Columbia State Community College recently hosted a special library event where writer and musician Sean “Sean of the South” Dietrich spoke to students and staff about his writing and educational journey.

A columnist, humorist and multi-instrumentalist known for his commentary on life in the American South. Dietrich’s work has appeared in Newsweek, Southern Living, Reader’s Digest, Garden and Gun and his column appears weekly in newspapers throughout the U.S. He has authored over 15 books and more than 4,000 columns. He has made appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, and his work has been featured on the Today Show.

The Finney Library Reader's Theatre provided a more personal opportunity to connect with students prior to his concert in the 500-seat Cherry Theater. Students from three Columbia State classes were invited to attend.

The event began with Dietrich retelling the story of his educational journey and the non-traditional route that led him to attend community college.

He dropped out of school in seventh grade and began working full-time jobs at 14. Years later, Dietrich said he was encouraged by a coworker to attend community college.

So, with no high school classes or a GED completed, he still sought to further his education.

“They (his community college) had a test that they gave to the homeschool crowd, and the people who had been home-schooled had to prove what they had learned without having been part of a collective official school experience,” Dietrich said. “There was a test you could take, and apparently, CLEP out of certain classes. So, she (a registrar) said, ‘You could take this test, but I highly recommend studying real hard for it, because it's real, real difficult.’ And because I come from a long line of men who make poor decisions. I said, let's take it now. So, I took the test, and I’m surprised at the answers I did know. And when I was done, I handed this big booklet to this lady, and she ran it through this big old conveyor belt, and it had blinking lights that looked like the Starship Enterprise, and it spit out this little receipt. And she looked at it and said, ‘Wow. You're in college, kid.’ And that was the beginning of my entire life. That was where I began.”

His decision to begin classes then took his interests in reading and writing to a new level. 

“One of the first classes I took was creative writing,” Dietrich said. “I love writing. And I walked in, and my creative writing teacher said, ‘You know, you're about 30 minutes early.’ I said, ‘Well, I've been waiting a long time to get here.’ And she said, ‘Well, since you’re just sitting here, why don’t you write something?’ So, I started to write something for her, and she read it, and she said, ‘Oh, wow! This is really nice. You did a really, really wonderful job on this. It might be too early to say this, but I'm gonna say it anyway; you could be a real writer.’ She said, ‘I've never had a real writer in my class, I've taught a lot of kids to write, but I've never had somebody who's, you know, a writer.’ I said, ‘Really? You think I could be a writer?’ I'll never forget it. Someone was looking at me with credibility and telling me that I had something that was special, that changed the way I saw myself, and I'm still getting over it. It changed me forever.”

Dietrich continued writing while in school. But following graduation was when a story he wrote altered his outlook on what his life and career could be.

“But after I graduated, I wrote a story, and the story was submitted to a major magazine. And one day, I was coming home from work, and as I got home, there was a little letter in my mailbox that said, ‘We decided to run your story.’ I didn't ever plan on this story getting submitted. And it said in the letter, ‘This story was submitted anonymously by someone who only identifies themselves as your wife, and we're going to run the story.’ And here's $27 in payment. $27. I was a professional. It changed the game for me. And after that, I began writing, and my writing started going into different places and doing different things and leading me before different audiences.”

After discussing how his path led him to where he is today, Dietrich then turned to the students to answer some of their questions about writing, what it takes to publish a book and overall life lessons. 

With the questions asked and answered, Dietrich then explained his philosophy of life: just make people feel good when they meet you.

“I believe that everything we do in life needs to make people feel better,” he said. “I don't care how you do it. I don't care there are a lot of different ways around it, but I feel that in any exchange we have with another human being, we have the opportunity to make that other person feel just a little better than they did before we came into contact. I just mean there's been a sharp drop in empathy over, like the last several years. I feel that we can change that if we consider the other person who we come in contact with, if we while we're talking to them, while we're having an exchange, be alert, listen to what they're saying and look for a way to positively affect that person's life, and perhaps their experience.”

The event ended with a free ticket drawing for several students to attend his sold-out Performance Series show in the Cherry Theater. Every student in attendance also received an autographed copy of Dietrich’s newest novel, “Over Yonder,” or a copy of his 2024 collection of columns titled “Tomato Sandwiches Are Eaten Over the Sink.” 

“We are so grateful for Sean’s generosity in taking the time to share with our students,” said Tammy Rosson, Columbia State director of events and alumni relations. “He offered thoughtful advice on how students can strengthen their writing skills—no matter their major, from English to radiologic technology. He emphasized the importance of strong communication skills in every field and how we can all learn from one another by being good listeners and deepening our relationships through storytelling. My hope is that students will continue to be encouraged and inspired by the wisdom Sean shared.”

“We were delighted to have Sean Dietrich share his stories with our Columbia State students in this intimate setting,” said Anne Scott, Columbia State library director. “Several students had questions for Sean after the program. Sean was so gracious, and it was delightful to see the students meet and talk with him. Each student received an autographed copy of one of Sean's novels. A drawing was also held for seven tickets to Sean's performance in Cherry Theatre that evening to highlight and encourage students to attend Performance Series events. This was a unique, enriching and memorable student engagement experience. The library hopes to host more programs like this in the near future.” 

The John W. Finney Memorial Library is located on the Columbia Campus at 1665 Hampshire Pike and is open from Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters. For more information, visit www.ColumbiaState.edu/Library.