Pepperdine Magazine Vol. 7, Iss. 2 (Summer 2015) by Pepperdine University

Volume 7 Issue 2 Summer 2015

Pepperdine aims to provide campus-wide support to meet the unique challenges faced by international students. 22

Having It All 14 Political Promise 18

Seaver College student Sergio Gallardo La Paz, Bolivia

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Volume 7 Issue 2 Summer 2015

FEATURES

14 Having It All A Pepperdine project explores how women worldwide cope with the increasing demands of work and personal life.

18 Political Promise The School of Public Policy summer internship program enables students to explore their passions in Washington, D.C., and beyond.

22 Far From Home Pepperdine aims to provide campus-wide support to meet the unique challenges faced by international students.

COMMUNITY 28 The Joy of Aging 30 Healthy Habits

32 Semper Fortis 34 A Heart for Humanity 36 Beyond the Blue 38 Leading Man

40 Schooled in Rock 42 Broad Strokes

DEPARTMENTS

2 Letters 4 Perspectives 6 News 12 Snapshot

26 Alumni

44 In Focus

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LETTERS

LE T TER FROM THE EDITOR Far from home, but close to the heart. With each issue of Pepperdine Magazine, we aim to introduce you, our readers, to a cross section of the University community in order to nurture your connection to your alma mater, no matter the distance. Our mission is to reach you, wherever you are, by sharing stories of transformation and inspiring feelings of pride and purpose.

We meet William “Bill” Wagasy (JD ’00, MDR ’01), a former U.S. Navy SEAL who discovered a more personal mission miles from where he was from—one that sent him on four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and back to Los Angeles, where he now works to help his fellow servicemen and women reach their full potential both during and after fulfilling their military duties.

In this issue, we read how the members of our community have found and fulfilled their own unique purpose by venturing beyond the worlds they know and exploring their calling away from home.

Then there are artist-educators like Joe Piasentin, a California native who, for almost 40 years, has encouraged students around the world to expand their curiosity, a practice he says has had a transformative impact on his own work back at home.

In our cover story, we learn of the hundreds of international students planting new roots on campus and those faculty, staff, and students across the University empowering them to thrive in an unfamiliar environment.

We hope you are moved by these stories and invite you to share how you experience Pepperdine Magazine in our reader survey (details below). Your thoughts are valuable in helping us reach your hearts and homes, no matter how near or far.

GAREEN DARAKJIAN editor

SINCE 2009… each issue of Pepperdine Magazine has shared stories of transformation across our community. Today, those stories,

How do you experience Pepperdine Magazine?

and related exclusive content, can be found in print, online,

Take our survey to help us better understand your preferences:

and on the Pepperdine Magazine mobile app.

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PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

LET TERS TO THE EDITOR

Tell us what you think! A Star is Born

Do you like what you’re reading?

So proud to be a Pepperdine alum when reading this article. I had seen the film earlier this year and recommended it to many friends. What an inspiration.

How can we improve?

—Kevin Schultz (MBA ‘80)

Visit magazine.pepperdine.edu to tell us what you think about what you’re reading and how we’re doing. We’ll publish your thoughts in the next issue.

editor

Gareen Darakjian

art director

/ app

developer

Keith Lungwitz

writers Sophia

Fischer, Emily DiFrisco, Sarah Fisher

graphic designers

Samantha Burg, Ryan Kotzin

photographer

Ron Hall (’79)

copy editor

Vincent Way

production manager

Jill McWilliams

interactive

Justice For All

development manager

Atena Reyhani

interactive developer

Kimberly Robison (’10)

A brilliant speaker with immense knowledge and a very bright future ahead.

multimedia

Anthony LaFleur, Nathan Pang (’07)

—Ghazala Sheikh

PUBLISHED BY THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS chief marketing officer and vice president for public affairs and church relations

Rick Gibson (MBA ’09, PKE 121)

An amazing individual with a great future ahead of him. The media needs to look out for this rising star. —Sami Farzan

associate vice president for integrated marketing communications

Matt Midura (’97, MA ’05) creative director

Keith Lungwitz director of interactive

Ehsan has impressed with his work ethic, at home and abroad. I see a committed professional who will eventually lead his way towards making it big. —Farah Zaffar

Ed Wheeler (’97, MA ’99) director of digital media

Allen Haren (’97, MA ’07) Pepperdine Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 2, Summer 2015. Pepperdine Magazine is the feature magazine for Pepperdine University and its growing community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends. It is published quarterly by the University’s Public Affairs division. Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, 90263

President Benton is now on Twitter Follow him @PresidentBenton

Pepperdine Magazine is produced with guidance from an advisory board representing a cross-section of the University community. Send address changes with publication name to: Office of Advancement Information Management at Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California 90263 Other information and queries should be directed to the editor. All material is copyrighted ©2015 by Pepperdine University, Malibu, California 90263.

310.506.4000 Pepperdine is affiliated with Churches of Christ, of which the University’s founder, George Pepperdine, was a lifelong member.

PA1506013

Connect with Pepperdine

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PERSPECTIVES

A PEPPERDINE Education: How do you value an education as a student, alumnus, or parent? No shortage of debate about the value of higher education exists presently. Almost daily we see discussions, appropriately perhaps, regarding the value of an undergraduate education that will cost many years’ worth of economic productivity. The growth of tuition costs over the years and the halting employment growth of the past few years have brought the question into sharper contrast. Beyond the generalities of that discussion, I have a particular interest in the value of an education at Pepperdine. As an alumnus married to an alumna, and as parents of two alumni, we have made a rather significant decision regarding the value of a Pepperdine experience, which continues to be reflected in our support of the University.

By John Lewis (‘83)

Seaver College alumnus, spouse, and parent Member, Board of Regents

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As I reflect on our association with the University, I find that we grow ever more grateful for the totality of our educational experiences there. Academically we enjoyed the opportunity to grow and to be challenged to bring our best scholarship and to see how it and the rest of the world fit within the frame of our Christian worldview. We found that the University provided that context where the truth was free to be examined and questioned honestly. But, it also taught us to insist on the authentic pursuit of excellence and truth as a basis for our lives and work. In

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other words, the excellence of our work and the readiness to seek truth were things that went hand in hand—rather than in opposition, as some would have us believe. Not only has that mindset been a great influence on my career, it is now a joy to see that same strength present in the lives of our children as graduates of Seaver College. I have found that the integration provided by my Pepperdine education has allowed me to provide not only technical excellence to my clients, but a greater understanding of the human issues and how our work can empower them in the issues of life that truly matter. It is safe to say that there are no shrinking violets in the Lewis household and that our Pepperdine experience has helped shape those strong personalities in ways that bend us towards service and excellence. Those experiences include our academic careers of course, but they also encompass something more. Education, particularly at the university level, is never just a function of knowledge delivery. It is also a matter of community that forms a context for values transmission and for fomenting personal growth. The values of purpose, service, and leadership that Pepperdine both states and lives out have met and contributed materially to our family culture. Some of that comes by way of the repeated discussion of those values to be certain. But, it is the ongoing working out of those values within the community that becomes a kind of new normal for many as they walk through their experience

A Value(s) Proposition of Pepperdine. Some of that takeaway is conscious, but some of it is absorbed in ways that are less overt but nonetheless foundational. This represents a unique contribution that Pepperdine makes to its students and to the community beyond as they provide transformative leadership in the years that follow. Finding ways to actively empower this process keeps us engaged and supportive of the mission of Pepperdine. And yet, even that would fall short if it were not for the way in which our Pepperdine experience provided the ability to explore and the encouragement to pursue our best selves. To do so, the University relies on the community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni to love and encourage each other. Like any community, there will be rough patches, inconsistencies, and variance in participation; but perfection is not the idea here. Rather, in our humanness we would seek to grow each other, accept our failings, and encourage one another to continue the pursuit of a life well lived in its fullest. We have found that to be the case in our own lives via fellow students and faculty and staff that have been ready to open themselves and their homes to us. I would venture to say that it is this aspect of the community that stands in such contrast to other institutions. Pepperdine sees the student as the center of the educational enterprise and it shows in the way the community functions. While we have been and continue to be part of the Pepperdine community, this mode of being plays out in

our involvement in our community beyond. We see how the function of the communities in which we live and move can be the source of solutions, support and joys. When we address issues of housing, education and public good in our community, it is in no small measure because of the community life we experienced at Pepperdine. Having benefited from this community we see part of our ongoing role to provide sustenance in the form of engagement and finances. We long to see others become all that they are called to be and it is a joy to be able to participate in some small way in that process. So, in reflecting on the value of this educational experience, taken as a whole, it is truly so much more than just a means to a career path—though we hope and expect that it will be empowering in that way, as well. Instead, we see the value in our experience at Pepperdine as a transformative event, carrying its impact in our lives and the lives of others far beyond the years of our Pepperdine education. It is the capacity for a university experience to have this kind of effect that causes us to not only be a part of the community, but to see its support and sustenance as a gift we can give to others–planting trees under whose shade we may never sit. As John Chrysostom, the Bishop of Constantinople, wrote in the fourth century, “If you wish to leave much wealth to your children … do not leave them riches, but virtue and skill.” There are not many experiences in our world today that help impart that combination–but a Pepperdine education is one.

The values of PURPOSE, SERVICE, and LEADERSHIP that Pepperdine both states and lives out have met and contributed materially to our family culture. —JOHN LEWIS

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NEWS

MICHAEL F. ADAMS

NAMED CHANCELLOR OF PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY The early 1980s signaled a new era of advancement at Pepperdine University following the historic opening of the Malibu campus.

t was when the iconic mission statement embodying Pepperdine’s distinctive philosophy was first introduced to the campus community; when the campus expanded to include the George Page Residential Complex for law students and the Seaver College Apartments for undergraduates; and when great administrative changes ushered in a high degree of enthusiasm, optimism, and cooperation. At the height of the exciting changes, Michael F. Adams, a doctoral graduate of The Ohio State University, who had served as chief of staff for senator

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Howard Baker, and as an advertising executive in Nashville, became the new vice president for University Affairs. This June, after serving the University of Georgia as its president for 18 years, the award-winning educator and political communication specialist returned to Pepperdine University as chancellor.

Andrew K. Benton. “Mike and Mary Adams are true and dependable friends who have never been far from the Pepperdine community. I am grateful for their friendship and am encouraged and lifted by their willingness to build upon the great work of Chancellor Emeritus Charles B. Runnels and his wife Amy Jo to help us frame the next chapter in Pepperdine’s history.”

“I have great confidence that Mike will open doors of opportunity, giving us the advantage we need to become a preeminent, global, Christian university,” says president

As chancellor, Adams will focus on cultivating existing relationships and developing new partnerships to extend Pepperdine’s reach throughout Southern California and around the

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A widely respected figure in higher education, Adams has been elected by his peers to lead a number of national organizations, including the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the American Council on Education (ACE), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Executive Committee. left to right: Mike Adams, president David Davenport, and chancellor Charles Runnels during the 1986 library renovation project

There is no better person to serve Pepperdine in this capacity than Mike Adams. Mike has strong ties to Pepperdine, and has contributed to almost every major discussion in higher education over the last 30 years. — Molly Corbett Broad, president, American Council on Education globe. Following the recent success of the Campaign for Pepperdine, Adams will take a leadership role on major initiatives and help strengthen the University’s endowment. “There is no better person to serve Pepperdine in this capacity than Mike Adams,” says Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education. “Mike has strong ties to Pepperdine, and has contributed to almost every major discussion in higher education over the last 30 years. He is an accomplished leader, a prodigious fundraiser, and has served both public and independent institutions. Mike’s experience and Pepperdine president Andrew K. Benton’s leadership will combine to build a great future for the University.”

