Track athlete William Stout & Dr. Boyce M. Lawton, III 

About William Stout: 

• Senior
• Multi
• Native of Nashville, Tenn.

About Dr. Boyce M. Lawton, III: 

• Dean for Student Success
• Owns a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the University of South Carolina Honors College, a Master of Science in Pure Mathematics from  the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policies (Higher Education) from the University of South Carolina
• Has been teaching for 30 years, 23 of which have been at Wofford College

William Stout and Dr. Boyce M. Lawton, III

         Q&A with William Stout:

• What did you like most about Dr. Lawton's class? Dr. Lawton is the most intentional professor I have ever encountered at Wofford. He has a heart for helping students succeed and truly puts others before himself.
•  What makes Dr. Lawton a good teacher? You can come to him at any time for help, guidance, advice, and encouragement.
• What is something you’re involved in outside of class and sports that we may not know? I am in a fraternity on campus with some of my best friends at Wofford.
• How do you manage academics, athletics and a social life? What is your key to good time management? It is no easy task, especially when taking pre-med courses. Although it seems somewhat paradoxical, having busy days with track, class, lab, and fraternity events helps force me to use what little free time I do have to get my homework and studying done because I truly don’t have the luxury of putting it off.
• What is your favorite spot on campus? Phase 3 on a warm, sunny day.
• What is the most important skill you've learned through participation in your sport? Mental toughness. 
• Do you have any nicknames? Or if you could choose your own, what would it be and why? Mr. 110%. I want everyone to remember me primarily as someone who gave their all in every endeavor.
• What are your plans post grad? I will start medical school in August at the University of Tenneseee Health Science Center College of Medicine.
  
  Q&A with Dr. Lawton:
• What was it like having William in your class? William and I are as close as any student that I’ve ever taught, but he’s never actually taken one of my for-credit classes. I’ve worked closely with him as an academic advisor, as a mentor, and as the advisor to his fraternity. William has a confidence about him that screams he is no-nonsense kind of guy…. ever. Everything about William speaks to discipline and self-control. We went out for breakfast a few weeks ago, and after I ordered biscuits with sausage gravy, he let me know that he was sticking to plant-based diet. I think he ordered Kale hash browns. If that doesn’t say a lot about a person’s commitment, I don’t know what would. It takes about two sentences of conversation to realize that William is incredibly intelligent, but after just a few more sentences, you realize that he is also incredibly compassionate. The combination of intelligence, discipline, and compassion have been one of the reasons I have so enjoyed my years of working with William. Those factors are also what made it so easy to write letters of recommendation for William for outside scholarships, Phi Beta Kappa, and for medical school.   
• What is your favorite sport or hobby? What do you like to do in your free time? I enjoy solving puzzles of any kind. I like the NY Times Crossword, word games, and jigsaw puzzles. I think that is one of the reasons I like working with students on complicated academic issues.As the Dean for Student Success, many students come to my office with a complicated set of academic problems… I really enjoy helping them sort through those and find a creative solution. I think I just admitted that working with students is my hobby. My wife and children would probably agree with that statement. Although I am getting older, I have thoroughly enjoyed spending the last 12 years working with my sons in Boy Scouts first as a cub leader and then as an assistant scout master. Camping, hiking, and exploring the outdoors have been one of the highlights of my life.
• How often are you able to watch your student-athletes compete? Many, many summers ago, I tutored “Mr. Illini” every evening at the University of Illinois. He struggled with math a good bit, and I know it made him uncomfortable for someone to see him “not winning.”He kept asking me “When are you going to watch me play?” I told him that when he could get 10 problems in a row correct, I would show up to watch him in a pick-up game. I’d never felt so out-of-place as a 5’7”, 105-pound, completely uncoordinated white guy surrounded by inner-city Chicago kids who all seemed several feet taller than me. I was so far out of my element that I couldn’t even follow what was happening around me.I realized that night… this is how many of my students feel in class.That’s when I decided that I needed to take an interest in my student athletes and show them how much I appreciate their success in the classroom and on the field. That experience shaped my work with all my students, and it helped me to realize that I needed to build a relationship and a level of trust for my students to feel comfortable trusting me with what they do and do not know. In my years at Wofford, I’ve tried to either watch the students in my class compete in person or watch them online whenever possible.Last semester, I had taught or worked closely with 12 of the guys on the soccer team, so I did my best to make it to every home game.Wofford is a close-knit community, so I frequently text William Stout, Jireh Wilson, and Storm Murphy and many others after games because we’ve developed close relationships over the years. I like to let them know that I understand and appreciate how much they are working to balance academics and athletics.
• What’s your favorite spot on campus? Wofford’s cafeteria. I try to eat there every day because it allows me to interact with so many students.
• What is your favorite thing about teaching? This one is easy. My favorite thing about teaching is building lifelong relationships with so many different students.  My first students have gray hair now… but many of them still stay in touch from around the globe.
• What would students be surprised to find out about you? I am secretly an introvert. I can sing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” in Latin. I jumped out of a plane at 15,000 feet with the Silver Wings at Fort Benning.
• What is one class your school offers that you wish you could take? Constitutional Law
   

About Classroom Connections: In its second year, Classroom Connections is a weekly feature that showcases student-athletes away from the playing field and highlights the relationship between student-athlete and professor.