Cook '66 Offers Path to Wabash Bliss

Cook gave his seven tips and followed each up with anecdotes, pearls of wisdom, and a healthy dose of humor to an attentive Wabash audience.

See Cook’s entire talk in the YouTube video below.

Here are his seven steps, but you have to watch the video to get the full explanation of each.

1.       Find mentors or teachers who’ll be your principal educators.

2.       Find some specific educational experiences outside your major and minor.

3.       Makes some of the greatest friends of your life.

4.       Have good times – that you remember.

5.       Keep connected to the world beyond Wabash.

6.       Don’t take summers off – do something interesting.

7.       Learn how to sing.

Cook talked about his Wabash College experiences and those from a lifetime of teaching and learning. But the common thread was those who impacted him during his time as a student.

“John Fisher (retired Classics professor) gave me two things no one ever gave me before or since – an artichoke and an F-plus,” Cook said. “He made me eat the artichoke before another bite of food. And he told me the F-plus wasn’t just failure, it was an insult.”

When talking about good friends and good times he urged the students to embrace Wabash traditions. “Keep some of the ideas that are a bit ludicrous, like the Homecoming Queen Contest,” he said.

And he wrapped his talk about talking about singing. He made it clear he doesn’t like the current version of Chapel Sing and liked some of its predecessors even less. “At the Lambda Chi House we used to sing every night after dinner. Learn to sing “Old Wabash, don’t chant it like a 1901 rap.”