Echo Spring 2021 - 35

By Hannah Wheeler ('21)
here is a new chapter the Lord has
authored in His grace for me to partake
in, " says Dr. Freeman Chakara, who will
retire in June 2021 after 24 years of service
to LBC | Capital.
In 1997, Chakara, a board-certified clinical
neuropsychologist, began his work at LBC | Capital as
an adjunct professor of psychology, youth counseling
and abnormal psychology. Chakara became a fulltime
professor in 2002, and has served as a member
of the LBC | Capital accreditation and academic
committees..
" He can speak into things in a way that's winsome-
things across campus, not just in our psychology
realm, " says Dr. Ryan Kuehner, Associate Professor
and Chair of the Counseling & Social Work
Department. " Throughout the decades, what LBC
has needed, [Dr. Chakara has] spoken up kindly and
helpfully. "
Chakara spent the past 24 years not only impacting
student education in his classroom but also across
campus. He humbly used his voice to help develop
and grow the LBC | Capital community, benefitting
students as they learn in and outside the classroom.
Kuehner has been a colleague, mentee and friend
of Chakara for 16 years. " [Dr. Chakara has been a]
great support clinically, professionally, spiritually and
personally in my life, " he says, adding that Chakara's
life is focused on investing in people. Whether
students or colleagues, he intentionally speaks life
and direction into those he meets. Some students
even credit Chakara for the vocational direction
they pursued.
" Dr. Chakara was a driving force of bringing the
importance of the mental health field into biblically
focused education at LBC, " says Tara Dively ('01). " His
classes were vibrant, and his passion for what he did
was clearly evident. "
Chakara's life is one deserving of praise, but he
chooses to give no glory to himself. He instead leads
a life of humility amidst accomplishments.
" I feel like I've had a small part in God's business of
sending out folks into a pretty ripe harvest, " says
Chakara as he reflects on his ministry at LBC | Capital.
" The mental health world is one that has many, many
voices, few of which are Christ-following or Godfearing. "
As
Chakara will step out of the 24-year chapter
of his life at LBC | Capital, he now steps into a
different chapter with the same mission: " hands-on
mentorship of people who are specifically working
with folks with mental health issues. "
In 2002, Chakara began a private practice called
Providence Behavioral Health within minutes of LBC
| Capital's Lancaster campus and has dedicated two
decades to simultaneously serving both the college
and his practice. It was a difficult decision, Chakara
shared, to realize that now is the season for a more
intentional presence in private practice.
Over nearly a quarter-century, however, Chakara
made an indelible impact on countless LBC | Capital
students like Dively, who now works in a private
practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist.
She credits her current career to Chakara's intentional
and guiding conversations while she was a student.
" I thank God, " she says, " for [Dr. Chakara's] presence
in my life so long ago. "
LBC | Capital is adding a new
concentration in theology!
Focus your phone's camera
on the QR code to read more
or visit lbc.edu/echo.
ECHO 35
https://www.lbc.edu/blog/new-theology-concentration/
Echo Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2021