Adams most recently held the titles President Emeritus and Regents’ Professor at the University of Georgia. Under his leadership, from 1997 to 2013, the university was recognized as one of the nation’s top 20 public research universities for eight out of 10 years by U.S. News & World Report. During his tenure, the university also attained its highest rankings ever, became the most selective in its history, and grew from an estimated 29,000 students to almost 35,000 students today. Prior to his term at the University of Georgia, he served as president of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, one of America’s top 40 liberal arts colleges, from 1989 to 1997.

Mike Adams and president Howard A. White at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Pepperdine Plaza

“I am honored and delighted at this stage in my career to have the opportunity to serve an organization that I care deeply about,” says Adams. “With President Benton’s leadership and the support of the administration, I look forward to once again being part of the Pepperdine community and adding value to this fine institution that boasts a legacy of excellence.” Adams has received more than 50 awards in higher education, including the Knight Foundation Award for Presidential Leadership, the Pioneer Award for Leadership in Civil Rights, and the James T. Rogers Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He is also the recipient of the Governor’s Award in the Humanities from the Georgia Endowment for the Humanities. “I am excited to work alongside Chancellor Adams in engaging a broader array of friends and supporters of the University,” says Keith Hinkle, senior vice president for advancement and public affairs and chief development officer at Pepperdine University. Adams holds a PhD from The Ohio State University and has been awarded five honorary degrees. In addition, he is a specialist in political communication and higher education administration and has written professionally in both areas. He has held senior positions in state and national government—as chief of staff to former senator Howard Baker and as an advisor to former Tennessee governor and current senator Lamar Alexander. Adams earned an undergraduate degree in speech and history from Lipscomb University, which named him Alumnus of the Year in 2011. He has been married to his college sweetheart, Mary Lynn Ethridge Adams, for 46 years. They are the parents of two sons and have three granddaughters.

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NEWS

PEPPERDINE ANNOUNCES RICK HIRTENSTEINER (’89) AS

NEW HEAD BASEBALL COACH PARKENING INTERNATIONAL GUITAR COMPETITION CONCLUDES BEFORE SOLD-OUT AUDIENCE The Parkening International Guitar Competition concluded on May 30 in front of a sold-out audience at Smothers Theatre, Malibu. Meng Su, of Qingdao, China, was named the Gold Medal winner in the contest, which features the most prestigious title and largest prize purse among guitar competitions. Rovshan Mamedkuliev from Russia received the Silver Medal, and Tengyue Zhang of China earned the Bronze Medal. The prestigious five-day event began on May 26, with 15 of the world’s most gifted classical guitarists in the 19-to-29 age bracket. They hailed from 11 countries, including Italy, Argentina, Romania, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United States. The Parkening Young Guitarist Competition for ages 17 and under took place prior to the primary competition. Californian Ashwin Krishna, 17, beat out nine other highly talented competitors from around the globe. The contest’s namesake and artistic director, renowned guitar virtuoso Christopher Parkening, is Distinguished Professor of Music at Seaver College. The competition honors his lifetime commitment to fostering musical excellence in young artists as demonstrated by his mentor, Spanish musician Andres Segovia, considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

See the three Parkening Competition finalists’ individual performances: magazine.pepperdine.edu/parkening-2015

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

Pepperdine University named Rick Hirtensteiner head coach of the Waves’ storied baseball program. Hirtensteiner has been the team’s assistant coach for 17 years and is a member of the forthcoming 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame induction class. He is now the fourth former player at Pepperdine to assume head coaching duties. “I am honored, humbled and blessed to be able to follow in the footsteps of [former coaches] Dave Gorrie, Andy Lopez, Frank Sanchez, and Steve Rodriguez (’01, MBA ’03),” said Hirtensteiner. “Steve [Rodriguez] has done a great job during the last 12 seasons directing the Pepperdine baseball team–building character, achieving in the classroom, succeeding on the field–and I look forward to building upon that Pepperdine tradition.” During Hirtensteiner’s tenure as an assistant, the Waves won six West Coast Conference (WCC) regular-season crowns and advanced to the postseason 10 times. In 2014 Pepperdine advanced past the NCAA Tournament regional round for the first time since 1992. Pepperdine returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 after winning its secondstraight WCC Tournament crown with wins over BYU, San Diego, and Loyola Marymount. “Rick has contributed significantly to our program as an assistant coach and I am convinced he will continue the strong leadership and the championship tradition of our baseball program for many years to come,” said Steve Potts, director of athletics. “We are fortunate to have Rick as our new head coach.” During Hirtensteiner’s collegiate career at Pepperdine (1985-1989), the Waves won four WCC titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament each season. The Waves earned a national top 20 ranking all four seasons. Hirtensteiner was tabbed the 1989 WCC Player of the Year and also earned All-American first team notice by Baseball America.

PEPPERDINE HOSTS

LATINA ENTREPRENEURS FORUM PRESIDENT ANDREW K. BENTON ELECTED TO NATIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLE

President Andrew K. Benton has been elected to a three-year term on the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). In his role, Benton will represent Region VIII, which includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. He was elected by member college and university presidents from those states. “I am honored to serve on the NAICU board along with my esteemed colleagues,” Benton says. “This is an especially challenging time in American higher education and I look forward to the engagement.” Benton also serves on the NAICU’s Policy Analysis and Public Relations Committee, which identifies issues affecting independent higher education and suggests priorities and strategies for research and public relations activities to enhance public understanding of independent higher education. “Andy Benton brings to the NAICU board a record of remarkable leadership at Pepperdine and a keen understanding of the relationship between higher education and public policy,” says NAICU president David L. Warren. NAICU is the national public policy association for the nation’s private, nonprofit colleges and universities. The organization’s 963 member institutions include major research universities, church-related colleges, historically black colleges, art and design colleges, traditional liberal arts and science institutions, women’s colleges, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.

Latina business owners and executives came together at the Latina Entrepreneurs Forum hosted by Pepperdine in May at Los Angeles City Hall. The gathering celebrated the rise of today’s Latina entrepreneur– considered the fastest growing segment of business owners in America. Cosponsored by the Pepperdine Hispanic Alumni Council, City of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Small Business Development Center, the event included panel sessions with business leaders and advisors, guest speakers, networking opportunities, and an entrepreneurs mixer at the landmark Tom Bradley Tower. Participants heard from a variety of speakers about issues such as how to overcome common business hurdles and how to access sources for business growth. Speakers included Hispanic Alumni Council chair Mark Villalovos (MBA ’08) of the Walt Disney Company; Ana Guerrero, chief of staff to the Los Angeles mayor; Vivian Shimoyama, executive director for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses; and Maria Salinas, chair, ProAmerica Bank, and president and founder of Salinas Consulting, LLC. “I was honored to have been part of an important day about Latina entrepreneurs,” Salinas says. “The forum provided encouragement for Latinas who are thinking about launching a business; practical information and meaningful advice for Latinas who want to grow their business; and stories of reflection from successful Latina entrepreneurs. We need to continue the conversation because through this dialogue we support Latinas in their path to entrepreneurship.”

SCHOOL OF LAW CLASS OF 2015 SECURES PRESTIGIOUS JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS Twelve members of the School of Law Class of 2015 acquired prominent judicial clerkships. The placements are in courts ranging from California to New York and Washington, D.C., and include Ninth and 10th Circuit Courts, the Court of Federal Claims, federal district courts in Texas, California, and New York, and the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Judicial clerkships are among the most prestigious positions for law school graduates. A clerkship offers the clerk valuable experience, as well as important support to the work of a judge.

“These Pepperdine law clerks will make valuable contributions to the work of the judges who have selected them,” says School of Law dean Deanell R. Tacha, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. “I am confident that Pepperdine has instilled in these students the spirit of public service that is essential to every law clerk entrusted with the great responsibility of assisting some of our nation’s finest public servants—the judicial officers of the nation.”

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NEWS

THOUSANDS GATHER IN MALIBU FOR 72ND ANNUAL BIBLE LECTURES Thousands of participants gathered on Pepperdine University’s Malibu campus in May for the 72nd annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures. They came from throughout the United States and around the world to spend four days together learning, worshipping, and enjoying fellowship and spiritual renewal. The focus of this year’s event was an exploration of the book of James. The Office of Church Relations coordinated more than 300 talks, events, and gatherings, including Spanish language sessions, presentations on various family issues, a children’s ministry, and photography and hiking

excursions. Session topics included “Becoming Spiritually Mature,” “Women in Worship,” and “God’s Magnificent Obsession.” Participants heard from a wide range of knowledgeable, dynamic speakers, including Leonard Allen, dean of Lipscomb University’s College of Bible and Ministry; Kent Brantly, missionary doctor and Ebola virus outbreak survivor; David Kinnaman, bestselling author and business executive; Jonathan Storment, preaching minister at Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas; Rick Atchley, minister of the Word at The Hills Church in Texas; and Sally Gary, founder and director of CenterPeace.

Watch some of the speakers highlighted at this year’s Pepperdine Bible Lectures: magazine.pepperdine.edu/pbl15

PEPPERDINE CELEBRATES LAUNCH OF FRED SANDS INSTITUTE OF REAL ESTATE Over 350 friends, faculty, community leaders, and longtime associates gathered at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, on Wednesday, June 24, for a dedication and celebration dinner to launch the Fred Sands Institute of Real Estate at the Graziadio School of Business and Management. The event recognized the consummate career of industry icon and entrepreneur Fred Sands and applauded his commitment to educating future generations of real estate professionals through a dynamic new enterprise within the University’s business school. Following an invocation by Drew Sams, senior pastor and head of staff of Bel Air Presbyterian Church, Graziadio School dean David M. Smith offered his remarks about the impact of the Fred Sands Institute on the University. “I feel especially fortunate that Fred Sands has invested and trusted in us to help lead the legacy of real estate education at Pepperdine,” Smith said. “We commit to honoring that trust and, with Fred’s help, establishing entrepreneurs and individuals who are game-changers in the real estate landscape who will grow the vision and mission of the program. ”

Current and former business associates also paid tribute to Sands’ enduring commitment to the industry. Longtime friends Doris Gustafson, former executive vice president and general sales manager of Fred Sands Realtors; Roger Burghdorf, executive vice president of leasing at Vintage Real Estate; and Zev Yaroslavsky, former member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, shared memories and voiced their support of the noteworthy venture. As he took the stage, Sands expressed his gratitude to friends, family, and supporters for the opportunity to share his expertise in this way. “I’m flattered, I’m honored, and I’m touched,” said Sands. “Thank you for supporting my family and Pepperdine University in this endeavor.” In his concluding remarks, president Andrew K. Benton reinforced the sentiments shared throughout the evening with his own confidence in and excitement about the promise of the Fred Sands Institute. “Real estate, for Fred, is so much more than a mere business transaction,” said Benton. “The future of the Fred Sands Institute is bright, indeed.”

