Cedars, November 2018

November 2018 8 CAMPUS From Artist to Teacher: Cam Davis by Madeleine Mosher I t’s about 400 miles from Lynchburg, Virginia, to Cedar- ville, Ohio. That’s the trip Cedarville’s newest associate professor of visual communication design made to ar- rive at Cedarville this year. Cam Davis never planned on teaching. He started an even longer journey as an artist. “I always made things,” he said, beginning in his child- hood with mud sculptures and finger paints. Davis received a degree in commercial art from Mar- shall University. Later, he achieved a master’s degree in 2D art from Radford University. His first job at Liberty University had nothing to do with teaching. He was hired to work as the advertising direc- tor for the student newspaper. Eventually, the university’s graphic design department needed an introductory-level class professor and gave Davis the job as an adjunct because he had practical experience. He liked teaching so much that he decided to get his master’s degree and has been a profes- sor ever since. Davis doesn’t only instruct his students in art. He also shares with them his belief that God has a plan for how each person will fulfill the Great Commission. “I want them to be aware of how God might use them to leverage their skills that He’s embedded in them for His purposes,” Davis said, whether that’s working as an art di- rector in Los Angeles or on the mission field with child sol- diers and sex slaves. But that doesn’t mean he never wonders about the im- portance of his own work. Once, during his time in Virginia, Davis began to question his significance as a professor. “Is what I’m doing, does it matter at all?” he wondered. He got his answer in a coffee shop. He was listening to music, drinking coffee, and grad- ing, when he ran into Olia, one of his former students. She told him that she was going to make a presentation about the nonprofit organization she worked with in India. “We rescue these little girls,” she said. “We go in there and we rescue them out of these brothels, take them into a safe house, and teach them how to make a living, and we love on them …” “How’d you get involved?” he asked. “Through graphic design.” And through that conversation, Davis was able to see how his work as a professor reached all the way around the world. Davis developed relationships with faculty members at Liberty, too. Ed Edman, who taught alongside Davis for 12 years, described the weekly faculty prayer group that Davis started. They often met on Mondays, sometimes in Davis’ office, with a group normally no larger than four. “He thought it would be a good idea, if we wanted to serve God at Liberty University,” Edman said, “the faculty [should] be in one accord with what God wanted to do.” Doing what God wanted him to do was the underlying reason Davis left Liberty after 22 years there. Soon before the move from Virginia to Ohio, Davis be- gan to feel a change brewing. “We just began to pray,” Davis said. “If this is of God and not just me being restless, I asked the Lord to open doors and close doors.” He thought about pursuing his passion for missions onto the mission field. He applied to ministries like Samari- tan’s Purse, and some Christian and state schools. Cedarville’s door was the one that God ultimately opened, and now Davis is bringing his practical and profes- sional experience to CU students. He emphasized how happy he was to be at Cedarville. He said he feels that he is connecting well to his students, getting to know their personalities. He’s not overly enthused by Ohio weather, though. He described one of his reactions when he felt the Lord calling him to Ohio: “Ohio, it’s cold there. It’s cold. Are you sure you didn’t mean Myrtle Beach, right on the ocean somewhere?” he asked God, “Are you sure about that?” And God’s answer? “He was sure.” Madeleine Mosher is a sophomore journalism major and a Campus News Co-editor for Cedars. When she’s not com- plaining about homework or thinking about food, she en- joys coffee, words, and rock ‘n’ roll. Photo by Carrie Bergan Cam Davis explains how a student could fix a slight technical issue with their project