Seaver College HIGHLIGHTS 2016–2017
DEAN’S MESSAGE Alumni and friends, The 2016-2017 academic year was one of success and accomplishment at Seaver College and I am excited to share the stories of our community with you in this year’s edition of the Seaver College Highlights magazine. I am proud of Seaver students and their excellence in the classroom, laboratory, studio, stage, and playing field. I also am humbled by their sacrificial service to those in need throughout the world. Similarly, I am gratified by the commitment of Seaver faculty to the total development of students both inside and outside the classroom. In the past year, faculty scholars authored books, published peer-reviewed manuscripts, and gave hundreds of presentations while simultaneously bringing the University’s mission to fruition in the lives of students. As in past years, Seaver’s amazing staff continued its exceptional support of every program and person at the college. Each story in this magazine was made possible by the efforts of our dedicated staff. I hope the stories of success, transformation, and service in this year’s magazine inspire you and reaffirm your pride in Seaver College and Pepperdine University. Sincerely,
Michael Feltner Dean of Seaver College
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2
2017–2018 Upcoming Events.......................... 3
Natural Science.............................................. 18
Admission........................................................ 4
Religion and Philosophy................................. 20
New Faculty 2017............................................ 5
Social Science............................................... 22
Dean’s Office ................................................... 6
International Programs................................... 24
Business Administration.................................. 8
Student Life.................................................... 26
Communication.............................................. 10
Career Center................................................. 28
Fine Arts........................................................ 12
Athletics......................................................... 30
Humanities and Teacher Education................ 14
Alumni Relations............................................ 32
International Studies and Languages............. 16
Success After Seaver..................................... 34
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
2017–2018 UPCOMING EVENTS FIRST DAY OF FALL CLASSES August 28, 2017
STEP FORWARD DAY September 9, 2017
FOUNDER’S DAY
W. DAVID BAIRD DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES J. D VANCE “Hillbilly Elegy: A Culture in Crisis” Tuesday October 24, 2017
DR. LYNN PASQUERELLA “An Evening with Dr. Lynn Pasquerella” Tuesday November 7, 2017
September 20, 2017
WAVES WEEKEND October 13 to 15, 2017
DR. BEVERLY DANIEL TATUM “A Conversation with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum” Tuesday, February 6, 2018
JEFFREY J. SELINGO
WINTER BREAK December 15, 2017 to January 7, 2018
FIRST DAY OF SPRING CLASSES
“There Is Life After College: Making the Most of the Undergraduate Years for Success in Life” Wednesday March 21, 2018
For more information click here.
January 8, 2018
SPRING BREAK February 26 to March 2, 2018
SONGFEST March 13 to 17, 2018
SENIOR THESIS ART EXHIBIT April 13 to 28, 2018
COMMENCEMENT
W. DAVID BAIRD
L E C T U R E
S E R I E S
2017–2018 Smothers Theater & Elkins Auditorium | 5 pm
April 28, 2018 For a full schedule of events click here. seaver.pepperdine.edu
3
ADMISSION
RISING TIDE CAPTURES SEAVER’S UNIQUE SOPHOMORE EXPERIENCE In fall 2016 the Office of Admission produced its second season of the monthly docuseries Rising Tide. The series follows five students as they navigate their college experience at Seaver, providing an authentic preview for prospective students and their families into the academic, personal, and spiritual transformations that this new chapter brings. In season two, audiences continued following Aiden, Chanse, Esther, Katelynn, and Olivia’s journeys, this time spanning the globe, as the students studied in Heidelberg, Buenos Aires, Washington, DC, and Malibu. Through the monthly episodes, prospective students and families were able to see Pepperdine’s transformative study abroad and Malibu Year 2 experiences up close, from the Haupstrasse in Heidelberg to the cathedrals of Argentina to NSO move-in day as an NSO counselor. Rising Tide videos have topped 100,000 total views to date and have given families a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of life on campus at Pepperdine. The Office of Admission will begin filming season three in fall 2017.
