“My whole life is about this campus, is about Bakersfield, is about the things they’ve offered me,” said John Nilon, California State University, Bakersfield Foundation Board chair and CSUB alumnus.
It started as a temporary, 10-week stay at CSUB (then called California State College Bakersfield), for John Nilon, a political science major, but it didn’t stay that way for long.
It’s almost as if the campus chose him.
He’d spent two years attending a college in Denver, Colorado, but wanted to come back to his home state of California to complete his degree.
His plan was to go to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). However, he missed the deadline to apply.
He knew where Bakersfield was on a map, and while he had never visited, they were still accepting people into the college.
“But I was only going to be there for 10 weeks, so what the heck? Have some fun, enjoy your time,” he told himself.
And then, his ten weeks at CSUB were up.
He applied and was accepted into UCSB, and was cleaning out his dorm, when there was a knock at his door on a Saturday morning.
On the other side was one of his professors, Dr. Charles Kegley.
Nilon had turned in his final paper and the staff member signed off on it, but they couldn’t place it.
“So, here's a professor on a Saturday. He found out where I lived. I don't know how he did it, but there he was. He said, ‘Let's go take a walk.’ I said, ‘Okay, let's walk,’” Nilon recalled.
They walked around the campus for 40 minutes and talked, circling back to Nilon’s dorm room.
Dr. Kegley had asked him all of the questions that were on the final paper and told him he would get an A in his class.
This would have been unheard of at another college or university.
Nilon decided to stay at CSUB.
Did he ever regret it?
“Here I was going to the University of California, Santa Barbara. I was so excited to go there. I had filled out all the paperwork. I was accepted, ready to go. I had dorms, my best bud in my entire life, still is my best bud, lived there. I could not believe I was going to the coast to live my life, and yet because of my experience in Bakersfield, I decided to stay another 10 weeks in Bakersfield. 43 years later, I have never regretted that decision,” said Nilon.
As he prepared to enter the real world, Dr. Ray Geigle presented him with an opportunity that would change the course of his life.
Dr. Geigle, a professor on campus, knew of someone with temporary jobs in county government and asked Nilon if he would be interested.
Nilon applied, Dr. Geigle helped him get on board and the rest, as they say, is history.
Throughout his career with the County of Kern, Nilon went on to serve as the public health director, child support director, the employment director, the county administrative officer (CAO) and for a brief period of time the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of Kern Medical Center.
Over the last three decades, Nilon has also served on over a dozen community boards and currently serves on the boards of the Network for Children, First 5 Kern, Kern County Foundation and Kern Health Systems.
He was not only committed to giving back to his community, but the university who had served him so well.
“I'm just a guy. The university gave me all these skills and tools and relationships and taught me how to engage people so they would consider taking a chance on me. I mean, it's incredible. And to be able to give back through service, well, that is paramount to me,” Nilon explained.