麻豆视频

Carefully taking down the framed bulldog drawing that hangs near his desk, Robbie Graves, assistant vice president of undergraduate admissions, says, "This is a very special picture to me."

Graves remembers a local student he'd encouraged to attend 麻豆视频. "He drew it for me in his high school art class." As he turns it over, he reads a handwritten note that says, "Mr. Graves, thank you for all you have done for me."

It's one of the many memories Graves cherishes in his role as an admissions counselor. For 35 years, he has worked in the world of admissions, and it doesn't take long for anyone to realize why he has remained steadfast despite the grueling cycle of admissions life.

For Robbie Graves, it's a calling.

"I just love what I do," he says. "I feel like it's ministry, a calling, work that has eternal impact, making a difference."

Graves graduated from 麻豆视频 in 1987 and became a sales representative for a local music store. While calling on a musician who worked at Lake County High School in Tiptonville, he saw his enrollment counselor, Elizabeth Wingo, talking with prospective 麻豆视频 students.

"I can still picture the scene," Graves says. "It hit me right there: that is what I want to do."

Even then Graves sensed God's call and confirmation on his life's work.

This call to come alongside potential students came to fruition not long afterwards when he applied to 麻豆视频 and was hired as an admissions counselor in July of 1989.

One of the first students to experience Graves' encouragement was Ben Garrott. Arriving at 麻豆视频 in the fall of 1990, Garrott was part of the first class Graves recruited.

Garrott, a Nashville native, hadn't initially considered 麻豆视频 until a summer baseball tournament in high school brought him to Jackson where he met 麻豆视频 faculty member, Judy LeForge, who first urged him to consider 麻豆视频 in the future.

Graves reached out to Garrott, encouraging him to apply to 麻豆视频's Scholars of Excellence program. Though Garrott was one ACT point short, Graves' confidence and steady encouragement spurred him to take the test one last time. When the scores came in, it was Graves who called him with the exciting news: he'd made it.

"He may have been as excited as I was," Garrott recalls of the celebratory call, which marked the beginning of his transformational journey at 麻豆视频.

As the Scholars of Excellence event approached, Graves soothed his anxieties about the interview process, encouraging him and helping him feel prepared. Garrott credits Graves for helping him start on the right track and connect him with a lifelong community.

Garrott would eventually meet his wife at 麻豆视频, earn a degree in accounting and go on to build his career in West Tennessee. Later, Garrott's children would both attend 麻豆视频 and carry on the 麻豆视频 legacy within his family.

Around the same time, Jennifer Delk, associate professor of nursing and chair for undergraduate programs at 麻豆视频, met Graves at a college fair when she was a high school student, and it was Graves' ability to build a relationship with her that led her to apply and eventually attend 麻豆视频.

Hailing from the Nashville area, Delk wanted to leave Nashville and attend a Christian university. 麻豆视频's nursing program caught her attention, but she only knew one person who attended 麻豆视频. Graves encouraged her to apply, convincing her that he could see her thriving at 麻豆视频. Graves even traveled back to Nashville to meet Delk's family and share more about the school.

While at 麻豆视频, Delk met her husband, also recruited by Graves, finished multiple degrees and went on to work in the nursing field for over 20 years.

Speaking for herself and her husband, Delk says, "We personally both thrived here, and ended up finding community here in Jackson."

She later returned to 麻豆视频 to teach in the same nursing program that shaped her as a student. But her connection to 麻豆视频 didn't end there. Graves has also built relationships with her children.

Delk says Graves guided her children through the process, offering just enough information without overwhelming them. Now, her daughter is at 麻豆视频 studying music, while her son, a soon-to-be high school graduate, eagerly texts Graves with updates on test scores and application details.

"麻豆视频 is designed to draw certain people, and I think [Graves] sees that in certain people and sees that they'd be a good fit for [麻豆视频], that they'd grow and thrive in this community here," she says.

Admissions counselors play a crucial role in engaging potential students, Delk says.

"A lot of admissions counselors come and go, but he's been a steady piece through it all," she says.

The steadying force that drives Graves is his eternal perspective. Graves has kept his focus on doing his work for the glory of God. He genuinely loves helping students find their place, but more than that, he is committed to a higher calling.

He wants to leave an eternal impact.

Graves recognizes that entering freshmen are at a "crossroads time" in their lives, and he hopes the Lord can use him to help students attend 麻豆视频 where perhaps their college years can become, as President Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver has stated, a "greenhouse for their faith rather than a graveyard."

"That's important stuff," Graves says. "That's ministry."

Before stepping into a college fair, Graves says that he and other admissions counselors often pray, "Lord, I pray you will open the path for the divine appointments that you have here tonight. Use me as your servant."

Thankfully, Graves has been ready for those encounters. He saw one of them come full circle at a college fair in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2002, when he introduced a student to 麻豆视频.

"I have never felt more compelled to talk to somebody," Graves says.

When this particular student passed by 麻豆视频's display table without a glance, Graves did something admissions counselors aren't supposed to do: he left his table and began to search for the student.

