Your title is Logistics Coordinator here in the Office of Mobilization, so what exactly is it that you do?
I coordinate logistics, so a lot of my responsibility falls in the spring semester: purchasing airline tickets, insurance, making sure shuttles come to pick people up, so if a shuttle doesn’t come you can get mad at me.
I also work a lot with our field workers with maintaining current partnerships and developing new partnerships. Obviously, Jared Dobbins is the one who oversees that, but I’m kind of his hands and feet in that aspect.
Last year, you were the Graduate Assistant in the Office of Spiritual life. Did that position prepare you at all for being apart of the MOB squad?
Really well, actually. I was in a different ministry area of the Office of Spiritual Life, but still under the main umbrella of the OSL, so it really helped me acclimate to the professional culture of the office.
It was a good transitional time for me to grow in my per- sonal and professional role a bit and gain some experience and responsibilities.
As a student, did you ever see yourself working here after graduating?
No. It was one of those things where I didn’t not see myself doing it, but I wasn’t planning on it. I want to live overseas and have a full-time ministry, so working in a mobilization office is just kind of a natural fit for me, I think.
I understand you worked as a chef, what was that like? Did you go to culinary school?
That was probably my favorite job I’ve ever had. I was looking for a job so I could stay out in California for the summer and not go home to Chicago. So, I went to this restaurant in Temecula. It’s called the Vineyard Rose Restaurant and I talked to the chef.
That was where I fell in love with food for the first time in my life. I love cooking now.
Has serving on and leading International Service Projects af- fected you in your faith?
It has affected me drastically in my faith. Before I came to school here, I don’t think, if you asked me what a third world country is, I would have been able to give you an answer. But going through the training in the mobilization office really opened up my eyes, not necessarily that there is need in the world, I recognized that, but it definitely opened my eyes to the fact that it was something tangible for me and something that I could achieve.
Even more than being something that I could achieve, when I looked at scripture that it was mandated by God for us to take part in some way or another, whether that’s going yourself or supporting or praying or something.
