Page One Awards: Former math winner went from MIT to the ministry

Wilfred Graves Jr. walked across the stage at the old Three Arts Theater on his way to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a life of computational algorithms and hyperbolic equations.

Academic accolades were coming from every direction, and that night in May the Columbus High School senior was presented the 1990 Page One Award in Mathematics.

Even Graves assumed that was just a stopover on the next journey of his life.

Twenty-six years later, he is concerned with ministry more than math. He is on the staff at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, preaching the gospel and reminding young people of the importance of a good education.

Graves holds degrees in math from MIT and Stanford University and a Ph.D. in historical theology from the Fuller Theological Seminary. But he has never forgotten that simple Page One Award.

“It was a night of recognition and encouragement,” he said. “I still have the award somewhere and a poster of the front page where my name was mentioned. For me, that ceremony was an affirmation.”

His comments came as the 2016 Page One ceremony nears. Tuesday night, the latest group of talented high school seniors and outstanding teachers will be honored at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts. Since 1976, the Ledger-Enquirer has singled out nearly 1,000 winners and runner-ups.

Graves is part of an impressive list of past honorees. That growing list includes physicians, lawyers and teachers. There is a district attorney, a state senator and a Hollywood film executive. There was even a set of twins. Many past honorees have returned as Page One judges.

Like so many others, Graves’ gifts were recognized early. Teachers in Louisiana noted his skill in math and science when he was 7 years old. Three years later his family moved to Columbus, his mother’s hometown.

With a gentle push from his parents, Glendolyn and Wilfred Sr., he excelled at Dimon Elementary and Rothschild Junior High. His performances in science fairs and math tournaments soon put him in the spotlight.

As he prepared for Columbus High, he thought of stories his mother had told him.

She had been one of six African-American females who broke the color line there.

Dreams of high school began when he was at Rothschild.

“I dreamed of being the class valedictorian at Columbus High,” Graves said. And 23 years after his mother made history there, he wrote a chapter of his own. In 1990, he was the first African American to make the valedictory address in the school’s 100-year history.

In that speech, Graves compared the transition from high school to adulthood to crossing a river. Foreshadowing things to come, he quoted passages from the Book of Ezekiel.

A divine purpose

Numbers consumed him. Until the call came.

At MIT, he was among the 10 best mathematics students. His work earned him a full fellowship to Stanford, where he received a master’s of science degree in statistics in 1996.

While involved in a doctoral program at Stanford, he worked as an aerospace engineer in the aircraft industry.

Something was missing, though, and he discovered what that was when Marguerite Shuster, a theology professor from Fuller, came to lecture at Stanford.

“I could see myself doing that,” Graves said.

As a young child he thought God wanted him to preach. Now, as a grownup in a rigorous graduate program, he began to seriously reflect on his life. “Growing up I always felt a sense of purpose. Now I began to feel there was a divine purpose in my life.”

Shuster encouraged him to apply to Fuller, a respected seminary in Pasadena, Calif., founded by radio evangelist Charles Fuller. Continuing to work for Northrop Grumman, he received a master’s of divinity in 1999 — the same year he was ordained.

He entered the Ph.D. program at Fuller, and in 2007 Graves became the first African American to receive a doctorate from the seminary. He joined West Angeles Church of God in Christ in 1997 and now serves as executive coordinator to Senior Pastor Charles E. Blake Sr.

Keeping alive his passion for learning, he teaches theology courses at West Angeles Bible College and is an adjunct professor at Fuller. He hasn’t turned his back on math, however.

“I teach a calculus course to prepare young people in our church for college,” Graves said. “They all score well, too.”

Doors are opening

Wilfred Graves Jr. no longer lives by the numbers.

Twenty-six years ago, when he was on his way to MIT, he never thought he would quit solving equations. That all changed when he listened to a call that had always been there.

“Life is good,” he said.

He has lived in California for 20 years and hasn’t lived in Georgia since 1990. But pieces of him are still here. His mother, a retired schoolteacher, died in 2013. His father suffered a stroke and a heart attack in 2014, and Graves moved him to California so he could better care for him.

Last year, Graves came to Columbus for a class reunion and while touring his alma mater he saw his name engraved on an old English trophy. “I am part of Columbus High history,” he said with a laugh.

Paul Thomas, his former Sunday School teacher at Evangel Temple Assembly of God Church, has invited him to preach at his former church. “Pastor Paul was a great teacher,” Graves said. “He had a special spark about him.”

Graves recently became engaged to Dr. Malaika Howard, a pediatrician in Orange, Calif. Their relationship is another door that has opened in his life, he said.

“I am here on this planet to help broken people,” he said. “I’m excited about the world of opportunities that have opened up for me, and bigger doors are about to open. Life is good.”

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Page One Awards: Former math winner went from MIT to the ministry."