Dr. Becker's office is the far Northeast corner of the administration building, known in the common tongue as the (Everett) Dick building, inside the Student Services office. She is definitely a fan of Great Britain: her cabinets and walls are a collection of trinkets and magnets and post cards and even a diploma or two from over across the pond. I knock at the door and she is typing fiercely on her laptop and invites me in without missing a beat.
"How are you, Pablo?" she asks, as she finishes her spurts of typing.
"I'm good, thanks. Nice not to have as much going on as last year, but good so far. How are you, Dr. Becker?"
She sighs. "I'm a little behind, but all right."
"I can come back another time if it's better--"
"--No no, right now is perfect." This reassures me. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, for the Calling Program here at Union, they asked me to collect stories of how people met their calling."
She laughs, "Okay, now we're in the same pew. So do you want my story?"
"Yeah, but I had a couple questions first."
She looks a bit apprehensive. "Okay."
I go straight to the nitty gritty. "Why, uh, just why do you do this job, why stay here at Union?" She raises her eyebrows. "I mean, you're always busy, and the fact that many times discipline seems to come from you makes some students be vocal about how much they don't like you." Bold, I know, but why beat around the bush?
Dr. Becker is a daunting woman. She is the Dean of Students and that means that many times she is the voice--if not the giver--of discipline. Around campus, a visit to her office is comparable to being sent to the Principal's office in second grade, complete with all the "oooooooooooh!"s from your friends.
Yet, I know a different Dr. Becker. I had the privilege to work closely with her last year while I was with ASB, and I saw a person committed to students.
This is why I decided to make Dr. Becker my first stop in trying to define this, uh, "calling" that the campus is so eager to promote. Just for the record, to show how busy Dr. Becker is, I stopped by her office and met with her secretary to make an appointment--the nearest opening was a week away, and for only 30 minutes. The last time I did a personality profile, the interview took over an hour. I guess I'm supposed to be challenged by this assignment, so collecting Dr. Becker's story and gleaning something from it in only 30 minutes will definitely put me through my paces.
Dr. Becker doesn't seem fazed. "Well, you see Pablo, I do this job because of the students. While some students may not like the decisions I make with the rest of the administration team, being there for all students is what I work for. Students are great to work with."
"I guess to clarify better, Dr. Becker, what is your title?"
"Dean of Students."
"Did you always see yourself in this position, maybe not behind this desk, but doing this job?"
Dr. Becker laughs. "Never," she confesses, "never ever was this in my radar."
I don't think I hide my surprise very well, because she dives straight into her story.
"I went to Pacific Union College, and initially I was a nursing major. I was a nurse's aid for three summers, so I really thought that nursing was the best choice for me.
Around my sophomore year, I realized that while I loved helping others, I enjoyed helping those who were alive and well more than those who were sick. I changed my major to Education, with an emphasis in Home Economics and an English minor."
"What made you see the difference in alive and well as opposed to sick people?"
"I was very involved in student life while at PUC. I was the class Vice President my freshman, sophomore, and senior years there, and the Social Vice President at the Student Association there--so I spent a lot of time involved."
I hold on to my Composition book, writing furiously. My scribbling begins to look more like a straight line as I try to keep up with her story. "So, what next?"
"Well, Andrews offered to pay my tuition towards a Masters if taught Home Economics. I thought I would teach Home Economics all my life," she says with a smile, looking to a point just past my right shoulder. "Then, I married a seminarian, which meant that after he graduated we moved out to Loma Linda. There I taught Home Economics at Monterey Bay Academy. I got that job in a very unique way. Years before, when I was still in high school, I picked strawberries during the summer. Out of 15 students that started that job, I was the only one who finished. It turned out that the man who was in charge of that job worked at MBA, so he remembered me and hired me!
After that, I worked at Loma Linda Academy, and we even moved out to Newfoundland were I taught 5th grade and then I also taught at a Junior College for 5 years."
"What did you teach at the Junior College?"
"Nutrition."
Then her face changes a bit. Nothing too perceptible, but I know something big iss coming. "It was then that we moved to Hawai'i, and I became the principal of an Elementary and served as a Youth Pastor."
I write in awe of the amount of experience and mileage she had under her belt up to that point. Then it gets more interesting.
"I went back to the healthcare field. I got a job as the Director of Quality Improvement at the Casa Medical Center."
"Oh wow," I say. Not the best professional reaction. She smiles.
