WKU News

With graduation on the horizon, it is important to take a look at the long journey it took for our students to get to this momentous occasion. For Carl Estelle, this was a journey several decades in the making. Estelle began his journey at Western on a football scholarship. When an opportunity to play for the Houston Oilers presented itself, however, Mr. Estelle decided to leave WKU before receiving his degree in 1977 to pursue a career in professional football.

After 42 years away from school, Mr. Estelle began looking into finally completing his degree. After suffering from concussions in his football career, Mr. Estelle thought that his ability to complete his coursework was on a very short window of time. Through his correspondence with Cathy Alwine from WKU’s Student Financial Assistance office and Karen Morris, the Bursar at Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC), where he currently attends classes, WKU was able to receive Estelle’s JCTC transcripts and award him with his degree at the end of this fall semester.

Through the noble efforts of Cierra Waller, the student services coordinator in Potter College, and Professor Bruce Crawley of the department of communication, the university quickly located Estelle’s (literal) paperwork to find out if the courses he completed from several decades ago still counted towards his degree. A small army of people worked tirelessly to make sure Mr. Estelle was able to graduate, completing a goal that Mr. Estelle has been pursuing some time. When finally hearing the news of his impending graduation, Mr. Estelle was said to be overcome with emotion, saying that receiving his degree was a “dream come true.”

Potter College wishes Mr. Estelle and all of our graduates luck at the end of their academic journeys, and hope that they finish the end of this semester strong and greet the future with enthusiasm.