In grad school, I had the distinct honor to take two classes from Dr. Edward "Chip" Anderson who co-authored with Donald Clifton the book StrengthsQuest: Discover and Develop Your Strengths in Academics, Career and Beyond. We lost Chip far too early when he passed away on July 5th 2005 after a battle with cancer, but Chip's legacy will be with us for a long time. In class, Chip posed the question to us "What if we truly loved our students?" Chip Championed the cause for strengths-based development for students. He challenged me to see the strengths of my students instead of taking inventory of what they lacked. Chip's ever increasing desire to challenge us to see others through "strengths-colored glasses" changed the way I strive to view people. Chip was a modern day prophet and I believe that the Lord spoke to many people through him. To be in Chip's presence was an honor and I cherish every moment I spent with this great man. Walking away from this man, I always felt as though I was made to do something GREAT, and I KNOW that I am not alone in that. It was often that I saw this man moved to tears when describing an encounter that he had had with a student around their perceived worth. He passionately desired for his students to believe that they were created for greatness.
In our first class with Chip, Kerri and I were having a side conversation and Chip asked if we would like to share with the class. Kerri then said (in a way that only she could get away with) "Trae wants to know if we can call you "Chocolate Chip." He laughed, and said "i suppose you can call me that," shook his head with a smile and moved on.
I will do my best to champion the cause that Chip left behind. To enable people to become aware of their strengths and to live into those strengths so that they can be everything that they were created to be. Here is a photo of Chip and my mentor Carol hooding me the day before my graduation. It isn't a good photo of me, but Chocolate Chip looks great. :-)
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