Our Intentional Campus Culture.

• Author: Qubein, Nido R.

"Can I go back to school here?"

That's one of the first reactions we receive from parents whose students are touring our campus.

We appreciate their sentiment because, while they are joking, they're also telling us that we're doing something right.

One father recently said: "I wish I had been educated in an environment where people believed in me. You promote hard work, perseverance and the entrepreneurial spirit. You tell these young people to get up and try again. Do you know how long it took me to learn that?"

A Focus on Life Skills

As a parent of four children, I understood viscerally what this father meant. And yes, I am proud of how High Point University has transformed into an institution of higher learning and higher living.

His point is that we instill "life skills" in our students. The business world sometimes calls them "soft skills," but they are what employers seek in new hires and what this parent is talking about.

And yes, we are entrepreneurial in spirit and action--our transformational growth demonstrates both our focus on rendering value for students and parents, and our faithful courage to imagine and build a learning environment for the next generation of leaders (see page 56).

I didn't arrive at the presidency through traditional higher education channels. As an immigrant who came to the U.S. with very little, my life has been challenging. And I'm grateful for every moment of it.

Through hard work (I never considered an alternative), perseverance (I was often disappointed but never allowed myself to be discouraged), and faith in God (we must stand for something or we will fall for anything), I was able to make something of myself--and more importantly to me--help others along the way.

Mentorship Matters

I share these stories with our students. Whether in my Life Skills Seminar for all freshmen, in the cafeteria, or in one-on-one meetings with students who want advice--my role as it relates to students is Chief Encouragement Officer. And I relish it.

Our students learn to believe in themselves, starting with intentional mentorship--the kind that happens organically all of the time. A student and a faculty member talk about a topic after class and forge a relationship that may guide the student's future decisions.

But the value of mentorship goes much deeper on HPU's campus. We've designed a system including professional, full-time success coaches for every freshman, academic advisors, peer mentors, career advisors and...