4
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
NEW FACULTY 2017 YELENA BABINSKAYA
Fine Arts Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater Production
KASSAHUN BETRE
Natural Science Division Assistant Professor of Physics
PAUL CARRUTH
Business Administration Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior
NED COLLETTI
Communication Division Executive in Residence in Sports Administration
NICHOLAS CUMMING
Religion and Philosophy Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion
JACQUELINE DILLION
Humanities and Teacher Education Assistant Professor of English
COLIN ENRIQUEZ
Humanities and Teacher Education Division Visiting Assistant Professor of English
PHILIP FREEMAN
Humanities and Teacher Education Division Fletcher Jones Chair of Western Culture and Professor of Humanities
JACK HAAS
Natural Science Visiting Instructor of Sports Medicine
BRIAN LINK
CECILE SANTOS
JACOB MICHAEL
DAVID SKELTON
DANIEL NASH
FELICITY VABULAS
JOHN NED
ELIZABETH YOMANTAS
Business Administration Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Business Law Communication Division Visiting Instructor of Media Production Natural Science Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Business Administration Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance
JULIA NORGAARD
Social Science Division Assistant Professor of Economics
KLIVE OH
Communication Division Assistant Professor of Public Relations
JULIE ONI
Humanities and Teacher Education Division Visiting Assistant Professor of English
JOHN PARK
Business Administration Division Assistant Professor of Decision Science
Natural Science Division Visiting Instructor of Chemistry Religion and Philosophy Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion International Studies and Languages Division Assistant Professor of International Studies Humanities and Teacher Education Division Director of Clinical Placements and Instructor of Teacher Education
DIVISIONAL DEAN UPDATES Seaver College expresses its gratitude to Ken Waters, Communication Division; Tim Willis, Religion and Philosophy Division; and Steve Rouse, Social Science Division, for their service to the college as divisional deans. Beginning in fall 2017 Sarah Stone Watt, Communication Division; Dan Rodriguez, Religion and Philosophy Division; and Constance Fulmer, Social Science Division, will begin their service.
SKYLAR ROLF
Business Administration Division Assistant Professor Management
NEW EMERITUS FACULTY
ALICIA JESSOP
Communication Division Assistant Professor of Sport Administration
KOMAL KAPOOR
Communication Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Relations
JUSTIN KIRK
Communication Division Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication/Assistant Director of Debate
JOOHO LEE
Business Administration Division Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Law
KEITH WHITNEY
Associate Professor III of Business Law Keith Whitney retired after teaching at Seaver College for 30 years. He specialized in financial management and the legal and regulatory environment of business.
MICHELE LANGFORD
Professor of French Michele Langford retired after teaching at Seaver College for 40 years. She specialized in French literature, French stylistics, Francophone studies, and French civilization and culture.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
5
DEAN’S OFFICE
NEW DIRECTOR SELECTED FOR CENTER FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE In May 2017 Seaver College appointed Chris Heard as the new director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). The CTE advocates high-impact, student-centered, evidence-based pedagogical practices throughout Seaver College. The CTE affirms that excellent teaching grows out of knowledge and skills that can be introduced, developed, and mastered much like the disciplinary knowledge and skills that faculty inculcate in their own students. CTE activities invite faculty members to become learners themselves, translating enhanced understanding of teaching and learning into enriched teaching practices. Heard will work to accomplish the stated goals of the CTE: •
Promote best practices and new innovations in college teaching
•
Align current teaching practices with faculty aspirations
•
Support pedagogical improvement with material and financial resources
•
Encourage and empower faculty to produce scholarship on teaching and learning
SEAVER LAUNCHES STUDENT SUCCESS CENTER In the fall of 2016, Seaver College launched the Seaver Student Success Center to centralize academic support services across the college. Led by director Marissa Davis, the Success Center provides personalized tutoring and support that builds confidence, cultivates independent learning, and fosters collaborative connections. Davis seeks to develop a “learning culture” that operates from a student-centered framework, with the understanding that learning is a process. In the spring of 2017, the Success Center offered free peer-tutoring, individualized academic coaching, and hosted workshops. The Success Center employed more than 35 student tutors to tutor for 42 different courses. sessions each semester. The Success Center opened the doors to its new home in the newly remodeled Payson Library in fall 2017.
