gold.

"My history is not unique. Many have benefited from the transforming power of a Stetson education. While never as heavy, gray, or dull as I was, thousands have slogged onto campus as pre-med, pre-law, pre-rich, or undecided majors looking for a passive conveyor belt to 'success.' But the Stetson magic touched them like it did me. They have been moved, stirred and transformed into vibrant minds, responsible citizens and creative problem solvers. So many have graduated and have done so much in so many places. They have earned their diplomas and gone off into the world to create and nurture, to serve and protect, to build and restore. They are public school teachers, high school coaches, healthcare professionals, social workers and creative artists.

"Time and again, young, impressionable first-year students come to Stetson each fall consciously or unconsciously seeking values, meaning, belief and purpose. Each spring, graduates leave our campus to be the backbones of our communities, businesses, schools, churches and families. Stetson graduates are the rare metal (the gold) that higher education can produce.

"As fear, cynicism and despair threaten the world and undercut the mission of many universities and the hopes of society, Stetson University remains committed to the union of learning and values, to the quest for truth and meaning, and to its heritage of quality.

"What Stetson University offers and produces is the panacea, the cure, the solution for today's problems, illnesses and corruption. The Stetson experience is that pinch of transforming magic that helps turn its students into the citizens who make the world a better place.

"I ask you to keep the faith. Believe in Stetson University, in its magic and in the power of its alchemy. Together we can change lead into gold, cure society's ills and sustain important values for a very long time.

"I ask you to rekindle the belief in the university in those who have graduated from Stetson in the last year, the last decade and the last century. You and other alumni are Stetson's lifeblood. We need you all to join together in a commitment to the university and its magic.

"I ask you to convert those who do not know of Stetson University and its wonderful powers. When you hear young people, teachers, government officials, pastors and acquaintances lament the state of the world, the decline in values and the absence of hope, tell them about the Stetson magic. Let the uninitiated know about Stetson's commitment to excellence, to learning and to values.

"Bring them into the Stetson family. They will make the Stetson magic stronger."

-- Mike Raymond '68