Monday, December 21, 1998

Mother is proud of her swing-dancing Christian son

By Patty Rae Wellborn

Kevin Wellborn, one of the Abilene Christian University swing dancing students written about in the Dec. 6 Abilene Reporter-News, has always been special.

From the time he was very young, he's had a tender heart. In grade school he was accepted into ALPS, a program for gifted students. He's an artist, an actor, a counselor, a preacher, a teacher and a friend to many.

Kevin's major? Elementary education. Why? Because he believes "schools need more positive male role models for children, where many children have no father at home."

Kevin attends Hillcrest Church of Christ and is and has been active in many things. He was a Boy Scout and was in the puppet ministry, traveling and doing this ministry for underprivileged children.

He was an actor and writer in a traveling acting group that performed skits about teens and the difficulty of keeping high morals in this day and age. He was also a member of Young Ambassadors, a group for young men who want to learn how to be leaders in the church, where he is learning to lead prayer, singing, teaching and preaching.

He spent his spring break traveling to Phoenix and preaching and leading worship at small surrounding towns that need uplifting.

He has also been involved in a leadership group called Learning to Lead for several summers at ACU.

He has held a job since he was 16 at Mezamiz Coffee House. They don't usually hire 16-year-olds; Kevin was an exception. Some may think he got the job there because his mom showed paintings there first when, in fact, it was the other way around!

For the last several years he has spent his first week of summer working as a counselor at Opportunity Camp, a camp for underprivileged children. These counselors have to pay their own way. Last summer Kevin was honored by being chosen by his director to counsel, one-on-one, an autistic child. He loves working with these children, and they adore him.

Kevin has been on and guided Wilderness Trek, a great spiritual experience. He helped guide a woman who was having a difficult time going up the mountain to keep on. He stuck with her the whole time.

Kevin doesn’t drink or go to bars, and he sets very high moral standards for himself and expects his friends to do the same. He is not ashamed of the gospel, and he won’t do things that would compromise his character (unlike our president).

He is loved and respected by many, and I hear this time and again from people when I'm doing business around town. His father and I are proud to have him as our son. We don’t sit up late, worrying about what he’s doing.

We hear good things about him from young and old alike.

A poor representative of ACU? No way! Kevin has a zest for life that doesn’t quit. He found swing dancing, and that was because he didn't want to hear any more that "there’s nothing to do in Abilene." Abilene is a great town.

To those who would like to judge things by the way they look, I suggest you take a look at what is the "inner man." Notice the sweet spirit of these students.

Kevin is destined to greatness. I say this because I have read in the scriptures, "Anyone who would be first, let him be last" and "Anyone who would be king, let him be a servant." If the shoe fits ...

In size 11, it's hard to dance without steppin' on toes.

Patty Rae Wellborn of Abilene is the mother of ACU student Kevin Wellborn.