Darrell Whitsell

Brutal abuse bloodied Darrell Whitsell's childhood. But graces formed within him in that crucible of cruelty - talents that now power Whitsell's work as a career planning specialist at TCC's Southeast Campus and as an artist and poet.

"I was 5yearsold," he recalls, when his alcoholic father, a champion featherweight boxer, "hit me so hard that I flew 8 to 10 feet across the kitchen" after playfully tapping his dad's cheek. That was among the first of many horrors, but Whitsell eventually found refuge in a passion for drawing.

At age 7, Whitsell's deep Christian faith took root when he discovered religious writings. "I would daydream about being someone like John the Baptist, devoted to Christ." At age 12, he found freedom when his mother fled with him and his sister to shelter in a former bait shop behind a small grocery store.

Eventually, they moved to Fort Worth. As a teen, Whitsell joined his contemplative nature with poetry and opened a channel "from my deepest center - my spiritual essence."

He studied commercial art at Trimble Tech, landing an artist job at age 16 at Leonard Brothers department store.  His creative career led him to a publishing company as creative services manager and - after a layoff - to SE Campus during its opening month in 1996.

Turned out SE needed a career planning specialist. Whitsell fit perfectly.  "Holy providence," he said about a role he treasures because he can help students and others learn "how to form their own professional brand to create hiring potential."

Grounded in faith and loved by Kay, his wife of 32 years, Whitsell often is commissioned to craft black-and-white portraits in graphite. In that and throughout his life, he said, he finds "the most important value to me in this world other than love - peace."

-By David House