The call to discipleship Dr. Christian Esh ’98 experienced while pursuing his studies at Houghton has made his mentorship of Pre-Law students his favorite feature as well as one of the program’s most distinctive.

Dr. Esh is the Director of Houghton’s Pre-Law program and Associate Professor of History. He focuses on teaching Pre-Law students how their work in law can contribute to history, government and justice work as a whole, especially through a Christian lens. He has expressed his enthusiasm for students getting involved in the new Pre-Law minor no matter what their major is.

“They’re not all History majors,” Dr. Esh shared. “They’re Theology majors, they’re Political Science majors, they’re a whole host of different majors. I can see how the work of Dr. Katherine Lindley continues, and that’s very gratifying as an alumnus and a Christian scholar.”

Dr. Katherine “Kay” Lindley was a long-time professor of History and the Chair of the Division of Social Science at Houghton. In February of 2021, Houghton opened the Katherine E. Lindley Center for Law and Constitutional Studies on the third floor of the Chamberlain Center in her honor. Dr. Esh is encouraged to see the Lindley Center already doing the things he and the Pre-Law faculty envisioned for it: student research, collaboration, and practice interviews. “As a recruiting space, it’s very powerful,” Dr. Esh shared. “Students step into the Lindley Center, and they feel like they’re in a law space.”

With the growing success of Houghton’s Pre-Law program, Dr. Esh recognizes the contributions of the entire faculty. He described the program as a “team-taught curriculum,” one that is not only comprehensive but also impactful. This teamwork gives Dr. Esh the freedom to do exactly what he loves and envisions for the future of the Pre-Law program and its students: discipleship.