Bailey McKinney Wesley shares several things in common with her father whose name, ironically, is Clint Wesley McKinney. Clint jokes that a stipulation of his daughter getting married was that whomever she married must have his middle name, Wesley, as a last name. Clint walked his daughter down the aisle last October when she married a man whose last name was a reflection of her father’s.
On May 12, Bailey and Clint will share another major milestone – tossing their graduation caps together as part of the same graduating class.
Bailey will be finishing her bachelor’s degree in Psychology while Clint will complete his bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, and the two will walk across the stage and receive their diplomas at the same ceremony.
“It was really important once we realized we were able to graduate together to make sure we graduated together,” Clint said.
But in a twist of fate, it almost didn’t happen. Bailey recalled receiving a letter after applying for graduation informing her that she was one credit shy from being able to graduate.
“I flipped,” she said. “I started crying.”Bailey immediately went to her advisor who was able to substitute a class in for the missing credit and Bailey was back on track for graduation.
Bailey began WT in the fall of 2008 as an Education major, but later decided it wasn’t for her.
“I had always flip-flopped between teaching and counseling,” she said. “I really like helping people.”
After changing her major to Psychology, she knew counseling was what she wanted to do as a career.
Clint, who says he is on the “30-year degree plan,” originally came to WT in 1982 as an Accounting major. He withdrew after two years and didn’t go back until 2003 as an Education major. He again withdrew, but came back a final time in 2010 as a CIS major.
“I’ve been a musician all my life. I’ve been a worship leader and I’ve given guitar lessons in my studio for the last decade,” he said. “But I wanted a degree. I wanted a job with a steady income.”
Clint explained he has four computers in his studio and eight computers at home and that he is always fixing computers for friends, which was a driving force behind choosing his ultimate major.
“It’s — I almost hate to say it’s a love — but it pretty much is,” he said.
Another love Clint has is that of music, which he shares with his daughter. Bailey has been involved with the Wesley Foundation and has served as a worship leader. Clint also got involved when Bailey enlisted her father to fill in for musicians who were unable to be there.