Learn more about the Fred Sands Institute of Real Estate: magazine.pepperdine.edu/fred-sands

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PEPPERDINE AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANNOUNCE

SWIFT CERTAIN FAIR RESOURCE CENTER

The School of Public Policy is partnering with the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to launch the Swift Certain Fair (SCF) Resource Center based at Pepperdine’s Malibu campus. Drawing on recent findings in crime control, the center supports state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions and agencies in implementing swift, certain, and fair responses (SCF) in community corrections. The SCF Center provides free training and technical assistance and evaluation services to eligible programs. Currently, the center works with jurisdictions and agencies in more than 20 states and an Indian nation.

FREDERICK R. WEISMAN MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS ON LOCATION IN MALIBU 2015

The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art presented On Location in Malibu 2015: Paintings by the California Art Club from May 23 to August 2. The exhibition was the sixth in a series of triennial exhibitions that began in 1999. It consisted of over 60 paintings of Malibu created by more than 30 artist-members of the California Art Club, the oldest continually operating art association in the state. Many were produced over the past year especially for this exhibition. The paintings on display captured Malibu’s startling variety of picturesque scenery, from idyllic beaches to craggy canyons and mountains. They included busy thoroughfares such as the legendary Pacific Coast Highway, as well as remote canyon hideaways. For the past year, these artist-members have been visiting Malibu to not only capture what the unique community means to them, but also document how the diverse scenery has changed over the years. Their works—many painted on location—reveal that this oceanside paradise is a complex place with many moods and identities. These contemporary-traditional fine artists are documenting on canvas how the world is evolving around us, while exploring modern messages and concerns, ranging from the environment and preservation efforts to social and spiritual messages.

arts.pepperdine.edu

The SCF Center is led by Angela Hawken, associate professor of economics and policy analysis and James Q. Wilson Fellow, and Jonathan Kulick, senior project director at the School of Public Policy. Hawken is the principal investigator of several studies that test SCF strategies to reduce recidivism and incarceration. She led the randomized controlled trials of Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement and the SCF pilot in Seattle and advised Washington State in its statewide rollout of Swift and Certain. “Our goal is to improve the legitimacy of the corrections system,” said Hawken. “It is possible to have less punishment and less crime, but each component of SCF (Swiftness, Certainty, and Fairness) is central to that goal. We help jurisdictions improve the speed of their operations. We help jurisdictions develop clearly articulated procedures so that responses are predictable. And equally important, we work on innovations to improve fairness and equal protection, with a goal to eliminate status quo race/ethnic disparities in sanctions.” The first SCF workshops were held on July 17 in Malibu and August 4 at the University’s Washington, D.C., campus.

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SNAPSHOT

Hoop Legacy While at an away game in Seattle, Washington, at the end of the 2014-2015 season, the men’s basketball team met Charles “Buck” Smith (’47), a 94-year-old alumnus who played basketball at Pepperdine during the 1941–1942 and 1942–1943 seasons.

Photo credit: Roger Horne

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FEATURE

HAVING it

A Pepperdine project explores how women worldwide cope with the increasing demands of work and personal life. By Sophia Fischer

endra Killpatrick finds great joy and fulfillment in both her roles as a mom to three young children, as well as in her work as a professor of mathematics at Seaver College, and believes it is possible to find a happy balance between the two. Kerri Heath (EdD ’12), now a Pepperdine senior advancement officer, no longer answers phone calls or e-mails in the middle of the night, but instead makes time for exercise, journaling, and prayer. Demanding positions with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and The Walt Disney Company made it challenging to maintain a balanced lifestyle, but Kathleen McChesney found support through friends, family, and colleagues, who helped her determine the best use of her time and energy. Like Killpatrick, Heath, and McChesney, women worldwide are grappling with work-life balance issues. As they make strides in their education and careers, maintaining equilibrium among all of the demands in their lives, including work, marriage, motherhood, aging parents, community service, hobbies, and personal care, can be difficult. Having it all is challenging.

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That struggle and the coping strategies women use is being studied through an initiative at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) called the Women in Leadership: Work-Life Balance project. Initiated in 2009 and led by GSEP Dean Emeritus Margaret J. Weber, the comprehensive project includes multiple components: a digital interview library and website; dissertation research; an annual women’s conference; and the publication of several books. “Women are amazingly resilient in terms of decision making and figuring it out, but I think we still have a lot of work to do,” says Weber, who retired from Pepperdine last year, but continues to lead the project. The digital interview library site allows women worldwide to submit their narratives, through written interviews, to an online database, which is made available to doctoral students who use the information for dissertations related to women and work-life balance issues. Over 400 interviews of women ages 26 to 89 have been completed.

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At first Weber’s graduate students, including Heath, who now assists with the project, interviewed fellow Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff on campus. Through referrals, interviews expanded to women in Los Angeles. Interview requests soon spread to other parts of the state, the country, then worldwide. “It snowballed,” recalls Heath, who conducted 30 interviews over a two-to-three-year period. “Women wanted to tell their stories. I walked away inspired every time.” Wanting to share their research findings, Weber’s students initiated the idea for a related annual

academic conference. The first conference was held in 2013 and drew 50 participants. This year’s event, held in March, attracted 150 delegates nationwide, who heard from scholars and professionals on the theme of mentoring and sponsorship. A poster session added to the agenda this year featured 50 presenters sharing their research. “Just being in a forum where you’re discussing this topic is so valuable,” Heath says. “It encourages people and shows them how they can be more productive.”

“The conferences inspired me to do more to mentor young people who are struggling with the issue of establishing and maintaining a proper work-life balance,” she explains. “I have seen men and women who were unable to find a beneficial work-life balance, sometimes because of external circumstances beyond their control, at other times as the result of self-generated, unrealistic pressures and their relative misperceptions about success and happiness.”

McChesney has participated in two of the conferences as a delegate, organizer, and speaker and says work-life balance issues affect males, as well.

Women are amazingly resilient in terms of decision making and figuring it out, but I think we still have a lot of work to do. GSEP Dean Emeritus Margaret J. Weber

he third aspect of the project is a series of books that further explore the research. Weber and Heath have completed the first book, Women in Leadership and Work-Family Integration, which reviews the narrative research. Plans are underway for second and third volumes, which will further examine work-life balance issues both in the U.S. and abroad. The idea for the project came about through faculty professional development research Weber had conducted at Oklahoma State

University, where she worked before Pepperdine. “I’d noticed that female faculty gave different responses than male faculty to committees, promotion, research, and I wanted to explore that more,” Weber recalls. When she came to Pepperdine in 2001, doctoral students often asked if it was possible to have family and career. “I used to say, ‘Of course.’ But it’s harder than I have indicated it to be, and becomes increasingly difficult without a supportive spouse. I don’t know how single parents do it,” Weber says. The research has led to the completion of 14 dissertations to date reflecting varied situations and perspectives. Heath’s involved strategies women use to integrate family and work; another studied women who work in the aerospace industry’s typically male environment; and others studied Middle Eastern and Indian women and work-life issues.

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FEATURE

“The issues are fairly similar,” Weber says. “Women across the board talk about meaning and purpose and how it anchors their lives; 75 percent talk about faith and how it helps them through difficult times. The stories the women share with us are just amazing.”

reported involvement of family and a wide extended group in decision making, reflecting a communal culture.

There was the teacher who scored at the top of an exam required to become a principal, but was consistently passed over; the executive whose professional success caused issues in her marriage, eventually resulting in divorce; the women in India who cannot pursue careers unless they defy deep cultural mores; and the African American women who

Project findings reveal little support for women’s different roles. If a woman leaves work to attend her child’s baseball game, coworkers say she’s not really serious about her work, so she will create some other reason to be out of the office that afternoon. A male in the same situation is applauded by everyone for being involved with his children. “There’s a real double standard, a bias that we don’t even realize we have,” Weber explains. “The workplace is not very friendly to mothers

with children, and it’s very difficult for moms to pursue careers and take on leadership positions.” Part of the challenge is women’s own attitudes. “Women are not thinking of being balanced spiritually and emotionally,” Heath explains. “They’re thinking, ‘Am I perfect at all of my roles?’ They want to be on every committee and work late like everyone else. Men don’t have that same standard.” Weber recalled one employee who was offered a promotion. The woman initially declined, because she was pregnant and didn’t feel she could meet the demands of the new job and a baby. Weber explained that there were ways

Did You Know? More than 40 percent of mothers are the sole or primary source of income for the household. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

Women make up 47 percent of the labor force, compared to 38 percent in 1970. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

Job demands interfere with family life sometimes or often, report 46 percent of men and women. In contrast, less than 30 percent report that family interferes with work life. U.S. Department of Labor The U.S. increasingly lags behind other developed countries in providing flexible work and paid leave arrangements that enable workers to build long-term careers, while also providing care for their families. Blau and Kahn 2013

Providing workplace flexibility and paid leave increases productivity, helps recruit talented workers, lowers worker turnover and replacement costs, reduces absenteeism, boosts profits, and cuts costs. 2011 Gallup Poll

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

Women in developing countries work more than men, with less time for education, leisure, political participation, and self-care. United Nations report 2015 Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, produce half of the world’s food, but earn only 10 percent of the world’s income and own less than one percent of the world’s property. The Global Poverty Project

On average women make up about 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, ranging from 20 percent in Latin America to 50 percent in parts of Africa and Asia, and exceeding 60 percent in other countries. United Nations FAO 2011

Dean Emeritus Margaret Weber speaks at the Women in Leadership conference.

“Your work will suffer some, your life will suffer some,” Heath explains. “Most women have a lot of guilt, because work takes them away from family. Or, they feel guilty at work not joining all the committees because they are making home life their priority.” Women who opt out of working to raise children also need support. “We need to empower women whether they stay at home or work,” Heath comments. “Men don’t have to choose. We just build in a support structure for them.” Many people measure their success by their children. “If their children are thriving, then they’re doing something right,” Heath says.

to work out challenges, but that she felt the employee was qualified. The employee did end up accepting the promotion and expressed gratitude for Weber’s encouragement. “Women focus on all the reasons why they can’t instead of why they can,” Weber says. The interviews also revealed that women struggle with setting boundaries more than men. “We’ve been brought up societally to please. To be able to say ‘no’ and set boundaries is really problematic for women,” Weber comments. These issues affect single as well as married women. Those who are married with children

have the attitude that single colleagues can stay at work late or complete work on the weekend because they don’t have children to care for. “Several of the single people interviewed commented that’s a real problem,” Weber says. Some women prefer jobs with freedom to leave in the afternoon to attend a child’s soccer game, then complete work later at home. Others prefer to not bring work home in order to focus on family. All who were interviewed agreed that they have a certain standard of perfection they want to maintain in work and personal life, but that can be challenging.