6
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE AROUND CAMPUS In summer 2016, Pepperdine launched bold plans to modernize Payson Library, build the new Seaside Residence Hall at Seaver College, and renovate the Caruso Auditorium and the Lon V. Smith Atrium at the School of Law. These transformative construction projects, among the largest the University has undertaken in more than a decade, will reinvigorate the Malibu campus experience for the student community as Pepperdine ushers in a new era of growth and welcomes the next generation of Pepperdine Waves. Payson Library returned to service in fall 2017, featuring a completely modernized interior designed to foster collaboration and a more open study environment for students. The construction of Seaside Residence Hall, a new suite-style housing complex, is scheduled for completion fall 2018. Pepperdine has also entered into a long term-lease for an over-100,000-squarefoot building in Calabasas. This space has served as surge space during the library renovation and many non-student-facing departments have taken up permanent residence in this new space making room for more student-centered space on the Malibu campus.
SEAVER STUDENTS AWARDED NATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS Six Seaver students received Fulbright awards and one was selected as a Lilly Graduate Fellow. One alumnus was selected for a Payne International Development Scholarship. In total, 56 Seaver students have received Fulbright Fellowships with a grand total of 150 students receiving nationally competitive fellowships from various organizations.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
7
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DIVISION WELCOMES THE CLASS OF ’17 While Seaver College welcomes the Class of 2020 this August, the Business Administration Division also will be welcoming its Class of 2017, five new full-time faculty members to teach in almost every discipline in the division. Although diverse in many ways, the class members, Jooho Lee (business ethics and law), Brian Link (law), John Ned (finance), John Hyung II Park (decision science), and Skylar Rolf (strategy) share many common traits.
JOOHO LEE
SKYLAR ROLF
Jooho Lee was born in Korea. He earned his JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a PhD in business ethics from the Wharton School. Prior to these degrees he earned a MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary. Jooho gained experience working at a public finance consulting firm and a trade association representing the securitization industry. He served as a volunteer staff member at a New York church.
Skylar Rolf was raised in a small town in central Missouri. Rolf is finishing his doctoral degrees from University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He was the chief operations officer at the Institute for International Medicine (INMED), whose mission is to provide medical care to the world’s most vulnerable populations. He served on mission trips in New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina and in Southeast Asia.
8
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
JOHN PARK
JOHN NED
John Park was born in Bloomington, Indiana, but grew up mostly in Mississippi before moving to Korea. He received his PhD from Syracuse University and then joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While there he helped establish the Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation, a joint venture between MIT and the Malaysian government.
John Ned is a native of Louisiana. He is receiving his PhD in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Ned’s work experience was focused on commercial banking where he served as an operations analyst and an accounting associate. Over the last four years Ned has served the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Texas.
BRIAN LINK Brian Link was born in Illinois. Link graduated magna cum laude from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he served as articles editor for the Pepperdine Law Review. He was a summer clerk for the University’s Office of the General Counsel. Link is a member of the California Bar and served as an attorney for Leslie Cohen Law PC specializing in bankruptcy, litigation, and appeals. This experience has provided him the foundation for several articles on bankruptcy, as well as the preparation of materials used at conferences of the American Bar Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute. He is also active in space law. He clerked at the Constitutional Court at the Republic of Uganda.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
9
COMMUNICATION
IT’S TIME FOR DODGERS BASEBALL Seventeen students took the course entitled Behind the Scenes of Major League Baseball taught by Ned Colletti, former general manager of the Dodgers and John Watson (’72). During spring break they traveled to the Camelback Ranch facility, home of Dodger and White Sox spring training. This campus is on 143 acres and includes a major stadium and 18 practice fields. Colletti, who has been in the MLB for over 35 years serving the Cubs, Giants, and Dodgers, organized the program for students to hear from 22 executives and key support staff of the Dodger organization.
