He graduated from high school and worked for a year before choosing a college. When he left Chattanooga to come to Lipscomb, he brought a giant smile and a unique perspective on life. Gerald Miller is a former runner who credits Track and Cross Country with one of the best lessons he learned in life. He shared it with us this week when he sat down with lipscombsports.com.   

What years did you compete for Lipscomb?

I came in the fall of 1991 to run track, and my sophomore year I began running cross country. My coaches were Kent Johnson and Lynn Griffith.

Why did you attend Lipscomb?

When I graduated from high school, I went straight to work in a mall and thought that was my destiny. But after about a year, I was already making more money than my boss – thanks to sales commissions – and I decided life had more to offer. I began looking for colleges in Tennessee, and since I had run really good times in the 800M in high school, I narrowed the list to schools in middle Tennessee with track teams: Lipscomb, Tennessee State, MTSU, and Belmont. One of those didn’t offer scholarships, so they eliminated themselves. I spoke with coaches for the other three and chose Lipscomb. I never looked back, and it was a great decision.

I later found that Coach Griffith and I went to the same high school, Brainerd in Chattanooga, although I joke with him that he obviously was there 50 years ahead of me. 

What teammate was most memorable, and why?

Several were memorable, and I’m sure I’ll leave some out, but I remember Willie Steele as a great teammate. I also remember Brian Cost, Jason Butcher, Wes Sherman and Jon Butterfield. They were good friends and we enjoyed some very good times together. 

What degree did you earn?

I earned my degree in Art with a Marketing emphasis in 1995.

What is your favorite athletic memory at Lipscomb?

I remember one event clearly, and I’m very thankful because it turned into a life-changing moment. In track, my specialty was the 800M run. That’s a nice mix between a sprint and a distance run – it’s about a half-mile at a stiff pace. When I began running cross country, I honestly didn’t mind the added distance and the fact we ran over terrain instead of on a track, but what I did mind were the hills. I hated the hills – well, at least the going-up part. I was pretty good going down.

One day, and I can remember exactly where I was, I decided hills were a part of my sport, and if I was going to enjoy my sport, I had to change my thinking. I had to learn to enjoy running up the hills, and that’s exactly what I did. That new mindset helped me become one of our team’s best uphill runners because I learned to embrace the hills. Soon I was beating the other runners up the hills, my course times improved, and I enjoyed running more.

I taught myself a great lesson: face fears and make them your friends.

Who influenced your athletic career at Lipscomb?

Coach Kent Johnson was a positive influence on all of us. He worked incredibly hard, but he was well-balanced and extremely kind. We all knew how much he cared for us, and it made us work harder for him.

Wes Sherman was a teammate who was valuable to my competitive side. Runners are unique beings. We compete against other individuals, but for most of our training we have only a clock as an opponent. A clock is a poor opponent, so if you can find a human to serve as your competition during training, the training takes on much greater value – it’s more effective. Wes was my practice rival. We both ran the 800M, and we drove each other to race times we could have never reached alone. I appreciate the lesson in teamwork he taught me and the value he added to my training process.

What’s your favorite non-athletic memory from your time here?

I loved the team dinners we enjoyed at Coach Johnson’s home. You would think with all the practice, travel and competition time, a team would get enough of each other. But several times each quarter Coach Johnson and his wife invited us to their home for dinner, and for college students away from home, it was a highlight. The food was good, of course, but enjoying their family and spending time with my teammates in a family setting was completely different from life on campus, and it made an positive impression on me.

What is the most valuable lesson you learned in your time at Lipscomb?

My most valuable lesson from my time at Lipscomb is the lesson I learned on the cross country course when I was struggling to be a distance runner: sometimes in life we get so bogged down with problems, hurdles, and hills that we fail to see the big picture – what is really important. Before the race begins, set for yourself your top priorities, the goals to reach. Once those priorities are established, the small things in the way are easier to conquer. But it starts with a long look at the big picture. What is most important and how is the best way to get there?

Who were your favorite professors?

My favorites were in my field of study: Ralph Thurman, who taught Art History and Drawing, and Dawn Whitlaw, who taught Portrait Painting.

What do you do now?

I live in Nashville, and I’ve worked for E. I. Dupont for 19 years. My title is Continuous Improvement Resource and Project Manager, and that means that basically I’m a problem solver. Whenever we have a problem at a plant that is slowing productivity, I assemble teams from different disciplines to assess the challenge and reach a solution.

When I graduated from Lipscomb I felt certain sales and marketing would be my thing, so I did that for a little while. I had a couple of friends who were working for Dupont, and they encouraged me to try it. I found that Dupont is one of those places you either retire from or you die at – it’s a family-oriented company that takes care of their employees so well that they stay. That’s what happened to me. I started like most new employees, running machines and making products, but then they let me learn about team managing and they sent me to Wilmington (Delaware) to the corporate office. Eventually I got to do a lot of training and workshops on team building, and it has really appealed to me.

FAST FINISH:

• Favorite food: Spaghetti (or sushi)
• Favorite TV show or movie: Legends of the Fall
• Favorite scripture: 1 Corinthians 13 – I like the whole chapter, but especially verse 13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
• Favorite sports team: Tennessee Titans
• Pet peeve: People who give up too easily and don’t try
• Person I most admire: Judge A.A. Birch
• Favorite season: Spring
• Pick one – salad or dessert:
• Dream vacation spot: Dubai
• Early morning or late night person? Late night

You can reach Gerald by e-mail at: glmtennessee@gmail.com