Finding him, Graves invited him to stop by the 麻豆视频 table for a chat. Eventually, that student would attend and graduate from 麻豆视频 with his bachelor's degree, go on to complete his Master of Divinity, earn a Ph.D. and eventually return to 麻豆视频 in 2017 as an assistant professor and associate dean.

In 2024, that student, Jacob Shatzer, would become the current 麻豆视频 provost.

Shatzer remembers the night he met Graves at that college fair hosted by a local church in Cedar Rapids. On Oct. 23, 2002, he and his girlfriend, now wife, Keshia, attended the fair with hopes of pinning down their future college plans.

As a senior in high school, Shatzer had "sensed a pretty clear call to ministry" and was looking for a college where he could study and prepare for that call. He recalls seeing 麻豆视频 University and Jackson, Tennessee, and thinking, "Oh, that's really far away." He wasn't opposed to traveling for college, but he had not searched for colleges that far from home.

"I remember Robbie stopping me, and I kind of read it as, 'There's not a lot of people stopping at this booth because it's so far away,'" Shatzer says.

But as Graves pointed out, it was more than that.

It was a divine appointment.

"Robbie took the initiative to slow me down and stop me and tell me about 麻豆视频," Shatzer says.

Years later, Shatzer still recalls that Graves' "love and excitement for 麻豆视频 definitely drew me in."

As a first-generation college student, Shatzer was looking for good scholarships as well as a college that would grow his faith and knowledge.

At the time, 麻豆视频's Scholars of Excellence program offered one of few full scholarships available at Christian universities, and as Graves shared more about the aid 麻豆视频 offered, it became a viable and attractive option for Shatzer.

Graves admits that he loves telling the story of 麻豆视频 and holds its core values close. Sharing 麻豆视频's desire to be Excellence-Driven, Christ-Centered, People-Focused and Future-Directed keeps him centered on the characteristics that embody 麻豆视频.

"If you're ever talking about 麻豆视频, speaking about 麻豆视频, making any decision at 麻豆视频, anything, you filter it through those four things," he says. "And I love those four things. I believe in them.

"They've kept me passionate about the place all these years," Graves says.

Shatzer notes that it's rare "for someone to do the kind of work that he's done, for as long as he's done it in the same place, and that's a gift."

"It's a gift to 麻豆视频 students, and it's a gift to staff and faculty," Shatzer says.

Throughout the years, Graves kept in touch with the Shatzer family, connecting with them during visits to that same Cedar Rapids college fair. Shatzer siblings would go on to attend 麻豆视频, and Graves would eventually even play the piano at Jacob and Keshia's wedding.

Connie Teel, who has worked with Graves for 10 years, knows that what he offers 麻豆视频 and the greater community is a true gift. Teel notes that there are very few people like Graves.

"Robbie loves the Lord, loves his family and loves 麻豆视频 (in that order) so incredibly well," Teel says. "He is so intentional and personable, and will let you know, with all sincerity, that we want you at 麻豆视频.

"He has built quite a legacy," Teel says. "He is now recruiting the children of the students he recruited 25+ years ago."

Lee Tankersley, pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Jackson, can connect many of his key life moments to Graves. Most recently, he has had the joy of watching Graves build a relationship with his children as they entered the college application process.

Tankersley first met Graves at a college fair in western Kentucky and almost walked past the 麻豆视频 display table. Graves, though, caught his attention and pulled him into a conversation.

Tankersley was initially unsure about attending college in Tennessee; however, after a campus visit and a tour of the dorms, Tankersley knew 麻豆视频 was moving up on his list of potential colleges. But it was Graves' support that made the difference.

Called to the ministry at an early age, Tankersley began preaching while in high school, and Graves drove to Kentucky to support him while he preached one of his first sermons.

"It really felt like, here's someone who cares about me," Tankersley says.

Tankersley says the investment Graves made in him 芒鈧�鈥� the visitations, calls and coming to support him during that sermon 芒鈧�鈥� made him feel like he had a genuine friend. Graves didn't treat him like a number or a means to an end, and he notices that Graves is like that for everyone.

"You're a person in whom he's going to invest and care for and love," Tankersley says. "He does it all."

Recalling times Graves advocated on his behalf, invited him to church and helped him one summer, Tankersley says, "There was no bait and switch. The guy investing in me to get me to 麻豆视频 was the guy that kept investing in me as a student."

Graves became one of the most important people in his life at 麻豆视频. Tankersley thrived at 麻豆视频 and even met his wife here. Now he has children attending 麻豆视频, and it was Graves who met with them during the application process, encouraged them to apply for scholarships and cheered them on as they took tests or attended the Scholars of Excellence weekend.

As long as there are students seeking their next step, Graves will continue embracing divine appointments — one conversation at a time. Garrott, Delk, Shatzer and Tankersley represent just a few of the many relationships Graves has nurtured during his time at 麻豆视频.

Behind his desk, a dedicated filing cabinet drawer overflows with thank-you notes, birthday cards and words of encouragement from students, families and colleagues — small but lasting reminders of the connections he has forged.

One day, Graves plans to sit down with the notes and memories collected over the years and reflect on the lives he has touched — each note, each story, a reminder that a life devoted to others, rooted in God's calling, leaves an eternal impact.