A special moment in Eastfield history took place in the President’s Suite on March 28. The last remaining charter faculty of the college, Dr. Carl Knight, was being reunited with one of his first Eastfield students. It was an afternoon of gratitude and reminiscing as the college prepares to celebrate 55 years of changing lives.

In 1970, Dr. Carl Knight was teaching at Michigan State University when a friend called and asked if he would like to come to Mesquite, Texas to make a difference. Inspired by men like Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Knight took a chance on the new college opening that year, and moved south. With degrees in anatomy and physiology as well as microbiology, he started out teaching general biology to Eastfield’s inaugural class.

Included in that initial classroom of students was James Jones, or “JR” as he is called, a 19-year-old flight instructor who took a chance on Eastfield just as much as the college took a chance on him. He didn’t have great grades and wasn’t really sure what he wanted to do, but he knew he needed an education and Eastfield was close to the local airport he went to for lessons.

JR shared about the first time he pulled up to Eastfield to apply, saying that all the buildings were still under construction and they had a trailer in the parking lot.

Dr. Knight remembers applying for and receiving the $1.8 million dollar grant that allowed them to build the initial science building (now known as building S).

From those humble beginnings and Dr. Knight’s desire to make a difference, JR’s entire life changed. JR and Dr. Knight reminisced about the small class sizes, professors teaching both their lab and lecture, and classes going on “field trips” to see biology in action, saying it was just different here. “This was family,” JR said, and even though he still didn’t make great grades, he slowly started to shift from having to complete the classes to becoming invested in learning and inspired to pursue science as a career.

JR’s wife of 50 years, Mary, reiterated that JR’s entire life was shaped by his time here at Eastfield. He became passionate not just about science, but also about teaching.

After leaving Eastfield, JR served in the Navy, and went on to get a masters in marine biology at Delmore College where he worked as a lab assistant. From there he taught eighth grade science, high school marine biology, was a professor at Delmore College in Corpus Christi for three years and even came back to Eastfield about 10 years ago as a guest speaker. Through it all, he and Dr. Knight have remained in touch.

In all his adventures, JR said he always thinks back to his time in Dr. Knight’s classroom, sharing that the hands-on approach shaped his own teaching style. JR tries to reach his students by being invested in their education and their lives, just like Dr. Knight was for him all those years ago. However, JR’s experience wasn’t special. Dr. Knight does this for all his students, as his fellow faculty members shared, going so far as to help raise money for them to further their education if needed.

Dr. Knight said he wakes up every day and asks himself, “How many lives can I change today?” This extraordinary support and care had ripple effects, as JR shared how his own son became a professor, and Dr. Knight stated that he has seen several of his other students go on to become doctors, nurses, dentists and more.

When asked what advice JR had for students who may find themselves where he was 55 years ago, struggling to find their way, he said, “Do it one step at a time,” adding that if someone tells you that you can’t, find someone else who will tell you that you can.

It may be easy to get discouraged, he shared, but people can always take one more step.

When students do finally achieve their dreams, they should remember to come back and say thank you to the ones who helped them get there.