Women wanted to tell their stories. I walked away inspired every time. Just being in a forum where you’re discussing this topic is so valuable. It encourages people and shows them how they can be more productive. —Kerry Cissna-Heath

Through the information culled from the narratives, Weber was especially impressed by the resiliency of women who underwent negative experiences in childhood and adolescence. “Women often said that those challenges made them who they are, and that without those experiences, they wouldn’t have the life perspectives they have, or be in the leadership positions they are in,” Weber comments. Weber explains that males will have to be in support of changes in order to ease the work-life balance challenges women face. “Younger men are not going to be quite as willing as their fathers and grandfathers to work as many hours as they did rather than be more involved in their families,” Weber says. “Maybe the millennial generation will be the ones that push it.” Heath hopes that women will continue to advance in their careers. “The higher up you go, and the more flexibility you have in your job, the more you can delegate and call your own schedule,” Heath says. In the meantime, women will continue to find ways to juggle their many roles. “There’s not one way to do it,” Heath explains. “It’s whatever works for you.”

Learn more about the project or submit your own narrative: magazine.pepperdine.edu/ women-work-life-balance

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FEATURE

hile many public policy scholars pursue degrees to set themselves up for a career on Capitol Hill, the opportunities that exist in the public and private sectors are endless. At the School of Public Policy, students pursuing a master of public policy (MPP) are given a dynamic internship opportunity to gain handson experience in agencies related to his or her area of specialization, including local, state, or federal government; nonprofit organizations; or foreign agencies. Though the 240-hour internship is a requirement for all students prior to their second year of study, program director Diane Yaris Adkins stresses the benefits of the invaluable skills it provides to students as they continue their professional lives. “A career in policy is not limited to politics,” she explains. “We have students working on political

The School of Public Policy summer internship program enables students to explore their passions in Washington, D.C., and beyond.

campaigns, yes, but they are also doing work in corporate social responsibility and grassroots organizations. This degree is so broad … it can take you anywhere.” Read how far the master of public policy internship program took some of its most recent participants.

By Gareen Darakjian

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

Ben Peterson Placement: Al Amana Center Location: Muscat, Oman Peterson would attend Arabic language classes in the morning, spend his afternoons doing research for Al Amana, and discuss ideas for a religion and diplomacy training center. He also spent much of his time learning about Ibhadi Islam, the sect prevalent in Oman, as well as some of the challenges associated with interfaith dialogue. “There is so much to learn about the challenges and rewards of pursuing true dialogue,” he recalls. “This whole field of religious peacemaking and faith-based diplomacy was totally new to me.” He was especially intrigued by the most marked difference between Western and Islamic civilizations: the relationship between religion and politics.

MUSCAT, THE CAPITAL OF OMAN —one of the Gulf States and one of the only two sultanates in the world—is not a place that comes to Americans’ attention very often. While searching for an experience to further his study of Arabic, especially in a predominantly Muslim country, second-year MPP candidate Ben Peterson was placed in an internship at the Al Amana Center, an institution working to foster positive dialogue and personal relationships between Christians and Muslims.

“That’s why I ended up studying foreign policy,” explains Peterson, “especially how we, in the American culture, manage our relationships with the Middle East.” “Islam is probably the fastest growing world religion and will be a major dynamic in the 21st century and years to come,” he continues. “I don’t think we have a good understanding of it or the complexity of the situations of the people living in Arab countries. It was an interesting time to be in Oman.”

Much of his time at Al Amana was spent researching different conflict zones where religious leaders and community members play a role in peacemaking, such as Nigeria or the Central African Republic. He also discussed how to pursue peace in divided situations with Doug Leonard, Al Amana’s executive director.

With the research and communication skills that he gained while at Pepperdine, including which types of questions to ask during interfaith dialogues and faith-based diplomacy; the knowledge he gained in the Saudi Arabia class taught by Karen Elliott House, the Spring 2014 William E. Simon Distinguished Visiting Professor; and the study of economics that play a role in understanding the intersection of the various dynamics that are at work, Peterson is confident that he successfully applied his Pepperdine education overseas.

“We came up with a game we called ‘War and Peace’ that illustrated the different dynamics that might be in play in these zones,” Peterson recalls.

“That is something the School of Public Policy is especially attuned to: all of the different dynamics that affect public issues, and an awareness of the philosophical traditions that are in play.”

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FEATURE

JENNIFER KAMARA (MPP ’15) Placement: U.S. Government Accountability Office Location: Washington, D.C.

MOST PUBLIC POLICY HOPEFULS do not enter the field hoping to become a policy analyst, according to recent School of Public Policy graduate Jennifer Kamara. With her heart firmly rooted in the nonprofit sector, she was ultimately interested in the qualitative and quantitative research and analysis opportunities offered by an internship at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Kamara learned of the GAO while perusing source materials for a project she worked on during her first semester at Pepperdine. “I never thought it could actually be a job,” she recalls. “I can get paid to do what I really like to do.” She set up an alert on the USAJOBS website and applied during their open period. A career in public policy became apparent prior to coming to Pepperdine, when Kamara participated in the ninemonth Coro Fellowship in public affairs. She deferred graduate school in order to rotate between different sectors in public affairs. The experience sparked an interest in the multitude of jobs available in public policy.

[The experience] solidified the fact that I wanted to pursue a career in public policy. I don’t know if I’d be so certain if I hadn’t done that internship. —Jennifer Kamara

“I went into the public policy program at Pepperdine with an open mind once I started to see the possibilities,” she recalls. Her first week as a GAO intern was memorable. Kamara was sent to Capitol Hill for a meeting on various funding and privatization methods for infrastructure improvements, and walked right into New Jersey junior senator Cory Booker. “That’s my idea of a celebrity!” she says. “I realized at that moment exactly where I was. I thought, ‘Wow, I’m actually here! I’m working for Congress!’ I realized how big it was that I was actually there and my work would be used to advise those people.” Though her title was “intern,” she felt like part of the team who was trusted with the same level of work as the full-time employees. “I was writing reports, briefing congresspersons and their staff, and presenting to senior staff,” she says. “There was a high level of trust.”

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

As an analyst, Kamara worked with the Physical Infrastructure Team on airport privatization in the U.S. The team develops reports and testimonies that help Congress, federal agencies, and the public ensure the efficiency, safety, and security of the nation’s infrastructure. Kamara’s job initially was to examine public information on the airport-privatization pilot program and organize that information into a spreadsheet that would later be used by the team to write their own reports. Her responsibilities ultimately grew. Kamara is currently part of the Strategic Issues Team, under the strategic and performance management issue area, which works to assist Congress in addressing governance and management challenges across all agencies. As far as her future, she is clear about one thing: “I obviously want to be one of those smart policy wonks,” she says, with a laugh. “Whatever team I end up on, I want to be an expert in that area and I want to continue to do good work with smart people.” “The internship component of our program is so important,” she stresses. “I think ideally it’ll work out that you intern someplace and get a job, but it could also be that you intern someplace and realize it’s not what you want to do. For me, it solidified the fact that I wanted to pursue a career in public policy. I don’t know if I’d be so certain if I hadn’t done that internship.”

The project gave me a chance to see how it is in the real world, and not only the theoretical application of it. This gave me an opportunity to see the practical application of everything we had learned in class. —Ryan Tenney

RYAN TENNEY (MPP ’15) Placement: Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Services Location: Ventura, California

AFTER GETTING A TASTE of the federal government in

Washington, D.C., as a congressional intern at the U.S. House of Representatives as a college student, and working as a staff assistant for the U.S. Senate at the district level following graduation, Ryan Tenney was interested in further exploring the public sector through an internship with local government. He was introduced to the field in a homeland security seminar course with former Ventura County sheriff Bob Brooks he took while studying at the School of Public Policy, in which he was assigned a project to develop an emergency response plan to a disaster scenario. “When I thought of emergency management, I didn’t realize that there are local government agencies that specifically focus on that,” Tenney explains. “The project gave me a chance to see how it is in the real world, and not only the theoretical application of it. This gave me an opportunity to see the practical application of everything we had learned in class.” Though Tenney was already interning at a public affairs firm in the private sector, a conversation with alumnus Kevin McGowan (MPP ’10), manager of the Office of Emergency Services (OES) in the Ventura County Sheriff’s (VCS) Office, piqued his interest. He was presented with the perfect opportunity to strengthen his skills and gain exposure in a field he was not familiar with. At the OES, Tenney was tasked with drafting an addendum to Ventura County’s central emergency management plan and condensing the lengthy document. He spent countless hours on historical comparative analysis, poring over emergency plans from around the state and

country, and taking online courses offered by FEMA to become certified in skills and knowledge specific to the field. He learned about hierarchy, jurisdictions, and chains of command at local government agencies. His focus was determining which departments and agencies would mobilize in an emergency and developing a plan for designated facilities in Ventura County at which individuals, businesses, and families could access recovery programs and services in the event of a catastrophe. “I wanted to write it to the best of my ability, because I realized the significance of the document,” he explains. “It’s something that’s meant to help people and help emergency service responders. It was very important that I got it right.” When a mudslide threatened the city of Camarillo this past January, the OES shared Tenney’s plan with the city, portions of which were implemented during the disaster. “It made me feel respected, valued, motivated, and proud of my work being part of a team,” says Tenney. “I was in a place where people saw my potential and gave me an opportunity to prove myself.” “It’s hard to get those opportunities being an intern,” he continues, “but I was in a selfless environment where it was all about the mission. Coming from a established, challenging graduate program at Pepperdine helped prepare me even more for the opportunity to not only contribute, but also make a difference no matter how big or small the contribution was.”

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FEATURE

Pepperdine aims to provide campuswide support to meet the unique challenges faced by international students. By Sophia Fischer

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

When Pengcheng “Dylan” Wang arrived on the Pepperdine campus from his hometown of Hangzhou, China, it was his first time overseas, away from the familiarity and comforts of home, and he did not speak English well. “I was homesick for the first few months. I missed my home and family very much, and I wasn’t used to life here,” Wang explains. “Language is for sure the number one challenge, and becoming familiar with and blending into American culture is also difficult.” Now a senior international business major, Wang is one of nearly 1,000 international undergraduate and graduate students who attend Pepperdine each year. They come from all over the globe: Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea, Uganda, Russia, Singapore, and many other countries. At Seaver College, the Office of International Student Services (OISS), in consult with the Seaver dean of enrollment management, manages the international enrollment for students in its undergraduate and graduate programs, while Pepperdine’s graduate schools manage their enrollment independently. The number of international students is expected to increase at all schools. For the Fall 2015 semester, Seaver College received nearly1,600 international student applications, the largest number ever.

Traditionally, Seaver welcomes about 70 new international undergraduate students each year. More than 100 are anticipated this fall. “The growing number of international students on our campus has made it apparent that we need to respond and allocate the appropriate resources to foster a thriving environment,” says Tyler Kemmerer, Housing and Residence Life resident director. “We are working in collaboration with other departments to develop even better avenues of support and hospitality for our international students.” Largely stemming from access issues in their home countries, the increase is due to parents in other countries seeking to invest in their children’s education by sending them to prestigious universities overseas, says Brooke Cutler, senior associate director of Admissions and International Student Services in OISS. Cutler and OISS assistant director Christie Culp often travel abroad to strategically meet those who are the best fit for and interested in attending Pepperdine. “Because they care about the return on their substantial investment, families

outside the U.S. are rankings driven and equally desire safety and quality for their children,” Cutler says. “They are accustomed to small schools with high-touch advising. OISS begins their relationship with Pepperdine and serves them from the time they think about applying to the time they graduate.” Those relationships are of great help to international students who face many hurdles on campus that their domestic peers do not, including adapting to a different culture, customs, food, and language, as well as responsibly managing the nuances of their F-1 student visa status, which is granted to them by the federal government and facilitated through OISS. “The biggest challenge that international students face is finding a home away from home,” explains Jessica Jiang, a sophomore from China. “Pepperdine has a fantastic community and is very welcoming. I have people here that I consider family, but it is not the same as immediate family and being able to easily go back to the place you grew up. However, when you finally get the chance to go home and relax with your family, it is different already because you have experienced what you experienced and it makes you view your home culture differently than before.” Students like Wang and Jiang receive support through partnerships between multiple University departments, including OISS, Housing and Residence Life (HRL), the Inter-Club Council (ICC), and the Career Center, as well as from domestic students and faculty.

