HONORARY ALUMNA

I arrived in Dayton to begin working as the Reference Librarian and later as the Acting Director at Bryan College on a hot summer day in 1987. This Michigan gal had no AC in her car and had never driven around so many curves and over hills in her entire life.

My first introduction to southern hospitality and Bryan College was a delicious meal from Mrs. Van (cataloging librarian) and two hard-working professors, Dr. Jack Traylor and Dr. Marty Hartzell, who helped unload my belongings, carrying them up to my second-floor apartment.

Since the Lord never gave children to my husband and me, I have always said, “I have five hundred children and send them home in the summer.” What a joy and blessing it has been to have poured my life into Bryan College students for thirty-four years by mentoring, listening, praying, teaching, or just letting them hang out in our home for a quiet afternoon. We have also had international students live with us during the summer.

This northern gal has grown to love the south and has even gotten used to being called Ma’am.

Although Michigan will always have my heart,

I will be retiring and continuing to live in Dayton with my husband Paul who I met here.

Vonnie Johnson