Betty Jane Nelson, Class of 1962

MY PARENTS GAVE ME LIFE; WARREN WILSON COLLEGE GAVE ME MY FUTURE Betty Jane Nelson, Class of 1962

MY PARENTS GAVE ME LIFE; WARREN WILSON COLLEGE GAVE ME MY FUTURE Betty Jane Nelson, Class of 1962 Betty Jane Nelson, a 1962 graduate and former member of the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Board, shared her journey with former Interim Annual Fund Director Nathan Gower ’13 in the summer of 2014. Her story is recounted here, along with why she has decided to leave a planned gift to Warren Wilson College.

I graduated from a small-town Michigan high school in 1960 knowing that I wanted to go to

Betty Jane Nelson ’62

college even though no one in my family had previously had an opportunity to go. I had no clue how to go about it; I didn’t even know I needed to apply!

In fact, after my parents divorced and my father was living in Muncie, Indiana, where Ball State Teachers College was located, I decided to go there.

My plan was to get a job, earn money over the summer and show up on campus in the fall— what a naïve seventeen-year-old.

My plans fell through when the poor economy made it

impossible to find a job. During this struggle my Michigan pastor wrote and told me about how he had led a youth group trip through the South doing maintenance work at small Presbyterian churches and taking a tour of Warren Wilson College. Back then Warren Wilson was a junior college with about 200 students—including students from Asia, Africa, and South America. It was fascinating.

I wrote the following letter: “Dear WWC: I’m coming in the fall. Please send information.”

Doc Jensen wrote back saying he was delighted I was interested in their little school and asked, “Would I mind filling out an application?” I completed the application, gave permission to contact my high school for grades, provided some references, and sent it off.

Thinking I was now going to WWC in the fall, I returned to Michigan where I found a factory job to save money for school.

Sometime in late August or early September, a letter from Doc Jensen arrived saying I had met

entrance requirements, but beds were full. I destroyed the letter because I didn’t want my parents to find out there wasn’t a bed. I figured I’d just get there and then I’d be Doc Jensen’s problem.

When the time came, I packed up and got on a bus. It took twenty-six hours to get there.

Finally, I arrived in Asheville.

I had never seen a mountain before and had never taken a taxicab. After what seemed like an unending trip, the cab turned onto Warren Wilson Road.

With that two-lane, winding road on a very dark night, I thought, “It’s all over.”

My parents would never know what happened to me. Just about the time I thought I would panic, we pulled into Women’s Dorm Circle.

We stopped at the first dorm, Stephenson. Unbeknownst to me, the letter apparently arrived the day I left home; Doc Jensen had written and said there was a bed available in the dorm after all. They were expecting me and welcomed me with open arms.

I never paid another dime for two years of tuition, room or board.

Dr. Henry Jensen The next morning, I asked for directions to Doc Jensen’s office and made my way to the old Carson building. Once there, he invited me into his office.

I told him who I was and that I was there to pay my fees.

I didn’t know the cost because I had yet to even see a college catalogue. I explained all I had in my pocket was what I had left from my summer earnings. He said, “Well, that’s a fine way to start your college career.” He then asked, “How much do you have?” I replied, “I have $75.” Doc Jensen looked me in the eye and said, “That’s exactly what it costs.” He put his hand out, and I gave him the $75.

Even so, I was never made to feel that I hadn’t paid my way.

I was assigned to work in the laundry. In early October, a card arrived from my father with a $5 bill in it for my birthday.

My dad said he would send $5 a month as long as I was in school. I needed laundry detergent and other supplies; so, the problem was solved.

But that was the last $5 I saw from him. I stretched that $5 until Christmas, but there was no way I could stretch it any further. I don’t know whom I talked to about it. I must have told the other girls in the dorm.

I think Mrs. Furst, dorm housemother, was told or overheard or probably figured out what was going on.

Beginning in January, every month for the next year and a half, $5 magically appeared on my pillow. The donor to this day remains unknown to me.

Upon graduation, Doc Jensen called me to his office and asked me about my plans. I told him I had no money. He asked, “ Have you thought about Berea?

Do you know what it is?”

I applied to Berea College and was accepted. Doc worked with the Presbyterian Board of National Missions to arrange for a grant and loans to pay for Berea. After getting my degree from Berea, I went to graduate school at the University of Kentucky, where I earned a degree in rehabilitation counseling.