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FEATURE

George Pepperdine’s mission was to have an international reach, so the more engaged our international students are, the more opportunities our alumni have across the world. —Brooke Cutler

“It’s important to have a campus full of peers committed to making Pepperdine a globally-minded place where international students feel comfortable,” Cutler says. “This is truly a team effort with an ‘It takes a whole village’ approach, which, in my experience, really helps everyone involved.”

Pepperdine international students take to the campus soccer field each spring when the University hosts a tournament designed to bring students from different nations together.

The OISS hosts orientations for new foreign undergraduate students in the fall and spring to review federal F-1 regulations, equip students to proactively address challenges, provide resources, and discuss how to become involved and meet people. Social events are held to connect international students, including a soccer tournament.

new international students. Wall lived in White House, a first-year girls’ dorm, and reached out to all new international students scattered throughout undergraduate housing.

“We start off with a big welcome and then we stay in touch, sending a lot of communication to let them know we are here for them,” says Culp, who is also an advisor to the Pepperdine International Club. “Homesickness is a common issue and they don’t always come to our office to ask for help.” That’s where resident assistants (RAs) and spiritual life advisors (SLAs) like Jenna Wall come in. This past year was the first that an SLA was assigned to support

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“The topic of loneliness came up in one of our small group sessions, and the majority of individuals expressed how they felt lonely a lot on campus, but felt a sense of community and belonging in our group,” Wall recalls. “It was encouraging to know that they enjoyed our time together and found it meaningful, and it made me realize how important it is to provide places for international students specifically to feel welcome and recognized.”

Summer 2015

Wall also learned that food is a big homesickness factor. “A number of international students drive into L.A. multiple times a week to eat foods authentic to their home country, or to stock up on big boxes of food to eat in their dorms,” she says. Many international students arrive on campus without necessities like blankets, pillows, towels, and storage units too bulky to bring by airplane. Working with outside vendors, HRL staff offers delivery services before students move in, so that necessities are in place. Another common challenge international students face is the steep learning curve in

I’d like to give back to my country by providing Bolivian musicians with a quality education and a degree in music. —Sergio Gallardo

classes on such subjects as U.S. history, political science, and religion that the rest of the student body has a strong background in.

“We offer programs for meals over the break,” Farmer explains. “Some students go home with friends.”

“For many international students, they are hearing it all for the first time,” explains Wall. “This is made even more difficult by the fact that many of them face tremendous pressure from their parents to perform well.”

As if these weren’t enough hurdles to conquer, then there are the complex regulations. Prior to coming to the U.S., students complete a lengthy application process for a special student visa, which comes with many requirements and restrictions. Students must show sufficient financial support, maintain full-time student status throughout their education, and intend to return to their home countries upon completion of their education. Additionally, off-campus employment is restricted and on-campus jobs are limited. They do not qualify for federal student aid, and unless they receive some merit or international scholarship, most are paying full tuition and at least the required two years of on-campus housing.

Faculty members reach out to OISS for assistance with issues related to foreign students in their classes. “Professors highlight trends they are experiencing in their classrooms and will ask me to help them understand,” Cutler says. Business is the most popular Pepperdine major for international students and many seek internships. OISS and Career Services will be partnering to offer a workshop series for international students on careers, networking, finding internships, and employment opportunities. Workshops will also assist students with cultural hurdles they may experience in the job market. The time difference makes it difficult to communicate with family and many students can only make the trip home once or twice a year because of the distance and expense. During holiday breaks when American students return home to spend time with family, most international students remain on campus. The HRL office provides support including working with RAs and SLAs to reach out to international students.

A department dedicated to serving international students, and a team of campus partners committed to their success, is essential to helping many newcomers navigate the extra hoops they have to jump through. “We look forward to further enhancing our collaboration in the months and years to come,” Cutler says. While there are difficulties adjusting to a markedly different life in the U.S., international students bring many benefits with them to Pepperdine, in and out of the classroom, on and off campus.

“Having international voices in the classroom gives everyone great perspective,” Cutler comments. “Imagine the conversations if you’re studying urban development and you have someone from Uganda, someone who has studied in London, and students from New York and California in your class.” Chelsea Christian, a senior interpersonal communications major from the Pacific Northwest, is a lead intern in the OISS and works closely with many foreign students. “Having international students helps all of us see other viewpoints and gain insight on other areas of our world, enriching us as students and human beings,” she explains. “I think diversity is one of the most valuable pieces of our college experience.” Those conversations extend far beyond campus gates. Pepperdine student and alumni groups are meeting in other countries, and incoming students are being connected with current students from mutual countries. “George Pepperdine’s mission was to have an international reach, so the more engaged our international students are, the more opportunities our alumni have across the world,” Cutler remarks. “Imagine the relationships that will be built.” Sergio Gallardo, of La Paz, Bolivia, intends to use his education to improve his home community. The junior music major, who is studying classical guitar, plans to return to his home country to develop a university music department or conservatory. “I think that Bolivia lacks institutions where students can pursue a music career,” he explains, “so I’d like to give back to my country by providing Bolivian musicians with a quality education and a degree in music.”

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ALUMNI

Welcome, New Graduates! Welcome to Pepperdine University Alumni Association. On behalf of the more than 97,000 graduates who have preceded you, congratulations on earning your Pepperdine degree! #pepperdineproud Whether you are looking to connect with fellow alumni to explore a career, hire a fellow Wave, or plug into volunteer opportunities, the Alumni Association is a resource for you. There are numerous benefits and opportunities for you to participate in; plus, your membership to the alumni association is free—you’ve earned it!

TIPS FOR NEW GRADS:

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Join Pepperdine’s Facebook and LinkedIn groups

Get the professional wisdom you need to succeed, or give advice to a fellow Wave! Sign up for career conversations, resume reviews, or mock interviews in your area of professional expertise through the new Pepperdine Career Network.

Engage with your local Pepperdine chapter

Take advantage of alumni benefits Update your contact information

Connect with Career Services staff for resources

UPCOMING PEPPERDINE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EVENTS: August 1: Seattle Waves–7th Annual Pepperdine Seafair Celebration August 5–9: Pepperdine Family Camp August 21: Dallas Cowboys VIP Training Camp Experience Oxnard, CA September 12: Step Forward Day all chapters October 10: 3rd Annual Sound Investment Concert Long Beach, CA December: Holiday Parties all chapters

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Summer 2015

HELP ONE WAVE: HIRE PEPPERDINE Personally impact the career outcomes of Pepperdine graduates by joining alumni, donors, parents, faculty, and staff in the HIRE Pepperdine Campaign! The goal: if everyone in the community ‘helps just one Wave’ we can make a dramatic difference in the lives of our students and alumni.

WAVES IN ACTION RECENT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EVENTS

D.C. Waves Wreath Laying Ceremony Respect is part of Pepperdine’s DNA and we give special thanks to Pepperdine alumnus U.S. Army Colonel (Ret.) Ivan G. Bolden (MA ‘77) for providing an opportunity for President Benton and D.C. Waves to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. We honor and remember not only those we know who gave their lives for their country, but also the countless others we may never know. #pepperdinestories

Did you know?

A Timeless Tradition

The Alumni Association serves alumni, parents, students, and friends of all five Pepperdine schools!

PEPPERDINE.EDU/ WAVESWEEKEND The sixth annual Waves Weekend is just around the corner! Mark your calendars for your alma mater’s exciting tradition celebrating YOU, our awesome alumni! You won’t want to miss this energetic weekend full of reunions, department receptions, and much more!

WAVESWEEKEND@ PEPPERDINE.EDU

Registration opens in July, so be sure to join us and tell your Pepperdine friends you’ll be at Waves Weekend 2015!

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C OM M U NIT Y | SCHOLARSHIP

By Emily DiFrisco

Alumna Marcia Newman (MA ’86) draws on her 30 years of experience in the mental health field and writes a fresh response to our anti-aging culture. 28

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

“It started with my hair,” begins Marcia Newman, a licensed marriage and family therapist and program manager at the Betty Ford Center in West Los Angeles. The idea for her book, Five Gifts of Pro-Aging: Honoring Maturity in a Culture That Could Use It, came when she stopped dyeing her hair about 15 years ago.

“I thought it was no big deal, but I was not prepared for all the negativity,” she continues. As she let her natural silver shine through, she was “confronted with this shrieking voice inside that said, ‘You’re letting yourself go. What will people think? They won’t value you.’” While the debate over her hair loomed large in her mind, Newman saw similar trends in her practice, where she has 30 years of experience in the mental health and addiction recovery fields. She saw more and more women who were obsessed with trying to remain young. Many of her clients were high-functioning women, yet they would not let themselves face the fact that they were aging. Many were caught up in the “insatiable practice of nip, tuck, and fill,” she explains. The root of the problem, says Newman, is the prevailing anti-aging attitudes in our culture.

In fact, studies estimate that by 2020, as many as 5.7 million adults aged 50 and older will have a substance use disorder. Newman says older adults also might be less likely to seek treatment or realize they have a problem. Newman helps adults heal from addiction every day at the Betty Ford Center, part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, where she wears both the clinical hat and the managerial hat. Licensed to practice in three states, she previously served at one of the first houses for people with eating disorders in Los Angeles before working in private practice for 25 years. hen she tells her clients they can overcome W addiction, she speaks with authority. “I went into mental health because I have a background in my family of mental health issues and illness,” says Newman, who grew up in rural Wisconsin. “I developed my own addictions with eating, with alcohol, and codependency. I’m grateful to have long-term recovery myself.”

“We are part of 78 million baby boomers who have changed the course of equal rights and social empowerment for women and minorities around the world,” she writes in her book. “Yet, take notice of how very narrow the range of acceptable looks for women have become. In Southern California, the range is even narrower, stemming from a culture of intense age phobia.” She points to other cultures and peoples throughout history who celebrated elders and maturity. “Their voices and faces were valued for their expertise and wisdom,” she explains. “That’s not the case in the U.S. We send older people to senior centers and retirement homes.” The population of older adults in our country is only growing. By 2023, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65. Although there are fewer smokers in the boomer generation than previous ones, Newman says boomers are more likely to suffer from chronic pain, alcohol addiction, psychiatric problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and debilitating levels of stress. “What we’re seeing here at the Betty Ford Center is that aging boomers are more prone to treat their anxiety, depression, or chronic pain,” explains Newman of boomers who can get caught up in an exertion/ exhaustion cycle. “They turn to alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and other mood-altering methods.” Addiction can sometimes come with age—men and women over 50 start metabolizing alcohol and drugs differently due to decreased metabolic rate. “At that point, the same one or two drinks can have an impact on the system equal to what three or four did previously,” says Newman. “And they may have started adding anxiety pills, pain pills, sleeping pills, or other medications that interact negatively with one another.”

