Curtis Anderson: A lifelong learner returns to Bethel—60 years later

Eighty-four years young, Curtis Anderson walks across Bethel’s campus with purpose. He’s not visiting for nostalgia’s sake; he’s heading to class—Intro to Bible—with 40 first-year students who are roughly six decades younger than him. Technically he’s a junior, having studied at Bethel for two years before graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1965. But that detail doesn’t matter much to him—“We’re all students,” he says. 

Last fall, his commitment to lifelong learning—to “keeping his mind sharp”—led him to browse Bethel’s course offerings in search of something intriguing. “A class on the Middle East grabbed me, so I started filling out the paperwork to register. I don’t think the system knew what to do with me—it wasn’t computing,” he jokes. “I wasn’t the typical student!” 

He selected a 300-level history and political science course, Modern Middle East, taught by Professor Amy Poppinga. And he brought his own firsthand experience, having lived and worked in various countries throughout the Middle East for many years. 

“He was an amazing addition to the class,” says Poppinga, whom students sometimes call Doc Pop. “We all benefited from his eagerness to learn and engage in thought-provoking discussions.” And the feeling was mutual. 

Curtis chose to take the course for a grade instead of auditing and enjoyed conversing with his classmates on topics like globalization, colonialism, the Arab/Israel conflict, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and more. “In our smaller groups, I would contribute as appropriate. It was mostly juniors and seniors in the class, so I told them, ‘Hey, I’m a junior, you seniors take the lead,’” he says. “I wanted to be careful about not seeming like an expert, but simply sharing my thoughts and experiences.” Curtis has been in many classrooms throughout his life for licenses, diplomas, certificates, and master’s degrees, but says “Doc Pop is the best classroom teacher I’ve ever had.”  

This fall, he sits near freshman Emma Hintz in Intro to Bible taught by Professor Gloria Wiese. Hintz initially assumed he was maybe a relative or friend of the professor’s just stopping in. “But then I saw him taking notes! Having him in class has been such a wonderful reminder that education is for all, and learning God's word is certainly a lifelong journey,” she says. “There are things that college students can’t understand due to lack of life experience, so having diversity in age, experience, and thought helps broaden our scope."

Curtis took Bible 101 in 1959, and the scope was limited. “We studied the books of the Bible for the books themselves,” he says. “In this course, it’s about discovering our place in Scripture. It’s about integrating our life into the stories we’re learning about.” 

As Curtis talks about his experience on campus, he makes a small square with his thumbs and fingers: “I went in knowing this much.” Then he moves his hands apart to make a much larger square: “And came out knowing this much!” 

Around the world

Curtis was born and raised in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. After college, his life unfolded into a kaleidoscope of challenging and meaningful experiences. He worked on the Apollo program for the Boeing Company, volunteered for the Navy Seabees, completed two tours in Vietnam, continued in the Navy Reserve, and retired as a commander. After Vietnam he worked in the federal government, first with the Navy doing research and then with the Corps of Engineers doing construction in Saudi Arabia.

He was back in Southern California working when he met his wife, Carol, who shared his eagerness for travel and overseas opportunities. They returned to Saudi Arabia for work before going to Morocco and Turkey. For five years they lived in Turkey, just 20 miles east of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul’s hometown. There, Curtis helped with the construction of a hospital on the Incirlik Air Base.

All told, Curtis has lived in more than 20 locations across three continents. “Being able to travel around together was God's gift to Carol and me,” says Curtis. “We were in our 40s when we got married, so we didn't have children. We got travel stories instead of children's stories."

Although often moving around for work, Curtis and Carol also traveled to military bases around the United States volunteering with Wycliffe Bible Translators for more than 15 years. They eventually settled in Cambridge, Minnesota, for retirement before Carol passed away eight years ago. Now, Curtis lives at New Perspective Senior Living in Arden Hills, Minnesota, just down the road from Bethel. The senior community was built two years ago, opening up a variety of opportunities for integration with the Bethel community. Students gain access to internship and future employment opportunities as well as real-world experience by visiting with residents and completing classroom hours or projects there. New Perspective residents get advance access to some Bethel events, like Festival of Christmas, and can attend Chapel or eat in the Dining Center. Curtis is the first resident to take a class. 

For the future

While Curtis and Carol were living in Turkey, Carol made friends with a British expatriate who had married a Turkish man. This friend had started a school for girls, and in the school’s building, they discovered missionary journals from the late Ottoman Empire—handwritten updates from 1853 to 1899 that missionaries sent to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The friend gave copies to Carol, and they’ve been in Curtis’ possession for 30-some years. 

As he sat in Poppinga’s class, he wondered if his box of documents might be of interest to others. With Poppinga’s encouragement, he connected with Archives Librarian Rebekah Lopez and began organizing the materials. He spent months creating a detailed index—over 3,400 entries—so that future students and researchers can access the contents more easily. Those journals now live in Bethel’s archives. And just a couple months ago, Poppinga brought her Intro to Geography students to the archives to explore how primary sources like Curtis’s can help create “mental maps” of the world. “The learning comes full circle,” Poppinga says. “History and geography are living disciplines. When we preserve and study items that were treasured by others, we are honoring their legacy. Thanks to Carol and Curtis, my students get to put their studies directly into active practice.” 

Curtis just returned from an eight-day trip to Turkey where he connected with the American Research Institute there to share the work he’s done and attended the Nicea Conference in Istanbul. He’ll take a break from Bethel courses in the winter because of the snow and cold, but he may be back on campus next fall. “It's worth doing. It's good exercise. Keeps me thinking and engaged,” he says. 

Meeting Curtis reshaped Emma’s perception of older generations. “Having Curtis in class has been very encouraging and has taught me to not take my studies for granted,” she says.

Curtis embodies what it means to be a lifelong learner—living proof that no matter your age or season of life, Bethel equips students to grow in knowledge, deepen their faith, and live out their calling with purpose. “Going to church and taking Bethel classes provide meaning in this time of life,” says Curtis. “Jesus has underpinned my entire life and continues as my hope; I look forward to hearing, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

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