Cedarville Stories Cedarville University

God’s Timing Is Perfect
Farris Welsh opened her refrigerator door to find she had no milk for her kids. She checked the pantry, and there wasn’t much there, either. 
Not knowing how she would feed her family dinner, Farris heard a knock on the door, and when she and her young son opened it to find two bags of groceries, she knew God provided for their needs. 
Farris has lived anything but a normal life. From one tragedy to the next, she has been stretched, challenged, and refined. And through it all, she still believes God is good and His timing is perfect. 
The first life-altering event happened during her time as a student at Cedarville. While Farris and two of her friends were driving to Xenia, Ohio, they were hit head-on by a drunk driver. Her friends died instantly, while Farris remained in a coma for two weeks and was then hospitalized for three-and-a-half months.
Even in the midst of this tragic event, her faith continued to grow. Her mother sat diligently by her side, reading Scripture and praying for a miracle, which happened. Farris defied the doctors’ prognosis of not being able to stand again — let alone, live a normal life. 
But this car accident wasn’t even the most shocking event of her life. She has experienced multiple tragedies throughout her life, but she never complained. And before she retired from an exhilarating career with the federal government, Farris raised two children, served as a world leader, and even helped the United States recover from a broken relationship with the King of Thailand.
As Farris will tell you, never doubt God and always do what He asks of you. That’s her motto, and it has served her well.

Stories for a Purpose
Conrad Weaver started out as a premed major at Cedarville. He later switched to psychology, graduating in 1988, he found himself the president of Conjo Studios and an award-winning filmmaker. 
How did this psychologist end up making documentaries?
It all boils down to a central mission: helping people. 
Shortly after pursuing a career in psychology, Conrad found a new skillset and passion for working with technology and video. He was hired by a church, and he started heading up its video production for services. 
Despite having grown up dabbling in photography, seemingly always with a camera in his hand, Conrad never thought he could make a career of it. But an Emmy award for The Great American Wheat Harvest documentary, followed by several other successful documentaries, proved him wrong. 
Today, Conrad enjoys telling the stories of people that he meets. His upcoming documentary, PTSD911 tells the story of the first responders at ground zero on that devastating day in 2001. He is currently sharing his story with people across the United States as he rides his bicycle from Astoria, Oregon to Ocean City, Maryland. You can follow his journey by clicking on The Journey.

Life’s Unexpected Challenges
Roscoe Smith never wanted to have a career in higher education, but the opportunity to pursue a relationship with his future wife, Rhonda, was too compelling for the New York native.
After graduating from then Cedarville College, and knowing Rhonda was a year behind him, Roscoe did everything he could to maintain the relationship. So, he accepted a position in the University’s admissions department. 
What else would he do? But in his mind, it was only a temporary position. 
Fast forward to today, and Roscoe has spent nearly 40 years of his career working at Cedarville University. He’s held key roles in admissions, financial aid, public relations, and, now, institutional advancement. And, he couldn’t be any happier about his experience and his 39-year marriage to Rhonda.
But life wasn’t always easy for him, especially when he faced his mortality during treatment for leukemia when he was just 27 years old. When he saw a fellow leukemia patient pass away from the illness, it hit Roscoe hard, so much that he began taking a hard look at his life and future.
But in the Lord’s grace and mercy, through the prayers of his faithful family and Cedarville friends and the support of Rhonda, he survived the illness — and difficult treatments. Now, he and Rhonda are enjoying life as grandparents. 
Listen to him share his story on the Cedarville Stories Podcast.  

Deep Calls for Life
Good health is not something to take for granted. Just ask Dr. Chuck Elliott, Senior Professor of Communication at Cedarville University. 
Throughout his life, he’s been a model of good health. That was until he began experiencing severe headaches and uncontrollable high blood pressure while teaching in Hong Kong. Ultimately, the high blood pressure left significant damage to Chuck’s kidneys, and two years ago, doctors noticed a significant change in his health. 
He was in the beginning stages of kidney failure. Just one year later in May 2022, Chuck’s kidneys were in full-blown failure, causing him to need dialysis — nine hours every day. 
With the reality of needing a kidney to survive, Chuck was in a difficult position. How does a person go about getting a new kidney?  
It’s not like Chuck to share his situation with anyone, let alone ask someone if they would donate a kidney to him. This was an uncomfortable situation for someone who made his life as a communications professor. 
Well, several Cedarville University students were presented with class projects that could help Chuck in his quest of a new kidney.  
Enter Deep Calls for Life, a project headed by a team of marketing and communication students. Their sole purpose was to create a social media campaign that would communicate Chuck’s health crisis and his need of a kidney transplant — preferably from a live donor — for their beloved professor.  
As part of a virtual communication class project, the students created a social media campaign intended to bring hope to the Cedarville professor, and, possibly someone who could provide the perfect kidney for Chuck.  
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And now, several months later, Cedarville Stories Podcast is please to share good news about Chuck Elliott!
Listen here to learn more about Chuck’s story and the answer to many prayers on the Cedarville Stories Podcast.

"I Shall Not Die, But Live"Cedarville trustee Hayes Wicker has been a relentless and tireless servant of the Lord as a church pastor and now a seminary professor at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Matthews, North Carolina. Yet his legacy almost came to an earthly close as he battled COVID-19.
Hayes was near death. He was almost placed on a ventilator when the Lord used a stern and challenging nurse to motivate him to breathe on his own. He avoided the respirator, but his prognosis was still poor.
In the midst of his terrible sickness, the Lord provided a flicker of hope through a verse from the Psalms: “I shall not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17).
“I have seen God use this, particularly when I talk about COVID,” Hayes shares during the podcast. “On the golf course or the doctor’s office or wherever I get to talk, it is an amazing platform because people are amazed that I’m alive, that I’m doing what I’m doing, and I get to tell the greatness of the goodness of God.”
Hayes served for 27 years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Naples, Florida, where Dr. Paul and Mrs. Pat Dixon are members.

Christ Is All He Needs
For Paul Dixon, from the beginning of his relationship with God through all the decades of his leadership at Cedarville to his retirement years when he continues to impact the lives of many, Christ is all he needs.
Dr. Dixon was first known on the campus of Cedarville College as a frequent speaker in chapel. He was often invited to preach by then-president Dr. James T. Jeremiah, with whom he had a lifelong friendship and for whom he had a deep admiration.
There’s an iconic image of Dr. Dixon walking side by side with Dr. Jeremiah in 1978, when Dr. Dixon was asked to serve as president. The image shows the two great men of faith in step with each other, which was reflected in their transition and their relationship with each other through the years.
Dr. Dixon admits he had not served in leadership, other than in his personal life, his family, and his evangelistic ministry, so he was taken aback at the Board of Trustees’ decision to appoint him to lead Cedarville. Dr. Dixon promised his wife, Pat, they would commit two years to see if the Lord’s hand was on their decision. After 25 years serving as president and 18 years as chancellor, it appears His answer was clear.
For Dr. Dixon, his commitment to follow the Lord into the leadership of Cedarville was an act of faith. The song, “Christ Is All I Need,” so closely linked to Dr. Dixon and his time at Cedarville, continues to echo that continual dependence, which he and Pat harmonize to close the podcast.  
“We took as our verse when we started dating Psalm 37:23, ‘The steps of a good man are ordered by God: and He delighteth in his way,’” Dr. Dixon shares earlier in the show. “And (Pat) had that engraved on my wedding band. It’s been that way all these years. He’s ordered our steps; it’s the sovereignty of God.”
Dr. Dixon’s 40th anniversary of servant-leadership at Cedarville was celebrated in 2018.