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"I Learned to Love People Who Were Not Like Me"

by David Adams '97

Out my backyard, every 15 minutes, the bells of the Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle toll, announcing the time and the start of Mass. The bells remind me of Fancher Hall and Houghton.

Recently, CARDONE Industries in Philadelphia, PA, where I have worked and lived since graduating from Houghton, relocated me to Brussels, Belgium. I am helping create the sales and marketing sector at CARDONE's recently acquired European operations. CARDONE is the world's largest privately owned re-manufacturer of automotive parts. The company employs over 3,000 in its Philadelphia facilities and is expanding its European operations because of the large market potential.

As the bells ring on Sunday morning, I reflect on my time at Houghton. I came to know and love people from different places and different backgrounds. In Brussels, people come from all over the world and each has a different story. At Houghton, I learned to love people who were not like me.

While I was a student, I attended the International Business Institute (IBI) for a semester, one of the off-campus programs offered through the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. We visited 11 European countries, with stops at businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies, while absorbing lectures by some of the top people in their industries. This experience helped me get an overview of different cultures and how people think and respond differently. This perspective is so important as I interact with customers and suppliers in many different countries and from many different cultures.

The bells for afternoon Mass remind me of the way that Houghton taught me integrate my faith in everything I do. Without that dimension, my purpose here would be little more than an interesting business trip. Instead, I see it as an opportunity to do missions in a different part of the world.

As I finish some work to prepare for the oncoming week, the 10:00 bells toll. I realize that without the strong academic base, I would not be here. My business classes, my French (I should have studied more!), the IBI, and even the general education courses taught me how to think.

As I hear the final bells of the night at 11:00 and I am preparing for bed, I think fondly of the people of Houghton. These people I love. These people have forever become a part of the fabric of who I am. The memory of these lifelong friendships ring in my heart while I am here in Brussels, and will ring wherever I may go.