school material. They took an unpolished, rough kid and gave me enough skills, tools, education and training that I could get into law school and compete against REALLY smart guys.” He credits some key figures in his Loras experience for the transformation. “Father 'Rocky' Hamilton, the head of Sociology, probably understood my circumstance better than anybody. I also took two summer school courses with Marcus W. Collins, who took me under his wing during summer school every day. He really befriended me, spent social time with me, teaching me culture. He taught me things like basic table manners, common etiquette and grammar. I so appreciated that I really had somebody who cared enough about me to help me and improve me.” Bill was transformed by his Loras experience more than just academically. The true beauty of his time at Loras was what he gained in his relationship with his father. “Freshman year, it was embarrassing [that my dad was a janitor]. I would walk down the hallways and I’d think that they [the other students] were here because their parents paid for their way. One day, the light bulb went on—‘so did my dad, he just paid for it differently'. I thought then that I was equal to these guys. I was so insecure before that point. Then I got over it, and started helping him mop floors and carry out garbage. My peers would see me and I would introduce them to my dad,” Bartmann explained. “Up until that moment, my dad didn’t command a lot of respect—then when I saw him in a
different light, I realized how lucky I was to be his son and how lucky I was that he was my dad. He gave me a gift that few fathers can actually give their kids [through tuition remission as a Loras employee]. I was lucky that I could work with him.” Bartmann describes an adolescence and young adulthood when his parents couldn’t always pay their bills on time on their very modest income. They were often harassed by bill collectors who were rude, mean and unethical in their pursuits of debt. This background, along with the experience and education that Bill got in his college years, the morals his parents instilled in him and his own experience with financial distress, led him to his current career. Bartmann founded and runs CFS2, a debt collection company garnering near-constant awards and accolades for its pioneering practices in ethical debt collection. “My belief in mankind is that people are good. 90% of people will do what they should do if given the opportunity,” he explained. “It all started with a box of bad loans and a belief that if you treat people right, most of them will do the right thing.” That first box of “bad loans” led to a recent nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for Bartmann. Bartmann remains forever grateful to his father for giving him a chance at the Loras experience through his janitorial job and encourages others to remember and thank those who gave them opportunities. His advice to current Loras students? “Advice that Father Hamilton gave me—expand your field of study and push yourself."
Feature Stories
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