When Saralyn Schmidt and Allen Brown first stepped on the new Mid-America Nazarene College campus in 1968, neither dreamed they would meet, marry, enjoy successful careers, and become some of the university’s strongest supporters. It wasn’t their plan, but as it turns out, it was all in God’s plan. Allen and Saralyn Brown, class of 1972, are this year’s Lifetime Achievement honorees. The award will be presented at President’s Honors, the university’s premiere scholarship fundraising event, April 12.
Allen and Saralyn come from devoted Christian families and grew up in the Church of the Nazarene. Although they lived just 45 minutes from one another in Western Kansas, they didn’t meet until the Church of the Nazarene General Assembly in Kansas City in the summer of 1968 where Allen was serving as a MANC Impact Team member. The quartet of incoming college freshmen traveled with Bill Draper, assistant to the president, publicizing the new college and recruiting students.
Allen’s family had moved just 30 miles from Olathe for his father’s job. Living in MANC’s home district, Allen met and was recruited by Draper to sing and travel for the college.
Saralyn sang with Kansas Nazarene Evangelistic Teens (K-NET) and most of her friends chose to enroll at MANC. Enthusiasm for the new college from friends and family convinced Saralyn to enroll as well.
Once in college, the tight-knit class of 263 students and their dedicated professors became like family. It was partly survival instinct and largely shared values that bonded the group fondly referred to as the Pioneer Class.
“You have to know that when we arrived, the buildings were barely finished,” Saralyn recalls. “There was no grass, no trees, no sidewalks. Students helped lay sod and sidewalks. We were far enough from home that we couldn’t go home for the weekend.”
Allen adds, “Most of us didn’t have cars.” Saralyn laughs, saying, “Everybody attended everything on campus, we learned to make our own fun.”
Commitment to a cause and to one another is one of the most important life lessons they learned.
“The professors were committed to us and tried to relate to us,” Allen remembers. “This kept the whole school, students and professors, together and taught us to rely on each other.”
Allen chose to major in history with the goal of becoming a lawyer. Saralyn majored in English education and planned to teach. But God had other plans. So, after graduation, the Browns landed in Carthage, Missouri, where Allen was a youth pastor for the Church of the Nazarene. Saralyn served as a substitute teacher in the area where they lived for two years. While there, Allen completed a master’s degree in Russian history at Pittsburg State University.
Still desiring to attend law school, Allen was accepted at Western State College of Law in Irvine, California, so they moved to pursue his degree. Saralyn wanted to teach in California, but an overabundance of teachers, made positions hard to find. Instead, she went to work as a clerk for a local food manufacturer, a job she says “definitely did not require a degree.”
“It was the furthest thing from my mind,” she says. “But the more I got into it, the more I liked it. God hand-placed me. I went on several interviews and took the first job offered because I was putting Allen through law school. Fortunately, I landed with this little company that was just starting to grow. It was the right time and right place with the right people.”
Saralyn flourished with Don Miguel Foods, using her college education and work experience over 30 years with the company to become vice president of finance and eventually executive vice president. Though she’s retired now, Saralyn stays busy as the manager of her family’s farm in Kansas. Handling most of it remotely, she visits regularly with the three long-time family friends who farm the land.
Allen is “trying” to retire from his law practice.
“His clients don’t want him to give him up,” Saralyn laughs. “He has helped so many small businesses thrive through his practice. That’s his forte. I know he had an influence through his Christian walk. He was good to his employees and clients; they trusted him.”
Allen and Saralyn have supported their alma mater since graduation, but especially in the last few decades. Both have a strong desire to provide the next generation of students with financial assistance to attend.
“They’ve both been prominent in everything the Class of ’72 had done through the years,” says Jon North, vice president for university advancement. “They’ve also served as President’s Honors honorary co-chairs and helped secure the most support for President’s Honors auction items over its 12 years.”
The couple have two adult sons. Justin, his wife Jody, and their four children live in Bourbonnais, Illinois where he is chair of the Math and Computer Science Department at Olivet Nazarene University. Gerard is married to Jessie and is president of Hotel Management and Consulting. They live in Long Beach, California. In addition to sharing their resources with MNU, the Browns’ legacy at the university continues through numerous family members who have attended MNU.
For more information about President’s Honors, visit www.mnu.edu/presidents-honors.
