michael carper: rock star! W H E N M I C H A E L C A R P E R ’ 1 3 departed in June for Kenya with the College’s History of Christianity in Africa class, he was a bright but quiet religion major who had never traveled outside of the United States. He returned from Kenya a “rock star.” Professor Bill Cook tells the story of Carper and four other Wabash students who visited Ndalani Secondary School near Machakos. Before spending time in classrooms, the Wabash contingent was welcomed by 700-plus high-schoolers at an outdoor assembly. Cook began the introductions, then turned the stage over to Carper: “Dressed in an orange FIJI T-shirt and plaid shorts I’ve often made fun of, Michael spoke loudly and clearly and articulately— composed despite the abruptness of my ‘invitation.’ Students received his words well.” When the deputy principal announced which Wabash men would visit which classes, the high-schoolers clamored for Carper. “When the announcement was made, the lucky class began celebrating their good fortune. Michael was a genuine rock star in rural Kenya! We barely saw him for the next several hours, because he could not be separated from his fans. When we finally spotted him, he was surrounded by about 75 kids cheering him and trying to touch his hair. “Unlike almost all of the other students on this trip, Michael had not been outside the USA until he stepped off the plane in Nairobi. He is not a natural glad-hander or a backslapper. At the beginning of the trip, he appeared a bit overwhelmed by all of the hugs and handshakes we all received from our hosts at the airport. “But now Michael is a rock star, and in some ways he will be a rock star forever.” “As I think more and more about being on the receiving end of Kenyan hospitality, I think more and more about returning,” Carper wrote. “I could try to pay back Kenya for what its people have done for me.” He has made plans to spend two weeks in Machakos after his study abroad in Rome this spring.
Read more about The History of Christianity in Africa immersion experience—and the questions Kenyan students asked Carper— on page 42.