By: Tohko Nohara ‘18
Staff Writer
There was a time without email.
Assignments constantly crowded mailboxes, and during the winter, students were still allowed to swiftly skate on coy pond. There was a time before Barrington and Gordon merged; Dr. Dorothy Boorse was a freshman, and Dr. Marvin Wilson was fresh into his teaching career at Gordon–”fresh” being twelve years. It was a time when Amy L. Puff was a senior at the College (1979-1983).
Gloucester-native Puff studied Elementary Education as her major concentration, alongside a minor in Physical Education. Puff currently resides in Beverly, MA and teaches studying skills and math at the middle school level.
Puff chose Gordon because she saw it as an opportunity to grow. While in high school, Puff wanted to meet more Christians in the secular New England area. She was certain that more Christians had to exist in the world.
Puff said, “I just needed more Christian people in my life. Then Holy Mackerel! There was a lot. We stayed up at night to talk about God!”
Puff sees herself as extremely social and believes that she made the most of her time while attending Gordon.
She was not characterized as a straight A student, yet she equipped herself with compassion and patience. She enjoyed taking education classes, because she enjoyed helping students understand their materials.
One Gordon memory that made an impact on her was Becky Donaldson’s death in the fall of 1982. “It was really horrible… I knew her as a beautiful and devoted Christian,” said Puff, “The whole campus was mourning for her. Then in one convocation service, close friend group got together to sing a hymn. Such a testimony.”
Tears welled up in Puff’s eyes. She herself also enjoyed a real connections between people in the four years. Puff said, “I met so many friends who reconnect very quickly. The connection we made was very real and deep.”
Just as the world has changed dramatically since 1983, Gordon campus has changed too. She feels that Gordon reaches out into the community more than it has ever before.
Considering she grew both during and after her college career, Puff understands there to be two types of growth:
She said, “[In college], I was a straight and narrow person, I knew what to do. I did not want to fall.” After experiencing life, she came to know that, “When I fall off, the grace of Christ tastes so much sweeter. Embrace the grace! He is there the whole time!”
Leave a Reply