You still might wonder why I continue to support Warren Wilson College both emotionally and financially.

The only way I can put it is, my parents gave me life; Warren Wilson College gave me my future.

My life as a counselor would not have happened without Warren Wilson. Students today are not nearly as naïve as I was back then, but my story isn’t unique.

There are other stories, equally fascinating, about kids who had no place to turn, wanted an

education, didn’t know how to do it, and who stumbled upon Warren Wilson. Their lives were changed just like mine.

I can’t remember when I first thought about giving back.

When I moved to California and began paying off the National Missions Board loan, I thought about what Warren Wilson had done for me.

They worked hard to give me an education. I didn’t pay for it. I thought I’d like to do something for Warren Wilson.

In the late 1970’s, Doc Jensen passed away. Following his death, I visited campus, went by the administration building and asked to see my old file. Pat Wilson had a student get it out of archives. She took me into an empty office, handed me the file, set a box of Kleenex on the desk and said, “Call me if you need anything.” As I began reading, the Kleenex came in handy.

I read letter after letter from Doc Jensen to supporters of the College around the country that read, “We have this worthy but

Mrs. Furst and the 1962 Stephenson House Council needy student. Can you help?”

These were the people who paid for my education.

I thought, “Ok, if those folks could put up money for my education, then surely I can start doing something to pay for someone else’s education.”

I was not capable of writing a big check. So, instead of writing one check a year during phonathon, I could write a smaller check every month. After that started, and not long after former vice president for college relations Carla Sutherland

joined the College, she and I were on the phone, and she brought up planned giving.

Sometimes you need to be invited to do things. Most of us say, “I’m not a wealthy person at all.” I wouldn’t have thought about planned giving unless someone talked to me about it.

I can’t leave a million dollars to the College, but Carla helped me think about what I could do.

After my passing, the College will receive the proceeds from the sale of my house. The College is also the beneficiary of an investment fund. Many people

can do something like that.

It’s not just the wealthy members of our community of friends and alumni who can make a difference. As middle-class folks we have a lot more to give to Warren Wilson than we realize.

Just so you understand, I’m not wealthy. I never made more than $50-$55k a year, but I made Warren Wilson one of my primary beneficiaries.

Why make the College a beneficiary? All I need to do is think back on that summer before arriving at Warren Wilson. I was working in a factory. I remember sitting there at seventeen years old with women in their forties and fifties working around me.

I looked around and I swear I could count half a dozen women sitting at their work stations with tears streaming down their faces. All they had to do with their day was sit and think about their problems.

I promised myself, “That’s not

going to be me. I have to get out of here.” And that’s what Warren Wilson did for me: it got me out of there.

All of us, as friends and alumni, are still an important part of the College. Of course, it’s not the same place it once was.

If Warren Wilson hadn’t changed as the world changed, it wouldn’t be able to serve today’s students. It’s a good thing it’s not the same place.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t continue to offer many of the same things.

Warren Wilson will always take care of the individual. We need to help the College take care of the individual. I hope that you will give as much as you can and make a planned gift through your estate. The students still need our help.

Thank you for letting me tell you my story and why I give to the College.

4 Ways to Support Your Family and Warren Wilson College through Your Will 1. Specific Bequest: A gift of a specific item to a specific beneficiary. Example: You leave your home to your oldest daughter.

2. General Bequest: A gift of a stated sum of money.

Example: You leave $10,000 to your niece. If you do not have the cash in your estate, other assets will be sold to meet the bequest.

3. Contingent Bequest: A bequest made on condition that a certain event must occur before distribution to the beneficiary.

Example: You leave $20,000 to Warren Wilson College in the event that, upon your death, your other beneficiaries are no longer living.

4. Residuary Bequest: All the “rest, residue and remainder” of an estate after all other bequests, debts and taxes have been paid.

Example: You divide the remainder of your estate into two parts: 90 percent to your loved ones and 10 percent to your favorite charities.

Have a question?

To learn more about including a charitable gift to us in your long-term estate plans, contact Phil Leonard at 828.771.5807 or pleonard@warren-wilson.edu.

© The Stelter Company The information in this publication is not intended as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income taxes include federal taxes only.

State income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.

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