Evangel: It runs in the family

Evangel family tradition: This 1995 family photo shows
the entire McLellan family, all of whom have graduated
from or are attending Evangel University.

Chris McLellan, class of 2009

Third-generation student has a rich EU heritage

October 27, 2008

When it came time for Chris McLellan to choose a college, Evangel was an obvious choice. After all, both his parents, uncles, sister and even his grandparents, attended the university.

Although his college career has taken a slight detour since high school after spending a year at Iowa State, McLellan, a senior from Altoona, Iowa, is looking forward to graduating this spring. Not only will he be graduating with a degree in music, Chris will soon join the rest of the family as Evangel alumni.

Having three generations of students from one family is still uncommon, as the college hasn’t existed for much more than 50 years.

It began with McLellan’s grandparents, Cyril and Beth, who attended what was then Evangel College in the early 1960s. Chris’ parents, Steven McLellan and Charlene Rozell, then both attended Evangel in the late 1970s and early 80s.

Beth McLellan, also an adjunct professor in the music department at EU, was a non-traditional student who started at Evangel in her 20s.

“I started college in Washington at Eastern Washington College’s School of Education and went one year there, and my mother was very upset with some of the things that they were teaching about the Bible,” Beth says. “They wanted to send me somewhere where it would be more like what I had been taught growing up.”

Beth then attended Central Bible College for a while and eventually came to work at Evangel in the music department. In the early 60s, she decided to enroll at Evangel and earn her teaching degree. Both of Cyril and Beth’s sons also attended Evangel.

“It is somewhat unusual for an institution the age of Evangel to have had a third-generation graduate,” says Evangel President Dr. Robert H. Spence.

For Spence it is a sign of accomplishment to see children of alumni decide to attend Evangel.

“It means that the parents and grandparents had a good experience and that this was something that this student wanted also.”

Will there be a fourth generation? “Assuming that I have kids and especially if Evangel continues to go in the way it’s going, I would definitely encourage my kids to go here,” Chris McLellan says.

This article, written by Bethany Bashioum, first appeared in the October 10, 2008 issue of The Lance, Evangel’s student newspaper.