Thursday, September 24, 2009

MEQUON, Wis. - Decades in the making, the new book, Faith in the Freshman: A Story of Hopes and Hoops, by Concordia University Wisconsin’s President, Rev. Dr. Patrick T. Ferry, is the story of a young college freshman (Ferry) who loves basketball.  The memoir based on Ferry’s own life and family is a journey that spans more than thirty years and contains some of life’s most important lessons on family, faith, academics, and transformation.

“While the book is a window into one person’s experiences and struggles in life, I hope that it can encourage others and help them renew their faith,” said Ferry. “While a central theme of the book is basketball, anyone who reads it will soon find out that it’s about so much more,” he added.

It took Dr. Ferry about four months to write the first draft of Faith in the Freshman, in early 2009, but the story and ideas had been brewing inside of him for quite some time. When he learned that one of his son’s, Andrew, had diabetes in 2007 things changed. Andrew was in high school at the time and loved basketball. He was accepted to Valparaiso University and went on to play for the team.

It was at this point that Dr. Ferry’s ideas about his book came into focus. He started to draw parallels of his own college freshman experiences and those of his son’s and realized that part of the book would have to address Andrew’s diabetes and some of the difficulties he would encounter because of it.

The book is being published by Pat and Alison Keenan of Green Tree Publishers. All proceeds from Faith in the Freshman will go to Concordia University Wisconsin to further the university’s mission of helping students develop in mind, body, and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the World.

The book is available for purchase at Concordia’s bookstore on their main campus in Mequon. It is also available for purchase on amazon.com or by visiting www.faithinthefreshman.com. On Thursday, Nov. 19 there will be a book launch on Concordia’s Mequon campus in the Todd Wehr Auditorium from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Books will be available for purchase that night and Dr. Ferry will sign copies. Light refreshments will be served.

Founded in 1881, Concordia University Wisconsin's main campus is located on approximately 200 acres of beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline at 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon. The university and its 17 Concordia centers and classroom locations are home to 7,178 undergraduate and graduate, traditional, as well as non-traditional students from 44 states and 26 foreign countries. The university offers 60 undergraduate majors, 14 master's degree programs, doctoral degrees in Pharmacy, Physical Therapy and Nursing Practice. There are also a variety of adult learning opportunities.

The university is affiliated with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and is a member of the Concordia University System, a nationwide network of colleges and universities. For more information on Concordia University Wisconsin, contact the university at 262-243-4300 or visit their web site at www.cuw.edu.

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