 Dan Gardner sings during the Gala Concert Saturday evening September 23. He was joined on this and several other selections by the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers, The Hesston High School Singers, the Haven High School Wildcat Singers, and the Goessel High School Elbiata Singers. |
October 4, 2006
by Carol Duerksen
When Dan Gardner attended Hesston College in 1988-90, he got depressed and felt lost in the beginning, missed his family and home congregation, got frustrated with the expectations of some teachers, spent hours confiding with other teachers, asked a lot of faith questions, sang in Bel Canto Singers, served as an resident assistant his sophomore year, and sometimes wondered why he was in college at all.
One day, after a particularly depressing experience, he sat down in the office of faculty member Mariann Martin and unloaded. Dan will never forget what he learned that day.
“She had a huge influence on me! Mariann helped me understand that this is the way it’s going to be out in the world--you will come into contact with people you don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with, and you will have to figure out how to deal with it and turn it into something positive. I took what she said and realized I needed to be stronger in what I wanted to get out of this difficult experience.”
Dan was part of the Homecoming Weekend activities at Hesston College Sept. 22-24, sharing his story in chapel on Friday morning and performing in a Gala Concert Saturday evening.
It wasn’t the first time Dan faced a hard blow to his self-confidence. The adopted bi-racial son of retired Goshen College faculty members Merritt and Ruth Ann Gardner, Dan grew up in a family that loved music. He learned to play the piano and saxophone, and sang in a children’s choir at the age of seven. Then, when he was eight years old, he auditioned for the children’s choir again, only this time the director told him that singing wasn’t his strength and he shouldn’t pursue it.
Crushed and confused, Dan didn’t sing again until he was a junior in high school. During those years without music, he felt lost and without direction. To make matters worse, school was becoming harder and harder for him.
When Dan was a high school junior, he was asked if he’d like to audition for the high school choir. He told the teacher what had happened in second grade, and that she would probably be disappointed. But she wanted him to audition anyway.
 Dan Gardner, nationally-known singer and 1990 Hesston College grad, shared his journey of linking faith and spirituality with his career during chapel Friday, September 22. |
He did, and became a part of the Goshen High School Crimsonaire Swing Choir. A year later, he found out he was dyslexic--and that was why his schoolwork had been so difficult. “Singing actually helped me quite a bit,” he smiled. “I would make up tunes to the subject I was studying--it was a great way to remember information I needed for a test,” he said.
Following his graduation from Hesston, Dan spent a year pursuing his career in Los Angeles, then attended and graduated from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va. He worked as a voice teacher and performer, and in 2002 he auditioned for the NBC "Today Show" Superstar Contest. Thousands competed, and Dan won the competition, giving him new opportunities to tour the nation, produce an album, perform for celebrities, and rub shoulders with the rich and famous in the music and television industry.
“You must understand and believe that you have the power to be whatever you want to be,” Dan shared in his chapel presentation. “Rely on your relationship with God to get you through life. You have had some incredible opportunities through this college to learn and experience God’s love and power. Don’t let anyone take that away from you once you enter the working world.... You will meet people who are very different from you in the way they look, think, believe, whether it has to do with religious beliefs, racial background, political views, or worldly views. Just stay open to learning new things, but stay strong in the core of who you are and your relationship with God.... God is my best friend and I rely on that relationship for the good times and the not so good times of life.
“I hope that my story encourages all of you to realize your own dreams...Find out what you want to do and then work hard and have faith. Your goals and dreams are always within reach!”
Carol Duerksen is a free-lance writer in Goessel, Kan. She edits With magazine, a quarterly publication for Mennonite youth. She also edits ymroadtrip.org, a website for youth leaders.