Recovering from addiction is only part of Newman’s pro-aging message. In her book, she promotes what she calls the five gifts of pro-aging: authenticity, self-healing, discernment, wildness, and collaboration. Within the chapters, she encourages men and women to “do the innerwork” of embracing aging as a healthy part of life. “If you live consciously, you will age more comfortably,” she promises. She also encourages others to think about their own aging stereotypes. “We need to confront the prolific social stigmas about growing older, especially the message that women are valued only as long as we remain youthful looking,” she reflects. “Pro-aging is choosing new, revolutionary roles for healthy maturity. Maturity is about being wise, but it’s also about joy.”

magazine.pepperdine.edu

C OM M U NIT Y | SCHOLARSHIP

HEALTHY HABITS Professor Susan Helm and her team are working hard to make Pepperdine’s nutritional science program a leader in the field. By Sophia Fischer

The statistics are alarming: twothirds of adults in the U.S.—close to 80 million—are obese, with many suffering from diabetes and heart disease and not enough Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)—trained to provide nutrition education to those who need it. Pepperdine’s nutritional science program team is striving to equip more students with the tools necessary to enter the profession, help people take control of their health, and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. Under the leadership of Susan Helm, registered dietitian nutritionist, Seaver College Associate Professor of Nutritional Science, and coordinator of the nutritional science program, Pepperdine is being recognized for its impressive accomplishments in the field of nutritional science education. Helm was recently honored with the prestigious Excellence in Teaching award given annually by the 6,500-member California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to one person statewide for outstanding contributions in nutrition education. The award came after an involved nomination process in which the association carefully reviewed candidates’ contributions in the field and considered alumni, faculty, and student references. In addition, the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics took notice of Pepperdine nutritional science students’ perfect scores on the Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR) board exams for the

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Summer 2015

past 20 years, and chose the University to offer a post-baccalaureate certificate program that provides valuable on-site experience in hospitals, schools, social welfare groups, and other professional environments.

science majors and are required to pass rigorous board exams after graduating. The road to becoming registered dietitian nutritionists is also challenging: students must complete an internship to gain experience interacting with clients, pass a national registration

“Clearly, Susan’s hard work has resulted in the establishment of an excellent nutrition program at Pepperdine, and the fact that Pepperdine was selected to host the post-graduate training in dietetics is testimony to Susan’s excellent reputation at the national level,” remarks Rodney L. Honeycutt, University Professor and chair of the Natural Science Division. Helm and her colleagues, including professors Patricia Moore, Loan Kim, Sunnie DeLano (’94), and new RDN at the Seaver College Health Center, Caitlin Schoensiegel (’12), have created a strong curriculum at Pepperdine. The University’s undergraduate nutritional science program is accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Public Health Online ranked the program as the 17th best nationwide and second best in California. The Pepperdine program has doubled its annual enrollment to 50 students; new classes, such as Nutrition Through the Life Cycle and Nutritional Epidemiology, have been added; and the Seaver Academic Council recently approved both a clinical nutrition and public health track for Fall 2016. To become RDNs, undergraduates take the same courses as natural

it was changed to nutritional science, moved from social science to the Natural Science Division, and was endowed by the late Flora Laney Thornton, a Los Angeles philanthropist passionate about nutrition. The degree change mirrored a nationwide trend in which federal dietary guidelines became more stringent, calling for less salt and saturated fat. “Registered dietitians were coming out of the kitchen,” Helm recalls. “They were no longer food service employees, and home economics wasn’t the appropriate place for dietetics and nutrition degrees.”

When Helm was hired by Pepperdine in 1993, she helped alter the program to a more theoretical one that addressed the rationale behind examining individual nutritional needs. Her future plans include continuing to grow the program and educating external audiences. She has been involved in “Food shouldn’t be counted research projects and public education d endeavors, including promoting the and avoided. It should be enjoye dangers of soda to individuals with and celebrated.” ‑Susan Helm diabetes; investigating the role of folate in Down syndrome; traveling to Fiji to examination, and participate in continuing provide impoverished, isolated communities education. Many students become intimidated with nutritional counseling; and giving healthy by the process and change paths. cooking demonstrations to low-income “Freshmen come in wanting to be TV cooking populations. stars or food bloggers,” Helm explains. “They Helm is proud of her accomplishments, but think it’s an easy degree. We quickly lose quickly deflects attention to the community of them because they discover the science involved in nutrition and that they have to take colleagues that supported her. biology, chemistry, and math.” “You don’t get there by yourself,” she explains. A common misconception, Helm explains, “I built a strong team of collaborators in is that nutrition is about dieting; choosing nutrition education over the years. It’s more organic, vegan, or non-genetically modified about celebrating the people that helped me foods; and avoiding sugar, starch, fats, be an educator. I’m so proud of our students carbohydrates, or calories. who come out of the program very strong and “The public looks at what’s on the plate rather are prepared to become applied or theoretical nutritionists, or go into education or business. than how nutrition affects their bodies,” I’m doing what I really enjoy.” she says. “Our current culture has so many different issues with food. Our program is about what happens to that food once you swallow it, what your body does with it. It’s not about food and diet, it’s about science and nutrition.” The program has its roots in a home economics degree established in 1974. In 1985

Watch this video to learn more about Pepperdine’s nutritional science program: magazine.pepperdine.edu/ nutritional-science

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C OM M U NIT Y | SPIRITUAL LIFE

SEMPER

FORTIS

U.S. NAVY SEAL WILLIAM WAGASY (JD ’00, MDR ’01) retired from active duty with a new mission: to serve those who have served their country. By Sarah Fisher

William Wagasy was exhausted. He was once again a civilian after serving four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan as a U.S. Navy SEAL, an experience that was more than a job—it was a calling. He returned with the kind of mental and physical exhaustion that drove him to recover in the Catskills for eight months, solo. No friends, no television; just a small apartment and a membership to train at a nearby boxing gym. “It was a good time for me to reflect on my thoughts about the last 10 years, to be active with my body in a different way at the gym, and not have anyone to answer to. I just kind of unplugged for a while,” Wagasy recalls. Wagasy was one of the fortunate ones; he returned to his home country in 2013 relatively unscathed, save for when his car drove over a bomb. The explosion shattered his wrist and injured his shoulder, requiring 10 days of recovery in the hospital, but, he says, “we were all able to walk away from it.” However, many men and women return from war with the types of catastrophic injuries that require lifelong care from their country. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one in 10 veterans is disabled and more than 20,000 have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Summer 2015

“Your heart always stays with the people you know who have been severely injured,” Wagasy says. While still on active duty, he remembers worrying about his injured friends; “how they’re going to move forward, and what kind of support structures they’ll have around them.” When Wagasy learned that the Gary Sinise Foundation was hiring a director of programs and outreach to serve those very communities, he jumped at the chance to join the team in April 2014. The nonprofit provides practical and financial assistance to military personnel, first defense responders, and veterans, from dishing out meals at airports with the USO to personnel on the move to building smart homes that cater to the needs of veterans with disabilities. “I felt the same fire applying for the job as when I applied to be a SEAL,” he says. “This job enables me to give back to my own community.” Wagasy’s position affords him opportunities to build friendships with veterans while assisting them in rebuilding their lives. He partners the foundation with other nonprofits, corporations, and local communities to organize fundraising events; recently, he visited the University of Notre Dame (ND), his undergraduate alma mater, for a run organized by an ND first-year to raise money for Marine and ND alumnus Sgt. Michael Frazier, who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan in 2011. They raised more than $10,000 to help build the Frazier family a home.

“Everyone from young kids to the elderly ran that race,” Wagasy notes. “It’s inspiring. Kids who ran that race will carry that in their hearts for the rest of their lives.” Their mission is broad, he explains. “It’s to honor veterans, their families, and other first responders by strengthening and building inspired communities. Being a veteran myself, for me it’s about building relationships with the vets we serve. It’s about being their battle buddy through a totally different battle.” The roots of Wagasy’s military calling can be traced back to his childhood in Springfield, Missouri.

“I had graduated, but still had this longing to serve my country in some way. I always had a fascination with the Navy SEALs, so the plan was to join the reserves and then start my law career,” he says. Instead, he awoke on September 11, 2001, to a phone call from a good friend on the east coast. “That friend actually lost his brother in the South Tower. So when 9/11 happened, it was an easy decision for me. I just went

It’s been the second great calling on my heart: to be able to serve those who served their country.

“I come from a strong Christian family and was brought —WILLIAM WAGASY up to love my country from an early age,” he remembers. “My parents would tell me into the navy and dropped, completely, about the people who sacrificed for our everything else.” way of life and for important ideas such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Today, Wagasy is a veteran-turned-civilian Independence.” who has found new purpose in helping other veterans find their own new purpose upon He always imagined having a career in the returning to civilian life. He is keenly aware of military, but first went to Notre Dame on a the parallel and says this new chapter in his full-ride football scholarship, graduating in story has inspired him to “fall in love” with his 1996 with a degree in accounting and second country in a whole new way. major in philosophy. He then moved west to Pepperdine, where he graduated from the “It’s been the second great calling on my School of Law with a JD in 2000 and a master heart: to be able to serve those who served of dispute resolution in 2001. their country.”

The WAVES OF SERVICE movement celebrates, supports, and connects Pepperdine alumni committed to volunteerism and careers of service worldwide. Learn more about how you can get involved: pepperdine.edu/wavesofservice

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C OM M U NIT Y | SPIRITUAL LIFE

A HEART for

HUMANITY

JANIS SPIRE (MBA ’87) serves

Los Angeles’ most vulnerable children by leading the Alliance for Children’s Rights. By Emily DiFrisco

staggering 28,000 children are currently in foster care in Los Angeles County—a statistic compounded by the number of adversities that this underserved population faces. Nearly half of all foster care children have learning disabilities or developmental delays, and 50 percent of youth who have aged out of foster care end up homeless or incarcerated. Enter the Alliance for Children’s Rights. As an L.A.-based nonprofit, the Alliance protects the rights of impoverished, abused, and neglected children and youth by providing free legal services and advocacy. At the helm is Janis Spire, who brought her sharp business acumen to the Alliance in 2002 as president and CEO, and has since tripled the organization’s staff, programs, and fundraising dollars. Under her direction, the Alliance has brought to life a comprehensive education program for children from birth on up, expanded a children’s health and advocacy clinic, and sponsored legislation that extended foster to care to age 21, so that young adults could have a safety net while they pursue educational and professional goals. Reflecting on her time at the Alliance and the countless stories of children they have served, Spire thinks of a young boy named Nathan*. He had spent the first two years of his life in a makeshift crib, drinking Pepsi from his baby bottle. By the time he was removed from the home, he was three years old, and a dentist had to pull out all of his rotten teeth.

