Dana Burnell, author of From Grace to Eternity (WinePress –December 2003) finally claimed his diploma after seventeen years of hard work, life detours and family drama.
We spoke with Dana about his journey:
WP: You stated that you earned the degree from the Atlantic Coast Seminary in Daytona Beach, FL. You are a resident of Washington State. Can you explain?
Dana: Atlantic Coast Seminary is an online school. I actually began my studies at Trinity College in Indiana, another online program. I did class work through Trinity and my thesis for Atlantic Coast. (Atlantic Coast Seminary is loosely affiliated with Trinity.)WP: Why did it take 17 years? Were you a full-time pastor or working full-time?
Dana: I work at Microsoft. My first degrees were a Bachelor and then a Masters Degree in Computer Science. After that I decided I needed to invest more in my faith, so I began work on the Theology course. During that time we moved across the country twice—once from Colorado to Boston, then from Boston to Washington in 1998. Right after moving to Washington and getting settled into a new house, I found my birth family. I had grown up knowing I was adopted—now I was meeting sisters, cousins and a grandfather. In 1998 I was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
WP: What was your schedule like?
Dana: Well, I’m married, the father of 2 children that we were raising, who are now 25 and 22. For the online school I had to register for 4 courses at a time, and finish them in 2 years. My problem was getting them finished in the 2 year time period, so I had to repeat some courses.
WP: Did you have people who helped you?
Dana: My wife has been my chief editor on my papers, checking grammar. We’ve been married 29 years and we joke that I’ve been going to school since I was 5 years old.
There were also men at my church who read my work. One man in particular, Clayton Boyce, took 3 weeks to read my thesis and check my scriptural references, validate my Greek and so on.
WP: How did it feel to finally get the diploma into your hands?
There were also men at my church who read my work. One man in particular, Clayton Boyce, took 3 weeks to read my thesis and check my scriptural references, validate my Greek and so on.
WP: How did it feel to finally get the diploma into your hands?
Dana: It’s been almost a let-down, an anti-climax. Its like, “I’ve been doing this forever…now what?”
WP: What was the most important thing you learned from this besides getting the degree?
Dana: The nature of the assignments was much harder than I expected. The easiest assignment might have been “Write a 25 page essay on what you believe.” Everything we did, we had to back it up with scripture and show why we believed what we believed.
WP: So you might say you took an unofficial course in Apologetics as well. Did that strengthen your faith?
Dana: Absolutely, it made me a stronger Christian.
WP: Did the Parkinson’s affect your job performance?
Dana: Yes, for the third time now, I’ve had to cut down to half-time hours. Sometimes I come home and still have to take a nap.
WP: Were the people at work supportive?
Dana: Yes, very supportive. I started there in 1998, so I’ve been working for them for almost 14 years.
Dana: Yes, very supportive. I started there in 1998, so I’ve been working for them for almost 14 years.
WP: Where are you now in your career?
Dana: Microsoft is pretty much the same. The time in school gave me extracurricular things to do. Now I have grandchildren to keep me busy and I’m working on another book.
WP: Thank you for sharing and explaining why it took 17 years. Your story sounds like it was as much about patience and persistence as it was getting the degree.