Each speaker addressed his/her career path including major challenges, communication, and culture within the organization, ethical issues in the industry, and recommendations for someone interested in entering the profession. There were informal discussions, Q & A sessions, and dinner together every night. Colletti focused on leadership, ethics, faith, and family. The students were also overwhelmed by humility and generosity of each person that addressed them.
ASSOCIATED PRESS ACADEMY CONTINUES FANTASTIC TRADITION For the 17th year, the Communication Division hosted the Associated Press Television and Radio Association Anchor Academy. The weekend camp brought together six student anchor teams and 12 mentors, who are top news managers and on-air talent including Jim Lemon, current news director of the Santa Barbara ABC affiliate KEYT and Santa Maria, California; Marla Tellez, Fox 11 news anchor; Rick Chambers, KTLA news anchor; and alumnus Alex Fisher (‘16), who is a reporter at KGET, the NBC affiliate in Bakersfield, California. Fourteen students volunteered to run the control room. They were joined by Joel Tator, one of Southern California’s best news directors. For decades Tator directed newscasts at CBS2 and KTLA. Senior media production student Andrew Lucero took the lead in planning the event. A particular highlight was when on the first day of the academy a participant wanted to anchor the practice newscast in Spanish. This is an option but the participant did not sign up for it so the scripts were not ready for her. Professor Theresa de los Santos and native Spanish speaker and journalism major Anthony Wells (’17) worked through translating the scripts line by line with the participant. In the end, the participant’s on-air delivery impressed everyone. She was grateful for the opportunity and said, “Thank you for letting me be me.”
10
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
SENIORS DESIGN PROGRAMS FOR OTHERS Interpersonal Capstone Course Hosts “Adulting 101” Seminar: Seniors were given a final class assignment to create an educational event for other emerging adults. In partnership with the Ventura Center for Dispute Settlement, Professor Bert Ballard’s class planned an all-day seminar for community members, especially college students and recent graduates entitled “Adulting 101: From Taxes to Tinder in a Time of Uncertainty. ” The event was held at the Ventura County Community Foundation in Camarillo, California, and featured speakers on topics such as budgeting, job searching, and student loans. Communication and Conflict Host Relationship Seminars: The event entitled “Open Dialogue” attracted 55 students who heard a panel of five students who openly and honestly spoke about their experiences at Pepperdine regarding community and what they called “invitation vs. intimacy.”
Students defined this as the tendency of their peers to accumulate many surface-level relationships but not a concentrated depth of committed and intentional relationships. A week later the same students in Professor Sarah Ballard’s class hosted 20 of their peers at a “Community and Coffee” event at Alumni Park. This event, in which students provided coffee, blankets, and music, created a space for people to spend quality time with a person or people with whom they have been meaning to connect. Each coffee cup had two questions written on it, one lighthearted and one more serious, as ways to foster conversation. Student planners Caroline Rubach, Sarah Gow, and Joel Foster (’17) received funding from the Communication Division’s budget for support of service-learning assignments.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
11
FINE ARTS
STUDENTS PERFORM ST. JOHN PASSION TO A STANDING-ROOM-ONLY CROWD On Good Friday, members of the Pepperdine Chamber Choir and Pepperdine Concert Choir, in collaboration with the Ascension Lutheran Chancel Choir, presented Bach’s monumental St. John Passion. This concert was given in the sanctuary of Ascension Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks, California, to a standing-room-only crowd of approximately 1,000. A musical Passion in Bach’s time is something like an unstaged opera or oratorio that dramatically portrays the Passion events. In the two-hourlong performance, the 120 musicians led the audience through the emotional events of the Gospel narrative, leaving all who attended with a profoundly tangible Good Friday experience, while also leaving the students with a renewed respect for J. S. Bach, and a much deeper understanding of the Gospel of John.
