Marvin “Tony” Boxdorfer, a 1971 graduate of Concordia High School (pictured with Linda, his wife of 52 years), has built many of his life goals on what he learned through his Lutheran education.
“Concordia is a place where you want to send your children and grandchildren because it’s going to prepare them for their future…. (Concordians) are the people that the world needs.”
Tony Boxdorfer (’71)
Most importantly, he said, “my goal in life is to make sure my wife, children and grandchildren believe in Jesus Christ. And I have been successful.”
He added: “The rest of my personal and business life I have tried to help people see the potential in themselves. My focus has been convincing people that they can become whatever they wish. This means build them as people and Christians.”
After graduating from Concordia, Boxdorfer studied business at the University of Kentucky. There, he met his wife, Linda, whom he has remained married to for 52 years. Together, they have two daughters—Shannon and Jennifer—three dogs and 22 horses.
By trade, Boxdorfer is a financial services advisor, owning his own business, but one of his loves is taking care of the horse farm on which he lives with Linda in Indiana. He loves the hands-on work but makes sure each week he gets everything done in time to go to church.
“We all love (the work), but it’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time,” he said. “It’s a dirty job. (But) it’s fun.”
Boxdorfer said, when he reflects back on his years with Concordia, he sees it as the time when he got his “achievement drive motivation.”
He said: “It was a group of people you just wanted to be a part of. It was challenging to be young, independent, unlimited, and free to discover your potential. It just made me want to be better.”
He added that he didn’t really know how good his education was until he left Concordia and went on to a university and his career.
“During my experience at Concordia, I was 14 to 17 years old. It was later when I looked back that I realized the tremendous education that I had received,” he said. “I think all of our professors were teaching at the college level. The other students were extremely smart and it was hard to compete. I always told people that I graduated in the top of the bottom third of my class. When I took my college entrance exams, I found out I was in the 20th percentile nationally.”
Boxdorfer said he believes Concordia is a “place where you want to send your children and grandchildren because it’s going to prepare them for their future…. (Concordians) are the people that the world needs.” They are highly-educated, and love and help others, he added.
What advice does he have for current Concordia students?
“Your job is to develop yourself to become everything you wish to be and do. Then apply that ability to those you love and work with so they can also learn how to benefit others.”
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