ROGER SORBO
BACK AT NCU WORKING AT HIS "UNFINISHED SYMPHONY" BY DR. CAROLYN TENNANT "Work as if you don’t need the money; love as if nobody has ever hurt you; dance as if nobody is watching; sing as if nobody is listening, and live as if this is paradise on earth!” - Roger Sorbo FRANZ SCHUBERT’S SYMPHONY NO. 8 IN B MINOR, commonly known as the “Unfinished Symphony,” was never completed. However, Dr. Roger Sorbo, a favorite, longtime professor at NCU, is back this fall working on his own type of “unfinished symphony.” Dr. Sorbo is one of those Renaissance men who are comfortable in a variety of settings. With a Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry, he naturally gravitated toward teaching NCU’s math and science courses. Like any true Renaissance man, however, Roger was also into the arts and was an excellent concert pianist, serving as the principal pianist at Lord Fletcher’s Restaurant on Lake Minnetonka for sixteen years as well as playing in churches and other venues. At NCU he served as chair of the Department of Arts and Sciences as well as on various red-flag committees. From 19822005 he made a big impact on many students. Sorbo’s story since 2005 is one of both victory and sorrow. He and his wife Helen moved to Phoenix, AZ where his semi-retirement didn’t last long. Soon he was teaching at Veritas Academy, a renowned prep high school in the Phoenix area, and winning the hearts of the students as he had at North Central. A challenging amputation of his left foot necessitated by diabetes was pronounced in the midst of this. Life can suddenly go awry, as we all know. Just after this surgery was completed, he received news that his brother had passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. The funeral was in another state, and there was no way he could attend. Then, on top of it, his wife passed away suddenly from complications due to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma…all this while Roger was still recovering in the therapy center and not even home yet. It seems like more than a person could bear. I remember talking to Roger shortly after this. He said, “Well, this is where the rubber meets the road. If my faith won’t hold up in these circumstances, what have I been doing all my life?” And Roger’s faith did, indeed, hold up and then some! He became a real blessing to the hospital team and the physical therapists and the insurance people. In fact his insurance company asked him to do a training session for all their personnel. You can watch it on the following link: http://vimeo.com/37618373 . After he got out of the hospital, his leg did not heal as well as it 14 | NCU Magazine
should. He could not get fitted for his prosthesis when expected: more unfinished business! In fact, after moving back to Minneapolis and finding another doctor, he discovered that a bone spur had been left which was keeping the wound from closing and which necessitated another surgery to remove it. What should have taken several months to get into his prosthesis and be able to walk has instead taken closer to two years. The skin is still not strong enough to survive the walking Roger is ready to do. However, through all of this, he has maintained his typical good nature with hopefulness and verve. This is no put on. It is the real thing. Dr. Sorbo was the speaker at the opening Faculty Retreat dinner this fall and shared about the importance of attitude adjustment. He mentioned that “difficulty is opportunity.” How we go through problems and challenges can demonstrate what we are really made of on the inside. “I was watching the U.S.A. women’s Olympic soccer game a couple weeks ago,” Roger said in his speech, “and the team looked a little sluggish and hesitant considering they are ranked number one in the world. As the commentators were discussing this, one said to the other, ‘You know, championships are won on bad days.’” Dr. Sorbo has epitomized this saying as he has come out a champion in the midst of his bad days. It is exciting to think that Dr. Sorbo is again teaching NCU students. This fall his class is on math methods for future teachers. He has had to instruct from his wheel chair, but because of his energetic spirit, the students don’t even seem to notice. Next spring he is set to teach both biology and math. As for Dr. Sorbo’s students, they will be learning more than information. From Dr. Sorbo they have a living testimonial of someone who has overcome by trusting in Jesus! They will learn how one can keep his spirit up in the face of unfathomable bad news. And most of all, they will be a part of the symphony that Dr. Sorbo continues to work on as he keeps investing in young lives for the advancement of the unfinished business of the Kingdom of God on this earth! DR. CAROLYN TENNANT Professor emerita, NCU, and contributing writer to the NCU Magazine.