This remembrance by Harold Lindsell appeared in the Wheaton College Alumni Magazine, as part of a series called “What Wheaton College Did for Me.”

My life has never been the same for having gone to Wheaton. I came to alma mater having been out of high school and in business for five years. As a result of business experience my objectives were clarified. I came to Wheaton with a definite purpose in mind. I intended to major in business administration and to return to the world I left to go to college. All of this was changed, however. Wheaton’s greatest contribution to my life came in February of 1936 when there was a great revival. The speaker for the midyear evangelistic effort was Robert C. McQuilkin of Columbia Bible College where I later taught. I sat through those days as the Holy Spirit worked graciously and my own life and walk were permanently affected. God broke through human barriers. He spoke and I responded. I changed my major from business administration to history. This, in turn, led later to postgraduate study, the Christian ministry and theological seminary training.

Wheaton afforded me another opportunity for gratitude through the medium of certain faculty members who were genuinely helpful during my college years – Drs. Nystrom, Tiffany, Clark, Edman, Straw and Miss Erickson, to name a few. Teaching is more than books. It is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a boy on the other. It is person interacting with person. These were some of the teachers who left an indelible impression on me and who were a special blessing. Wheaton also brought me in contact with students who became fast friends and with whom my life has been intertwined for thirty years. This has been especially true for one who has been in full time Christian service. In all the years of Christian service I have never labored any place where there were not some of the Wheaton graduates with whom I formed friendships on campus. This gift of Wheaton has been a never failing source of blessing to me.

Wheaton also gave me a good liberal arts education. I learned how to study and how to use my time to the best advantage. It brought me to a place in my use of the Bible where, as a student, I determined to read it through once a year – and I have done so for more than a quarter of a century. Perhaps the acid test of one’s opinion of his alma mater is “Would I choose it again if I were commencing my college education today?” My answer to this question is simple: my oldest daughter has graduated from Wheaton; my second daughter is presently a student there; my third daughter looks forward to Wheaton with expectation. And God willing, my only son will become a loyal son of alma mater when his turn comes.