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Summer 2015

“He couldn’t speak,” recalls Spire. “He knew he looked different from the other children in his preschool.” After the Alliance advocated and paid for teeth implants for Nathan, he started thriving. He was adopted by his “forever family” on April 24, 2015. “It was a happy day in court,” Spire says. “He’s 5 years old now and such a character, talking and laughing. He’s a beautiful child.” Another story centers on a young man who aged out at 18 before the law extending foster care benefits was put in place. John* was completely on his own at 18, but he dreamed of going to college and playing football. After struggling with community

ent in L.A. is so high that lack of housing and homelessness are the top barriers to our youth pursuing further education. college, the Alliance introduced him to a mentor and helped him into housing. When he was accepted to a small school in Kansas on a football scholarship, the Alliance gave him winter clothes and supported him fully. Spire says John’s attitude is one of disbelief that they continue to help him when so many have failed him. In order to help L.A.’s youth, the Alliance does the hard work of implementing laws that are already on the books. Spire says kids in foster care are frequently moved around and might attend five schools within one year, despite a law that gives them rights to remain in their school of origin. Often their credits aren’t transferred and they fall further behind.

who adds that at this time, only 45 percent of foster care youth graduate high school and fewer than three percent graduate college. To accomplish much of their advocacy work, the Alliance relies on local attorneys. “We have found that attorneys in the city are eager to do pro bono work,” Spire says of the 30,000 hours donated last year, which translates to more than 11 million dollars in legal fees. “They see the egregious ways that kids are overlooked and falling through the cracks. They see this is an opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life, whether by getting benefits turned on or finalizing an adoption. It’s some of the most rewarding work.” Indeed the service aspect was the reason Spire transferred her career to the nonprofit sector in the 1990s. After a successful career in healthcare management and earning her MBA from Pepperdine, Spire brought her business expertise to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, an organization in its infancy with a staff of fewer than 10. At the time, she recalled advice from finance professor Darrol Stanley, who said simply, “Successful businesses plan.”

In addition to helping kids stay in school, the Alliance continues to implement the law that extends foster care benefits to age 21.

When she started at the foundation, she obliterated the stereotype that nonprofits think small or don’t need structure and planning. “You have to run a nonprofit like a business,” she says. “But it has to have a compelling mission. Your ROI is your impact and your work.”

“Rent in L.A. is so high that lack of housing and homelessness are the top barriers to our youth pursuing further education,” says Spire,

By the time she left the foundation, it was a global organization with more than 100 employees.

When Spire was approached to lead the Alliance, she decided that it was time to bring her efforts to her own community. “I wasn’t sure whether I could do it, since the Alliance is a legal organization, but there was the business question of ‘how do you mobilize the community to support you?’” Having led the Alliance to new heights, Spire continues to spearhead new initiatives such as early childhood development as a standard of care, prevention of abuse and neglect, and helping youth become job-ready. Ever tireless, Spire reflects, “I’m always turning over stones and asking ‘how can I take this further?’ There is so much work to be done, and I’m committed to doing it.” *Names changed

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C OM M U NIT Y | ATHLETICS

Beyond the A record-breaking swimmer motivates her team with a clever blend of skill and spunk. By Gareen Darakjian

he next time you attend a Pepperdine swim meet, you will find an effervescent blonde on the sidelines cracking jokes or doing a funny dance trying to loosen up her teammates before their race—“something weird to try to snap them out of their intense focus,” says Jessica Mosbaugh, a Seaver College senior on the Pepperdine swimming and diving team, who is not only the self-proclaimed cheerleader of the group, but also owns Pepperdine records in the 200 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, and 200 individual medley. She was also the 2014 and 2015 Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference (PCSC) champion in the 200 breaststroke. “Setting records hasn’t been something I’ve set out to do,” explains the diminutive athlete, “it just happened along the way. My ultimate goal was to swim for four years and do the best I could. The records have been an added bonus. My biggest accomplishment has been getting along with my teammates and the camaraderie we’ve established.” In fact, Mosbaugh’s proudest moment on the team was when her training partner and best friend Allison Naasz, a senior majoring in media production, broke one of the oldest standing records in Pepperdine history after finishing runner-up in the 200 freestyle at this year’s PCSC championship. “The whole team was in tears,” recalls Mosbaugh. “I had a race in a few minutes, but my mind was just on Allison and being there for her. That motivated me going into my race. Those moments are very special and keep me interested in swimming.” Swimming since she was 4 years old, the psychology major thought her athletic career would end after a successful run in high school. Though her childhood swim instructor advised her parents to encourage the “gifted”

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Summer 2015

BLUE athlete to swim competitively, Mosbaugh explored a multitude of other sports, including softball and soccer, before choosing swimming as a high school student.

Bob and Jessica Mosbaugh at the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool

“My parents never pushed swimming on me, but that’s the sport I chose and I have been happy ever since,” she says. When Mosbaugh visited Pepperdine’s Malibu campus for the first time in 2005 for her father Bob’s (MBA ’05, PKE 113) graduation from the Presidents and Key Executives MBA program, she was in awe of the endless ocean view, the lush, green hillside, and the vibrant colors that decorated the scene. But more than anything, the fifth grader was mesmerized by the glimmering pool that she gazed at through the gates when she first caught a glimpse of it. “I couldn’t take my eyes off of the water and how calm it looked,” she recalls. “It was beautiful, and that’s when I decided I was coming here. It was Pepperdine or nothing. I wasn’t even thinking about swimming at that point.” Her father was surprised but pleased by her confidence in her choosing his alma mater. “When I went to Pepperdine, I wasn’t even thinking about the possibility of her going there,” Bob explains. “When she went to my graduation, she didn’t know what the school was about, but she had made up her mind. She found a place that was good for her and never changed her dream or passion. She lived it out.” Mosbaugh now credits her experience on the swim team with being the capstone of her college experience. “Being on the swim team has had its challenges, but I’ve also taken a lot away from it, like sisterhood and discipline,” she explains.

“The relationships I’ve made with my coaches along with my teammates has been the best thing. Being on the team has also helped me stay focused on my academics and on going to class and getting good grades and studying hard.” In each of her three years at the University, Mosbaugh has earned the Pepperdine ScholarAthlete recognition. More than challenging her to rise academically, she says her Pepperdine experience has also developed her skills and attitude as an athlete. “It has given me a lot more confidence in myself,” she enthuses. “Being part of this team and part of this school has allowed me to step into a leadership role. It wasn’t until last year that I realized I was actually good at school. Being at this challenging university and competing in classrooms for grades has developed me into a

well-rounded individual who is capable in stepping up in times like that.” Through it all, she has heard her father’s encouraging voice, which has motivated her to reach greater heights and accomplish goals while staying true to herself. “I have always told her, ‘If you have a passion for it, pursue it,’” Bob explains. “’Pursue anything that makes you happy. If it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to move on.’” “She has learned to challenge herself and really understood if you practice hard, good results will come,” he continues. “That’s with anything in life. I always told her to practice like you want to play. I don’t care if that’s at school, at her job, or in swim. The more you put into your preparation, the better you’ll do in your performance. She has accomplished that. She has exceeded all of our expectations.”

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C OM M U NIT Y | ATHLETICS

Stacy Davis exercises his natural flair for leadership on and off the court. By Sophia Fischer Stacy Davis could easily rest on his impressive achievements. With 1,307 points scored, Davis is on track to become Pepperdine University’s all-time leading basketball scorer. He is among the top four rebounders in program history, and is a two-time All-West Coast Conference (WCC) first team selection. But Davis, 20, is restless. The 6’6”, 235-pound Seaver College senior is focused on how the team can win the WCC title and the NCAA tournament before he graduates in May 2016. Still smarting from a painful loss in the WCC semifinals against Gonzaga last March, Davis blames himself, recalling how Pepperdine missed two free throws and, as the ball bounced off the rim and headed toward him, he was unable to box out his competitor, tipping the ball and pushing it out of bounds. “I’ll never forget that moment until we beat them,” Davis says. “It makes me want to work harder so that we don’t have to be in a position to need a rebound, to have to push the envelope. I want us to have the lead instead of fighting for it.”

“Stacy is our leading rebounder. We challenge him to score for us, to be unselfish when other teams are double-teaming and trapping

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Davis puts in time preparing and researching how to play at the next level. “He thinks about what he can do better,” Wilson explains. “He genuinely cares about everyone, and wants to help.” For Davis developing mental and physical strength is what it takes to be successful on the court and in life. Last summer he began incorporating yoga into his daily conditioning, improving his game by allowing him to move more easily through certain plays.

That drive and determination is recognized, admired, and sought after by his coaches, teammates, and competition, and has made Davis a leader, says Pepperdine men’s basketball head coach Marty Wilson (’89).

him, and to defend, too. We throw a lot on his plate,” Wilson says. “Other teams know that he’s our go-to guy, so their mindset is to take things away or make it tough for him.”

“It all comes back to stretching. The more you open your body, the more you can do,” Davis explains. “It has paid dividends for me and now other players on the team are picking it up.”

Summer 2015

Teammate Atif Russell, one of Davis’ closest friends and roommate since freshman year, describes Davis as devoted to basketball and friends. “He puts in a lot of work and dominates the court because of his sheer size and will, and his deep voice,” Russell says. “He’s a good guy to talk to, and he’s always got my back.” Wilson will continue challenging his star player and team captain, and views Davis as a potential recipient of the WCC Player of the Year designation. “Stacy commands that much respect, and the crazy thing is that he doesn’t know how good he is or how good he can be,” Wilson remarks. Davis’ leadership was recognized by the NCAA when officials chose him, from a nomination submitted by Pepperdine athletic academic advisor Lauren Reid, to attend its nationwide Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida, in April. Davis learned leadership tools for handling challenges, and interacting with teammates and coaches. “That conference changed my life in terms of what my purpose is,” Davis explains. “Growing up I never saw myself as a leader. It means the world to know that people see that in me.” Davis spent three weeks playing basketball in China this summer. He was invited to participate in Athletes in Action, a faithbased group that sponsors athletic/mission trips in which U.S. college athletes play host country teams. It was his first time out of the United States.

Born in San Diego, Davis was 10 when his family moved to Arizona. His full name is Stacy Wright Davis IV, after his father, grandfather, and great grandfather. “My father said I have to name my first son Stacy or he will haunt me in my sleep,” Davis jokes. “There’s a certain heritage that comes with being the fourth and I’m proud of it, try to do right by it, and bring honor to my family.” His role models are his parents. When Davis was in high school, his mother, Felicia, suffered a debilitating stroke that required her to relearn to talk, walk and write, and made his father the primary caretaker of Davis and his two sisters. Fully recovered, Davis’ mother now runs a leadership development organization that empowers women. “I’m so blessed that my mom is here today. She taught me perseverance,” Davis says. “My dad was always there for us. I look up to him and respect and admire how he interacts with people.” Football was Davis’ first love but he was big for his age and was told to play in an older division. “My mother didn’t approve of that,” Davis says. Overweight as a child, Davis had difficulty keeping up with peers in physical activities. He discovered basketball while visiting an uncle who had a hoop. “Basketball helped me get healthy,” Davis recalls.

I want to let others know that if you work hard in whatever you’re passionate about, it can take you to so many places and change your life.