"This job had me working with patient complains, and, as the director, I also wrote a manuals for improved hospital quality systems, which they asked me to teach to hospitals."
"So it incorporated everything you had experience with."
"Yes, I especially loved teaching."
I smile as I write on. I try to ask a question but I'm stopped short.
"It was then that I became a single mother," she says. I don't know how to react. Thankfully, she goes right on. "So me and my kids picked up and moved out of Hawai'i, and ended up here at Union."
Ah, I think, this is where it all comes back. She continues, composed. "I was the director of the Career Center here for 3 years. During that time, Pastor Rich--"
"--this Pastor Rich?"
"Yes," she laughs, "this Pastor Rich. He asked me to to a presentation here about quality improvement. This was where I created many connections here at Union.
At that time, Andrews offered me a six month plan with pay to finish my doctorate."
"So you went back to Andrews?"
"Yes. So I was a full-time student, had a part-time job, and all at the same time I was a single mom."
I must have a dumbstruck face on. Becker continues. "I stayed at Andrews after I finished my doctorate as the Director of Human Resources. Here, I got to engage with people again, but I really missed having students."
"Right, that was your major."
"Yes, I missed that interaction."
"So what happened?"
"Well, there was no Student Services here at Union. The then president--you might remember him--Dr. David Smith called me to see if I could set up a student services here. So I came back."
I am surprised. I had heard before that her story is "crazy," but I was physically tired from all the traveling and jobs she had just described. The next question I have makes me a bit nervous, but across the desk Dr. Becker looks as calm and confident as she had when I came in 15 minutes earlier. Speaking of which, I need to make these last 15 minutes count.
"Well, I guess what I wanted to know next was what were the catalysts for action? Uh, to put it more simply, what were the turning points that guided you in your decisions?"
Dr. Becker looks solemn. "My dad was the Associate Dean of Students at PUC when I was there. We had a good relationship, and we talked often. However, my dad passed away my sophomore year, but two weeks before he died we had had a conversation about the possibility of me changing my major. He listened and gave me advice. From that conversation, I decided that I wanted to make a difference in people's life."
"This was your calling," I say.
"Yes," she says. "God has different callings for different times, though," she explained. "At that moment, I decided to believe in the God my father had believed in, that was always helping others and drove my dad to help others."
"So, what is this thing, calling?" I ask.
"A calling is more of an action--a commitment to do God's call for you: God's call for this day, for this week, this month, this year--God has a calling for every moment, and they may all be different."
"Different both for the immediate and long term," I say, starting to understand her position.
"God doesn't always ask us to easy things, but I believe that His biddings are enablings." I underline that line. "He may ask us to go outside our comfort zone, but always provides ways to come through."
"As with Moses, and God sending Aaron to help."
"Exactly."
"Are you out of your comfort zone?"
She smiles. "Yes, Pablo. I am very much a people pleaser, and some aspects of this job make it hard for me to please everyone. It's not always easy to discipline. However, Ellen White has a quote that says 'Those who present their petitions to God in Christ’s name will never be turned away,' and I firmly believe that."
"Yes. When I graduated from Andrews the first time, and I had 4 job offers I was praying about, my grandfather sent me a letter. In it, my grandfather told me that God has a place for us, and that God has a future for us."
"But the road hasn't always been all too easy," I try to make it sound as much as I can to a question.
"No. I have argued with God about some jobs, especially about the job I am now. But I have learned to depend on God every day."
I underline that last, too. "Dr. Becker, what advice would you give one who is lost, maybe confused as to what their next step should be or how to make a decision?"
"God says that He is the vine. You have to allow God to reach His full potential in you. The move to Lincoln from Hawai'i took a lot of prayer and listing pros and cons." Dr. Becker looks like she's going to deliver an upper cut. "Through all my experiences good and bad, I have found that God has never let me down."
Double underline. "How does that translate in a practical way?"
Dr. Becker pauses for a minute. "Higher than the highest human thought, is God's. So, have higher goals. Your education gives you tools to live your life with, and enjoy the fun small things, you never know if that is the path to a new future."
"Wow," is all I can muster. I look up at the clock and notice I've taken two minutes past 30 minutes. "Thank you so much for this, Dr. Becker. This was truly a blessing."
"Thank you, Pablo," she says with a smile. We wish each other a good day, and I leave to the pattering sound of her keyboard.
