If you have ever heard Julian Armand Cook address a chapel audience, discourse on social and spiritual issues, or hit that final note on a soulful hymn variation, you know he is a force to be reckoned with. To those who know him it comes as little surprise that Cook is currently enrolled at Boston University School of Theology, the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the alma mater of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. In Boston, Cook is working towards obtaining a Master of Divinity and holds the position of graduate assistant at the Howard Therman Center for Common Ground. The establishment acts as a cultural center for student programming and the commemoration of the theologian who was the first African American in the nation to become dean of a university chapel. “The Center,” Cook said, “revolves around the search for the unity of all people.”
As a passionate speaker, an ardent social activist, and a prominent perpetuator of black heritage at Houghton, Cook “excitedly obliged” to a request from the Heritage Club that he return to campus to lecture Thursday night and preach Friday’s chapel service. In previous years as president of the club, Cook had the ambition to “help Houghton take steps in the right direction” in reference to issues of diversity. Now, as a returning alumnus, he is furthering the discussions he began over the last four years.
As a recent Houghton graduate, Cook cited his college experience in western New York as invaluably indispensable. “Houghton prepared me academically to attend one of the top seminaries in the country,” Cook commented. “It gave me the foundation to inform myself of issues and cultivate these issues, as well as placing an emphasis on being educated for the purpose of serving the world and serving God,” he elaborated. For Cook this standard is manifested in “being the best student I can be; not just for my own end, but to impact someone else.” Cook described Houghton as an “extremely unique and beneficial” place with so many “critical resources” available at the fingertips of the eager student. “Besides academic excellence, Houghton instills and encourages an optimistic worldview in which students have the ability and the responsibility to make a lasting external impact. Houghton teaches us to really believe that we can change the world,” said Cook.
After completing his work as a graduate student, Cook plans to endeavor a PhD in American history with the hope that this distinction will lead to an eventual professorship. In addition to teaching college level classes, Cook aspires to become a local pastor and a political figure. After successfully completing the requirements of a Houghton education, Cook is confident that his efforts have been rewarded. “I can never say thank you enough,” he offered. “I can be nothing but grateful for the support and the knowledge I was given here.”