bY KArissa Rya n

Your Alumni Editor

Imagine a time when

seats in chapel were assigned

and when the choir had floral-

print dresses.

Judith Fabisch, (B.A., ’77,

‘82) professor of English,

remembers this time well.

Fabisch began attending

the Grand Rapids Baptist

College in 1974 at the suggestion

of a neighbor; who

knew Fabisch had felt God’s

calling to full time work.

Fabisch said she wasn’t

the typical student, especially

during the 70’s. She

was widowed a year before

beginning at Cornerstone,

and had one son.

“I came back before older

women in their thirties

were coming back to school,

so I was it!” Fabisch said.

At the time there was no

student lounge, so Fabisch

and a group of the “older”

students would go into

empty classrooms to study

together. She said it was

nearly impossible to find a

cup of coffee on campus, so

sometimes they would go

hunting for coffee together.

Chapel seats were

assigned during the

first week of classes: you

remained for the entire year

where you sat on the second

day of chapel. “Freshmen

would come in, and fall in

love the first week and sit

together in chapel. And

then they’d be stuck there

the rest of the semester,”

Fabisch said.

Today, freshman

romances are a little easier

to distance one’s self from.

CU students can also feel

fortunate that today, choir

dresses only come in one

color. While a student, one

of Fabisch’s friends was in

charge of selecting the dresses

for the singing groups.

“They chose dresses with a

small pattern. Some had pink

flowers and some had blue

flowers, but they all blended

together,” Fabisch said.

One summer, in order to

fulfill her physical education

requirement, Fabisch

took a horseback riding

course. She remembers

one of her classmates taking

the course because she

was afraid of horses, and

thought it would help her

overcome that fear. The

class took students from the

basics to advanced riding

very quickly.

“We went from ‘this is

how you get on the horse’

to ‘we’re jumping’.” Fabisch

said. “I knew how to get

on, I just wasn’t sure about

the jumping part. I fell off

once.”

With this new learning

from her CU class, Fabisch

said both she and her son

spent much of the summer

riding together.

Fabisch mentioned that

many students at the time

perceived Cornerstone

(then GRBC) to be a “rules

world.” But even though

the rules at times seemed

inconvenient, Fabisch said

they were three great years.

“None of it made any

difference to me. I think

I found who I was. It was

like being set free, and that

counteracted all the rules,”

Fabisch said.

During her senior year,

John Wilson, one of the

Bible professors, pointed to

her during the chapel. She

thought he was only pointing

in her direction, but after

chapel he stopped her. “I just

heard some missionaries

speak that I think you need

to talk to,” Wilson told her.

Fabisch met them and

even went to dinner at their

house. As a result, one year

after she graduated with

a degree in psychology,

Fabisch left for Papua New

Guinea.

“While I was there, I

realized that I was always

most effective when I was

teaching,” Fabisch said.

While there, Fabisch felt

her son was beginning to

lose his cultural identity.

She also felt a strong pull to

come back to school. After

four years in Papua New

Guinea, Fabisch returned

to Grand Rapids and reenrolled

at Cornerstone.

Fabisch decided to

major in English, but she

said some told her it wasn’t

a good idea because colleges

were looking for professors

who were younger and

could make a career of it.

“And here I am, 27 years

later,” Fabisch said.

Staying here wasn’t her

original plan. “I thought

I’d teach here long enough

to get a PhD and then teach

overseas somewhere,”

Fabisch said.

But soon, Fabisch said,

“I felt rooted here; I’m a

widow with one kid and

none of my family is Christian,

so this is where I had

the most fellowship. It was

very easy to stay here.”

Fabisch continued to

travel, leaving half her

heart in all the places she

has been: India, Papua New

Guinea, Kenya and the

Ukraine.

A student in Fabisch’s

creative writing class,

Coach Rod Wortley (B.A.

’88), shared his reflections

on having Fabisch as a professor.

“Dr. Fabisch and

I did butt horns a couple

times during the semester.

I was determined to make

her give me an ‘A’ and I

wound up working harder

in that class than just about

any other that semester,”

Wortley said.

Fabisch remembers a

play Wortley and his group

members wrote, parodying

the faculty on campus and

being rescued by the hero

“Captain Comet,” Cornerstone’s

mascot at the time.

She enjoyed teasing them,

and recruited the faculty

from Wortley’s play to perform

it for the students, who

were “mortified,” she said.

Wortley said he enjoys

working with Fabisch.

“[Since 1995] we’ve been

colleagues on staff here

and I’m pleased to call her

a friend.”

Since beginning to work

at Cornerstone, Fabisch has

observed six presidents,

10 provosts, and hundreds

of students pass through

campus. Yet through all the

changes, Fabisch expressed

exuberant joy for staying.

“There are so many

amazing people here,”

Fabisch said. “If I had the

choice to make over again,

I would do exactly the same

thing. I would come back

here.”

To students she says

“Relax and enjoy it, just

the learning and getting to

know people, and watching

Christianity at work.

This is such an opportunity

to learn and grow, and not

just learn who you are but

to determine who you will

become; it s incredible. And

don’t sweat the small stuff!”