Davis chose Pepperdine because of the close bond - Stacy Davis among players and coaches. He credits coaches with influencing him to be a good athlete and a good person, and praises his team. “My teammates are the ones out there creating the opportunities for me, passing me the ball, guarding the other guys,” Davis says. “We’re tight-knit and listen to each other.” Davis is majoring in organizational communication with a minor in marketing and hopes to remain in basketball as a player and then possibly as a sports marketer and commentator. “I think I’m so passionate about basketball because I see what it can do for me, where it can take me,” Davis says. “I want to let others know that if you work hard in whatever you’re passionate about, it can take you to so many places and change your life.”

Watch Stacy Davis in action during the 2014-2015 season: magazine.pepperdine.edu/stacy-davis

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C OM M U NIT Y | THE ARTS

Rock and Roll High founder Aaron Burch’s (’02) life is a love song to rock music, now with a B-side of politics. By Sarah Fisher

aron Burch stepped off the scales, making a mental note of his weight. His guitar lay next to him; attached to it was an empty sand bag. Placing the guitar on the scale, Burch filled the empty sack with sand until the combined weight of the guitar and bag equaled 15 percent of his body weight. He picked up the guitar and was stunned by how cumbersome it had become. “This is ridiculous,” he thought. “No kid would ever want to play that.” Burch is the founder and CEO of Rock and Roll High, a summer music program based in Ventura County, for children of all ages and abilities. A few days before Burch’s sandbag experiment, a young boy complained of being unable to play a small, steel guitar that Burch calculated as being approximately 15 percent of the boy’s body weight. By comparison, a typical adult guitar weighs just five percent of an average adult male’s weight. “We need a lighter guitar that really works [for kids],” Burch realized. So he teamed up with high-end guitar designer Paul Janowski and together they raised funds through Kickstarter to design and build the completely original, 3.2 lb. Volt, which includes a color-coded design on the neck of the guitar for easier learning. The Volt debuted at Rock and Roll High in summer 2014, before its release at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) conference in January this year.

Aaron Burch with the Volt at his Simi Valley, California, studio

“We noticed a dramatic improvement in the ability of kids to write songs and more quickly pick up [how to play] the guitar. They can perform better; they can jump around and be more kid-like,” Burch enthuses. Maintaining that pure, kid-like enthusiasm for rock and roll is what led Burch to where he is now. After graduating from Pepperdine with a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication, with an emphasis in business, Burch gave

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Summer 2015

himself “permission to pursue what I really wanted from life”—to either succeed or fail at following his dreams before turning 30. To that end, he spent a few years touring the country as a drummer for the band he formed at Pepperdine with a few classmates, called Aria Decline (later renamed Good Cheer, currently in the studio working on their first record in almost 10 years). Teenagers and young bands at their shows would approach them with industry questions, sparking an idea in Burch. “Between two tours I approached a community center and asked if I could teach a class about how to get your band going and get your demo recorded. That was in 2005,” he recalls. Thus, Rock and Roll High was born. 10 years later, more than 600 children and teenagers have attended one of 11 camps offered, where they spend a week learning to write and play their own song, record it in a studio, and participate in photo and video shoots. Each camp culminates in a concert of their works.

Burch is proud of how former students have taken their musical dreams to the next level, including working with major and independent label bands. “We’ve had a former student play Coachella. That was pretty cool!” he says. While helping passionate and talented kids develop into career musicians is satisfying, Burch believes access to music education is important for all children. This May he traveled with NAMM to Washington, D.C., and met with his local representatives in Congress to discuss the issue. When the economic crisis of 2008 hit, funding for music education in California was one of the first things to be cut and Burch would like to see it restored now the economy is improving, calling it a “versatile and rich” educational tool. “You can teach art, literature, and history through music. You learn math, how to be creative, and social skills all at the same time. There are very few things that cover those topics so thoroughly and completely,” he explains.

He recently met with six congresspersons and staffers in his first of what he hopes will be many efforts in the arena of music advocacy. His representatives responded on a personal level to the arguments presented. “Several commented that music has played a significant role in their lives,” he says. “So then the next realization is that kids deserve the opportunity to have that experience for themselves and that [it should be] a core part of education, not a supplemental part.” From lobbying for music education in schools to attending to the level of detail needed for creating a guitar specifically for children, Burch takes pride in helping the next generation of musicians take the risk of following their creative dreams, like he did. “God has given us creativity for a reason. And to search out that reason … that’s your vocation,” he says. “If you feel the creative part of you is out of control, then it is, and it’s put there by God. There’s something you can do with it that the world needs.”

God has given us creativity for a reason. And to search out that reason...that’s your vocation.

magazine.pepperdine.edu

C OM M U NIT Y | THE ARTS

eandering through the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco as a young art student in the early seventies, Seaver College

Seaver College Professor of Art Joe Piasentin encourages students around the world to stay curious. By Gareen Darakjian

professor Joe Piasentin was struck by a particular painting by contemporary artist Frank Lobdell. Thoughts of the poignant work lingered after he returned home that evening. They followed him the next day, and the one after that. He couldn’t shake how the painting made him feel and, more importantly, how it made him see art differently. “I found it disturbing when I first saw it, and yet I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Piasentin recalls. “That was impactful, because it was then that I realized that experiencing art was a challenge.” “It made me aware of the power of abstraction. Experiencing this type of art contradicts what the viewer already knows,” he continues, explaining that the incident also shifted his views of his own work. “As a result, the work becomes more about the inquiry. My own work is not so much a document, but more about that inquiry.”

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

Since 1979, Piasentin has been encouraging that exploratory process in students at Pepperdine and around the world based on his belief that better teachers are better artists, and vice versa. “The professional activity of a person teaching in the arts is a great indicator of a course having more substance, and the influence of that artist as a teacher expands beyond just the information, attitude, and commitment to the work,” he says. “I think as time has gone on, there has been more of a commitment to the craft of teaching,” Piasentin continues. “It brings more attention to the ability of somebody to communicate or to provide content in a course that goes beyond a personal or individual view based on that teacher’s own experience to an expanded sense of what is actually happening in the larger context.” At Pepperdine, Piasentin explains that his curriculum encourages both the development of technical facility and a sense of selfmotivation within a student. “I don’t want my course to be so much of a ‘how-to’ as much as allowing students to investigate, to be able to build on the strengths of their painting and not so much worry about avoiding what is wrong, but building on what is right,” he explains. Today, Piasentin’s passport is weathered and its pages are filled with stamps from Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and Italy. The professor of art has been involved with international exhibits and has visited schools not only across the nation, but also across the world, throughout his career. He explains that experiencing art from other parts of the world—as both a teacher and an artist—and seeing different approaches—both technical and in terms of content—ignite a greater sense of curiosity in an artist. “Curiosity fuels exploration,” he says. “With exploration comes a sense of discovery, as well as the opportunity to discover. Visiting and having exhibitions in other parts of the world have directly impacted my own work.” One of his earliest group exhibitions took place in 1987 in Seoul, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. He was struck by how his

This past February, Piasentin participated in a group show at the Morrison Gallery and had the opportunity to visit the Tokyo University of the Arts and speak with students who were presenting their senior exhibitions. Tokyo, Japan

Bangkok, Thailand

Visiting other universities as a teacher and seeing perspectives from other places is an important part of my traveling and one thing I have really benefited from. —Joe Piasentin art had crossed cultural boundaries and how the sharing of his work through travel could influence his own work. “I never actually met some of the artists who were there, but they responded to my work,” Piasentin says. “Touching artists from different parts of the world is invigorating, because creating art is all about pushing your own work further and further. That connection to a global perspective is one of the larger impacts that can be seen in current contemporary art.” Throughout his travels, Piasentin often makes a point to visit universities or schools of art, a practice that he believes he benefits from most. In the last two years, he has traveled to Tokyo three times for exhibitions of his own work. In 2013 he presented his work at a group exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, and was the subject of a one-person exhibition in the Sakuragi Gallery last year.

“Visiting other universities as a teacher and seeing perspectives from other places, especially Asia, is an important part of my traveling and one thing that I think I have really benefited from,” he says. “It’s fascinating how committed the Japanese are to contemporary art,” he continues. “Their use of a wide range of materials and their enthusiasm for experimentation pushes beyond the more traditional and more historical approaches of art in Tokyo. It is one of the largest impacts that can be seen in current contemporary art that might have some connection to a global perspective.” Piasentin also explains that the ability to experience art not only from where one originates, but also other parts of the world reinforces the significance of where he is from. He identifies his work as indigenous to California. “Growing up in California and being extremely in the arts has provided me with a way to communicate with things through my art belonging to this place,” he says. He calls his 2,000 square foot studio in Ojai “home”—a dedicated space where he can challenge his perceptions of his own work. His unconventional process speaks to his experimental nature. When he first begins a painting, he does not have a picture of the final work in his mind. Instead, he begins by applying a material, staying committed to the possibility of what might develop. “Sometimes, if I start to get too comfortable with the work, I will use materials that are difficult and challenging to paint on, such as bamboo, thereby allowing for greater opportunity to experience things unexpected,” Piasentin says. “If there is a sense of pleasure, it’s the confrontation provided by the challenge of working with a surface or materials in ways that aren’t always the same,” he continues. “I’m almost waiting for the accident and recognizing and even cultivating it. For me, that’s what makes a painting.”

magazine.pepperdine.edu

IN FOCUS

Tapping into Technology PEPPERDINE STUDENTS AND STAFF ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.

PIN Recovery Tool Students no longer have to worry about being locked out of a room on LiveSafe campus again with this web app developed by This free safety app Pepperdine Application enables students, Development student faculty, staff, and visitors to access faster intern Bryan Carter (’15). Students can emergency response retrieve PIN numbers to in distress situations. Features allow users to dorm room doors from contact the Pepperdine their cell phones and/ or computers. Access Department Public to meeting rooms and Safety to report an classrooms can be incident, request a ride requested online, which back to campus, seek triggers electronic medical assistance, approval using a access emergency custom eSign digital contact information, and more. The SafeWalk signature solution for a user’s Pepperdine ID feature provides a card. Users may also virtual security escort pick up the key from the to make sure friends corresponding office and loved ones reach once their request has their destination been approved. safely, wherever they are, even abroad. forgotpin.pepperdine.edu

emergency.pepperdine.edu/ livesafe

WavesList

College Bounty This free mobile app created by Pepperdine students and officially sponsored by the University’s Student Government Association offers college students instant discounts to area businesses, restaurants, and stores via a reloadable, prepaid Visa card. Five percent of all proceeds go to Swipes for the Homeless, a nonprofit that works to alleviate hunger. Seaver College senior Onur Sahin and recent Seaver graduates Dujon Smith (’14) and Thomas Johnson (’14) launched the app in 2014 after winning the 2013 Fast Pitch Competition at the SEER Symposium sponsored by the Graziadio School of Business and Management. collegebounty.com

PEPPERDINE MAGAZINE

Summer 2015

Pepperdine Application Development student intern Chloe Cheung (’15) developed Waves List as a portal for faculty and staff to exchange or sell gently used items such as furniture, electronics, and toys. Users can post descriptions, photos, and contact information on a two-week listing. A carpool category also connects faculty and staff who are interested in participating in a work rideshare program. magazine.pepperdine.edu/ waves-list

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