A Word From Our President

  The 2012-2013 school year is well underway.  As with previous years we are already asking ourselves where the time went.  The much anticipated first few days of school are now in the past and the transition from August to September is complete.  Soon it will be fall break and before you know it the 2012-2013 school year will be drawing to a close. As people often say, “Time does pass much too quickly”. I believe this is why God reminds us to, “Walk in wisdom…and redeem the time” (Colossians 4:5).

  For the past forty years at SBEC it has been our prayer that we would be wise in redeeming the time during which we are privileged to work with each student entrusted to our care. As with any school, sometimes we are blessed with several years of impact, other times it is much less. Regardless of the time allowed we must not lose sight of the window of opportunity we have.

  There are times I like to walk through Trojan Hall and in the main lobby to view the composites of previous classes. While looking at the pictures I will see certain graduates and will remember when they were a student. Often times, I will think, “I wonder how they are doing now”. We are blessed with the privilege to follow the lives of many alumni as they have stayed in contact with the school or remained in the local area, some as SBEC parents, even some as faculty. (I am always interested in their perspective now as opposed to when they were students.) But there are others that either move away or we lose contact with them for various reasons. It is those graduates that we have not heard from in several years that causes us to wonder how they are doing and causes us to reflect on “what type of influence were we able to have?” Did we redeem the time?

  I trust whenever that question is asked we can answer in the affirmative without hesitation. Whether it is as a parent, teacher, spouse, friend, employee, believer, etc., we are given a window of opportunity for influence. Let’s take heed to the challenge found in Colossians that we be wise for time does pass much too quickly. May God bless you with a great school year.

David Manley,
SBEC President