The One Connection That Guided Me To Doane
By Krismar Williams, Business Administration
I was a freshman in high school (Balboa Academy) when I first learned about the connection between Cecilio Williams (my grandfather) and Doane University. I always knew that my grandfather had made an impact on other people’s lives, but I never imagined it was this big of an impact. My grandfather was a math teacher in 7 different schools around Panama, and he played and coached the Panama national basketball team. Basketball has always been a huge sport in my family.
In 1964, my grandfather started what is now known as the Doane Panama Pipeline. Maybe you are asking yourself, what is the Doane Panama Pipeline? The Doane Panama Pipeline consists of my grandfather’s connection with Al Papik to send students from Panama to Nebraska to play basketball and get a better education. My grandfather always wanted to make an impact on people, and through this pipeline, he impacted so many of his students.
This history connects to my story of how and why I chose Doane University. In my freshman year of high school, Luis Sotelo, Vice President of the DEI Division at Doane University, went to different schools in Panama to talk about Doane. My school (Balboa Academy) was one of those schools on his list. Back then, I thought that the best for me was to stay in Panama and go to FSU (Florida State University) because I wanted to be close to my family. My school advisor chose around 10 to 15 students to go to the Doane University presentation, and within those 10 to 15 students she called me.
I remember listening to my name through the intercom and thinking, “Why did she call me knowing that I want to stay in Panama.” I ended up going to the presentation, and I listened to everything that Luis Sotelo said. Then, at the end of the meeting, they gave us a flier with all the information about Doane, and I went to my dad’s classroom (He’s a math teacher at my high school), gave him the flyer, and left. Then, I got a text from my dad saying, “Donde estas hija? Necesitamos hablar.” (Where are you, daughter? We need to talk). I made my way to my dad’s classroom, and that was the first time I ever heard the story about my grandfather and Doane University.
Fast forward to my senior year of high school, I decided that I was going to study outside of Panama. Through my application process, I had forgotten about Doane University, and I had my mindset to go to Florida or Indiana until I got an email from Louisa Ehrlich (Former Director of International Programs) saying that I still had time to apply to come to Doane. As soon as I saw the email, I took a screenshot of it and sent it to my parents. I told them, “Miren quien me mandó un correo!” (Look who sent me an email!), and they instantly encouraged me to apply.
I ended up applying to Doane University, and as we can see, I got accepted. I was between a college in Indiana and Doane, and I ended up choosing Doane because of my grandfather. With help from Louisa Ehrlich and Mr. Enrique Sanchez, a member of the Board of Trustees at Doane who came to Doane with help from my grandfather, I came to Doane and felt extremely welcomed as soon as I got here.
Doane University appeared in my life without me knowing the connection with my grandfather. I believe that my grandfather guided me to Doane University from heaven and planned everything perfectly. It was destined for me to come to Doane University and be my grandfather’s legacy.
Espero estés orgulloso de mi abuelito. Gracias por guiarme a esta universidad, sin ti nada de esto hubiera pasado (I hope you are proud of me, grandfather. Thank you for guiding me to this university; without you none of this would have happened).
The blog posts in Forward. Together. are intended to foster an inclusive community of empathy and curiosity at Doane University by providing a glimpse into various individual identities and worldviews. These are community members’ unique stories and should not be presumed to be the experience of all who share the same identity.