12
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
SUCCESS AT THE NATIONAL OPERA ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Pepperdine music professor and director of the Flora Thornton Opera Program Henry Price received the National Opera Association (NOA) Lifetime Achievement Award at
their annual convention in January 2017. The award honors individuals with an international operatic career who have also demonstrated a commitment to fostering operatic education. Presenting a scene from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Pepperdine music students Turner Staton, Michelle Pina (’17), Fernando Grimaldo, Alexander Papandrea, Matthew Soibelman, Hailey Hoffman, Angelo Silva, Preston Hereford, and Natalie Leonard were awarded First Prize in the undergraduate division of NOA’s Opera Scenes Competition. They were directed by Price and accompanied by Pepperdine associate professor of music Louise Lofquist. In NOA’s Vocal Competition, both Pepperdine alumnus countertenor Rudy Giron (’15) and sophomore bass Matthew Soibelman reached the final round. Giron was also awarded the prestigious Legacy Prize.
THE INTERFERENCE BY LYNDA RADLEY PRODUCED BY THE PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY THEATRE PROGRAM/PEPPERDINE SCOTLAND EXCHANGE Set against the backdrop of the worldwide university campus sexual assault epidemic, The Interference follows one survivor’s struggle to make her story heard above all the noise. It explores the seemingly infinite outlets of opinion, commentary, and distorted or suppressed information that have become routine players in the aftermath of these incidents. The play takes a closer look at the unique circumstances involved when student-athletes are part of the story. Taking nearly four years to create and produce, The Interference received two prestigious awards: a Scotsman Fringe First for excellence and innovation in new writing and a Broadway Baby Bobby award for exceptional work. The Interference was also included in the final shortlist for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award for outstanding work addressing human rights issues. In April 2017 the show was produced again for the Pepperdine Malibu campus in Smothers Theatre. Shortly after the production closed, assistant professor of theatre Hollace Starr approached the company about producing The Interference for the Hollywood Fringe Festival in association with ROGUE MACHINE THEATRE, a highly prestigious and award-winning company which presents new plays to Los Angeles. Pepperdine Scotland produced a successful run over three evenings and hopes to continue the working relationship with the prestigious ROGUE MACHINE. The Interference was published by Dramatists Play Service in the summer of 2017. seaver.pepperdine.edu
13
HUMANITIES AND TEACHER EDUCATION
FULBRIGHTS FOR CREATIVE WRITING MAJORS As the creative writing program closes its first decade in the Humanities and Teacher Education Division, the program has enjoyed a record year for student Fulbright awards. Joining prior creative writing alumni, Alissa Smith (’08) and Lillian Kwok (’09), who were awarded teaching grants to Turkey and Taiwan respectively, this year’s awardees are Micah Lambert (’17), who will be teaching in Germany, and Julia Naman (’17), who will be in India. Another graduate in creative writing, Sean Conrad (’17), was selected as an alternate for a Fulbright-sponsored program in Ireland. In 2010 Alex Ashford (’10) was selected for two nationally competitive fellowships, the Lilly Graduate Fellowship and the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship. John Struloeff, associate professor and program director of creative writing, says, “Our students are writing the world. We couldn’t be prouder of these brilliant, inspiring writers.”
NOTABLE ALUMNUS: MA IN AMERICAN STUDIES Double alumnus Elizabeth Yomantas (’11, MA ’13) is a PhD
candidate at Chapman University, focusing on cultural and curricular studies. Her dissertation examines the role of modernization and traditional values in the classroom. Her topic was inspired by her two undergraduate trips to Fiji through Seaver’s Project Serve program. She credits her MA in American studies for giving her the clarity to decide to pursue a PhD. The MA in American studies is an interdisciplinary master’s degree that examines American culture. She is currently the director of clinical practice for the teacher education program at Seaver College. In this role she teaches in the program and manages the student-teaching experience.
