Tyndall’s Graduation Marks a Goal 14 Years in the Making

MOUNT OLIVE – Fifty year old Roy Lee Tyndall Jr. of Kinston began attending University of Mount Olive at Wilmington in the fall of 1998. Unfortunately, in June 1999, his parents were involved in a fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver. Tyndall lost his mother in the crash, and his father remained in critical condition at the hospital for three months after the incident. This life changing event halted Tyndall’s original dream of graduating from MOC.

“Those were some of the hardest months of my life,” Tyndall recalled. “I was never given the opportunity to grieve my mother’s death until many months afterwards. My father beat the odds, but he had to have constant care during his rehabilitation process. Spending that many months in the waiting room of the trauma center gave me time to reevaluate my own life and set goals to improve it.”

Seven years later, Tyndall enrolled at the College again. He majored in management and organizational development with a minor in human resources management. The accelerated program at MOC Wilmington gave him the opportunity to work while attending classes once a week at his own pace. Then another problem stood in the way of Tyndall’s dreams. Due to the economic climate and issues surrounding the property being tied up in his grandmother’s estate, Tyndall suddenly found himself without a home.

Despite it all, Tyndall continued attending classes at MOC Wilmington while living out of his car and office. His unwavering faith kept him completely focused. “My testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his plan of salvation is what kept me going in a positive direction. Looking back, I don’t regret a single decision I’ve made to complete the program. I have been guided by the light of Christ, keeping my eye single to the Glory of God in getting it done.”

On December 8th, Tyndall finally realized a dream 14 years in the making when he graduated from University of Mount Olive. “Finishing what I started in 1998 has changed my life. It has lifted a weight from my shoulders and caught me up to the level of education I should have been at many years ago.” Now Tyndall is hopeful about the future. “With the completion of my degree, I believe that I will have more of an opportunity to increase my income enough to obtain my own housing once again. This week I have already received a job offer. Because of my education at University of Mount Olive, I am the top candidate for this position.”

Tyndall humbly celebrated with a dinner at Southern Exposure in Faison in memory of his mother and in honor of his father and his maternal grandmother.  “They have all been my inspiration,” he closed.

University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The College, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Research Triangle Park, Washington and Jacksonville. For more information, visit www.moc.edu.