For 25 years, Kenny Lake has served the university, and Wittenberg recently took notice, naming him an Honorary Alumnus of the college, a status bestowed only on those who serve the institution and work to sustain it in an exemplary manner.

Promoted to carpenter foreman in December 1991, Lake first worked on campus with the company contracted to build the new Thomas Library. A year later, when the library was completed, Wittenberg hired him, and Lake quickly found his forever home.

"When I became an employee, it did not take long at all to realize that I became a part of a family, and my job became a part of Wittenberg's history by maintaining and preserving the past," Lake said. "I soon realized my job was to serve Wittenberg. This campus has become a very large part of my life."

Lake's fingerprints cover virtually every campus surface - the oak cross under the arch in Weaver Chapel, the first computer lab, the wall that secures Wally Witt, the Myers Hall Cupola, several versions of the Kissing Bridge and most recently, the Wittenberg Torch, which became a new tradition at Commencement 2006.

"I have had the great opportunity of working in almost every room in each building and each university house that surrounds the campus," Lake said, and added that as much as the brick and mortar that holds the buildings together means to him, nothing means more than the people he has met and the knowledge that he is part of the Wittenberg family.

"I feel that personal and professional accomplishments are one in the same," Lake said. "I take my work here on campus very personally to accomplish improvements and view new ideas for students, faculty and staff. I am proud to be a part of a group of skilled craftsmen who work to keep the history of Wittenberg University evident of the past and supportive of the future."

- Phyllis Eberts '00