Kent Thompson's Journey of Servant Leadership

Even though Robert “Kent” Thompson (’14) is technically retired, the energy with which he approached his work during his career continues to leave a lasting impact on those he served. Thompson, 75, can reflect proudly on a wide-ranging, successful career that placed service to others above all else.

He began his journey in servant leadership as a combination bank executive and EMT. These duties kept him busy for over 30 years, but over time, Thompson’s spirit of adventure and service led him to begin visiting Tanzania with an orthopedic surgeon. Thompson assisted with the surgical procedures for those children and experienced the deep sense of satisfaction that came from watching them reclaim some of that missing joy.

In an effort to better serve this community, Thompson completed a degree in psychology and pursued a bachelor's degree in nursing at the university to serve the medical needs of his community in Tanzania in a more complete way.

From 2009 to 2014 (from the ages of 68 to 73), Thompson pursued and completed a master’s degree in nursing education. While he completed his coursework remotely, he worked concurrently to create and develop a school of nursing in Tanzania. As a result, the Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre School of Nursing (ALMCSN) was born.

Using the knowledge and methods he learned in the University of Mary’s program, Thompson helped plan, develop, and enact the curriculum for this new school. In fact, Thompson emphasizes that “because of the University of Mary, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre School of Nursing came into existence.” Existing is one thing, but enacting meaningful change is another, and Thompson says, “There are now over 100 new nurses in Tanzania.” This type of success is meaningful anywhere, but it’s even more meaningful in a country where there are nearly 2,000 people
for every nurse.