14
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
FILM STUDIES AT SEAVER: JOURNEY, SELF-DISCOVERY, AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE Seaver College film studies majors graduate with critical transferable skills that equip them for careers in the arts industry and beyond. Three 2017 graduates serve as good examples. Briana Chmielewski’s (’17)
senior thesis was a collaboration with Carol Alban (’17). Stage Closet humorously explores the “funky” way artists are perceived in society as aberrant/transgressive people. Chmielewski has been accepted as a MFA Fellow at the American Film Institute.
Dylan Shapiro (’17) completed
his internship at Lotus Entertainment as a development intern. His senior thesis is a feature-length screenplay, Micromind. He is applying for the UCLA and American Film Institute programs in screenwriting.
Omarr Rambert (’17) arrived at
Seaver College knowing he wanted to go become an entertainment lawyer. He became a campus leader serving in multiple leadership roles while also volunteering, tutoring, and completing two prestigious internships. His poignant senior thesis, Fatherless, examines a young man’s perspectives on fatherhood. It features a diverse group of male peers from various socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds reflecting on the subject from their personal experiences. Rambert was accepted into New York University School of Law, Duke
University School of Law, the UCLA School of Law, Georgetown Law, and Pepperdine University School of Law. Omarr reflects on his journey, “Growing up I was always taught to work hard. In my effort to become the first male in my family to graduate from college, I had something to prove, not to others but to myself. Although my hard work had a lot to do with my accomplishments, I would be falling short of the truth if I didn’t share with you my talks with God and my decision to walk with him, trusting he would direct my every step.” Omarr will start law school this academic year at UCLA.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
15
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND LANGUAGES
SPANISH STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT MEXICAN IMMIGRATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA For the last six years George Carlsen has used communitybased learning in his Introduction to Hispanic Studies course to educate his students about the lives of Mexican immigrants in the US. Students toured farm worker housing in the Ventura Valley. They visited Brokaw Nursery to speak with Ellen Brokaw cofounder of the House Farm Workers!, an advocacy group, as well as with Arcenio Lopez, director of the Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project. Later, the group traveled to Azahar Place, created by the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, a housing development for low-income and farmworker families. Finally they visited Limoneira Ranch to see working conditions at one of the largest agricultural companies in California. The course also includes a service-learning component. The class hosted a group of 50 disadvantaged middle and high school students and their parents from the Heart of Los Angeles after-school program. Students give bilingual tours of campus, encourage the youngsters to see themselves as future college students, and explain to the parents practical matters such as financial aid and student housing—important information they will need to send their children to college. This course exposes Pepperdine students to the realities of the immigrant experience in Southern California and fosters empathy towards an underprivileged group.
STUDENTS USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO CREATE MEMORY PALACES Twenty-three students participated in the Madrid Upper Division Language Intensive Program in summer 2017. Students learned that Spanish history has always been comprised of a variety of cultures. Communities such as the Basques and Catalans, which are often thought of as communities of the past, are seeking independence from the Spanish state today. While much of this story can be taken from textbooks and lectures, the physical evidence of Spanish history is abundant and spectacular.
16
To take advantage of the rich cultural context, students were required to post on Instagram images of important cultural sites or images that they found relevant to understanding Spain. They used captions in Spanish and posted their images with hashtags such as #peppinmadrid or #peppinandalucia. In the end, the combination of social media and Spain’s dazzling visual culture allowed students to create their own “memory palaces” of Spanish culture and history.
