David Griffin graduated from Howard College in 1950, eventually earning a Ph.D. in history from the University of Georgia and then giving himself to a lifetime of teaching at the Unversity of West Georgia. Now 81 years old, he remembers with great clarity the ways in which a faculty member made a difference in his life 64 years ago:
"I entered Howard College in September 1947 as a seventeen-year old freshman from deep southeast Alabama, just north of Dothan. I had loved the history of our country since fifth grade and felt quite early that I probably wanted to be a history teacher, but I was unsure until I had freshman American history under Miss Mary Emily McGriff in Riley Hall Annex on Howard's old East Lake campus. Talk about fascinating to hear and observe five days of the week in a 3:00 o'clock class, she was! Her comments of praise on my test papers "sealed the deal" for me; I would be a history teacher someday and I hoped to be as good as she was. She inspired me to study hard, do the best I could in all my classes, and when I was elected to Trident my junior year she deserved a lot of the credit."
The world is better because of the eternal impact of those who are called to teach.