Over four years have passed since I moved to the metropolis of Pine Mountain, Georgia, for the Impact 360 Gap Year program. Few places have had such a profound impact on my life, and few people so dramatically shaped it as their Director since 2006, Dr. John Basie.
While perhaps intimating at first, the Baylor graduate has a soft spot for millennial’s especially; his self-described passion being to “equip students to become leaders and identify their godly calling in the world marketplace.” Affectionately known as “Basie” around campus, he’s a natural leader. In many ways a ‘father figure’, lovingly helping students and staff discover their purpose, develop their character and direct their potential to the plans God has helped set for their lives.
“There are very few people who have both the solid academic background in worldview combined with the extra professional training in effective coaching of young people as John Basie,” said Dr. Philip Alsup, Impact 360 Institute’s Executive Director. “Impact 360 Institute’s students are incredibly blessed to have someone of such knowledge and wisdom to invest directly into their lives.”
As the clock ticks with nearly half-a-decade passing since our first interaction, Basie continues to speak truth into my life, and the lives of numerous alumni, as we attempt to navigate the rapids of our challenging “quarter-life-crises.” These key-life transitions are filled with questions, anxiety and self-doubt. I think; often what separates those who emerge from this season successfully, from those who do not; is belief, or more specifically, being believed in.
This is, in my humble opinion, the core of Basie’s unique gift and special connection to our generation- he believes in us when we find it hard to believe in ourselves.
You can find out more about Dr. Basie at a free webinar on Thursday, October 2nd at 7 PM CST here.
For more information on Millennial 360, an organization seeking to help millennials flourish, click here. To follow Basie on Twitter, click here. And for more information about Impact 360 Gap Year, click here.