Meet Daniel Bacon

Whitworth Cadre One
'07 Graduate (B.A. International Studies)
Lincoln High School '03

Everyday conversations

As a Whitworth tour guide, Daniel Bacon was asked the non-traditional question, "What is Whitworth missing?" Daniel's passionate reply—that Whitworth greatest lack was racial and cultural diversity—may have startled the prospective student. For Daniel, however, being one of the few white students in the Act Six program has led to him many similar conversations and opportunities to break down stereotypes.

Discovering his passion

At Lincoln High School, Daniel was a serious student, a varsity athlete perhaps atypically socially conscious, but reflecting on his high school days, he remarks, "I was one of those kids that had the potential, but I didn’t really have the support structure." When he began taking classes at Tacoma Community College through the Running Start program, Daniel began to mature and discover his passion for fighting injustice. He regards the 1 hour 15 minute bus ride home, where he began to make daily observations of his fellow bus riders, as a significant experience during this time. "The people had no life in them and I didn't think that was right," he reflects empathetically. He imagined that bus riders were probably working people who barely made enough to get by, meaning having not enough means to enjoy life. He began thinking about how he wanted to change things.

A philosophy of change

Since being a part of the Act Six Initiative, Daniel now feels that his ideas are refined. He has new language and an even deeper commitment to authentic conversation and building relationships. "Given the diversity in the world, there is a need to engage people while valuing who you are and at the same time, allowing others to do the same, and then having commitment to do it again the next day." Daniel believes that it is in relationships that change is able to happen because when people get close enough they begin to care about each other and the suffering that exists in one another's lives.

One conversation at a time

The looks of shock Daniel has received in response to his perspectives during conversations at Whitworth, according to him, have for the most part been accompanied by expressions of appreciation. In moments like these he is satisfied, knowing that he is honestly working toward his goal of leaving the world a little better than the state at which he entered. Daniel hasn't decided exactly how he will do this, but his clear commitment to fighting poverty, hate and injustice, one conversation at a time, seems to be leading him in the right direction thus far.

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