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
THE PERILOUS ROAD TO GRADUATE SCHOOL: LA’NITA JOHNSON On January 15, 2016, members of an extremist group called Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, orchestrated an attack on the Splendid Hotel and the nearby cappuccino café in Ouagadougou,Burkina Faso, killing 29. Seaver alumna La’Nita Johnson (’14) was sitting in a restaurant with three others when the terrorists entered and began shooting. After the attackers killed two people seated at her table, Johnson managed to make her way to the bathroom to hide. She hid under a sink where she found one of the other surviving team members. While she was hiding she heard French voices: “We are the police!” Johnson was about to respond when she hesitated, noticing that the accent sounded a little strange. “Help us! We’re scared!” she heard someone yell. The attackers, posing as the police, shot the remaining survivors who had escaped from the restaurant. She then decided to stay put, hiding all night under corrugated metal scrap, until the morning, when police gained control of the situation. Johnson survived a night of constant shooting, escaped a burning building, and
avoided terrorists posing as help in order to kill any remaining survivors. Graduating in 2014 with degrees in Hispanic studies and international studies, Johnson had always felt called to serve God through humanitarian work, but she ended up pursuing a career in corporate America after graduation. The Burkina Faso attack reignited Johnson’s desire to enter graduate school and work in international development. She has been awarded a highly prestigious Payne Fellowship. The fellowship will cover all expenses for her MA as well as her International USAID mission in summer 2018. After finishing school, she will have a three-year service commitment to serve as an education officer with the USAID Foreign Service. The School of Education at American University also named her a Graduate Fellow, which comes with an additional award. Johnson’s road to graduate school has been unorthodox, if not dangerous. On the other hand, she embodies what we hope for our international studies graduates with her courage and desire contribute. We look forward to learning more about her future work.
GLOBAL TIDES UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL Global Tides is Pepperdine University’s student-led, peer-reviewed interdisciplinary undergraduate research journal featuring work from the humanities, religion, social science, and international studies. This publication showcases the finest writings of undergraduate students at Pepperdine. While the journal is interdisciplinary, its roots are in the International Studies and Languages Division. One of this year’s highlights has been the leadership and oversight provided by graduating senior Christina Seideman (’17). Seideman is an international studies and political science major, with a Hispanic studies minor, and served as the general editor for the entire journal. The featured articles are of exceptional quality. All told, Global Tides is a legacy that the International Studies and Languages Division looks forward to carrying on.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
17
NATURAL SCIENCE
All Natural Science (NASC) programs emphasize professional development for our students through direct engagement in the enterprise of science and mathematics. Students interested in research are provided opportunities to conduct original research, beginning in many cases during the first semester of their first-year-term.
STUDENT SUCCESS IN NATIONAL CONFERENCES Forty students from all NASC majors presented at local, regional, and national meetings. Three of our seniors received major recognition for their professional accomplishments. Christian Ortiz (’17) (chemistry) received
Best Poster Award in the category of computational chemistry at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco, California.
Marjorie Jones (’17) (mathematics) received
a SIGMAA-Environmental Mathematics Award at MathFest in Columbus, Ohio, and published two peer-reviewed papers in the Journal of Theoretical Biology and Ecological Modelling. She interned at Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital Pediatric Oncology Department, where she applied her modeling skills to cancer-related problems.
Natalie Aguirre (’17) (biology) competed in a
national competition where her poster was accepted for presentation in Washington, DC, as part of the Council on Undergraduate Research’s 21st annual Posters on the Hill. She received a Fulbright scholarship and will be studying in Spain for the next year.
18
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
BIOLOGY LAUNCHES STUDENTS AS SCHOLARS PROGRAM The biology program successfully launched the Students as Scholars program, funded by the National Science Foundation. All incoming first-years in biology are assigned to one of four first-year seminars, where they are exposed to hands-on experience in research including the implementation and presentation of an original research project. Several of these students are involved in summer research and many presented posters at the Seaver College Research and Scholarly Achievement Symposium.
STUDENTS RECEIVE ACADEMIC RECOGNITION Tim Lucas, professor of mathematics, and Joshua Haug, 2017 Outstanding Graduate in Computer Science, developed and released an iPad application entitled “Slopes: A Differential Equations Graphing Environment” available at slopesapp.com. Morgan Blayney, 2017 Outstanding Graduate in Chemistry, published a paper with her colleagues and mentors Susan Helm and David Green in Frontiers in Neuroscience: Advances in Neuroprotection and Neurogeneration. The division especially wants to recognize Jayci Givens, the 2017 Outstanding Graduate in Biology, for being Seaver College’s 2017 valedictorian. She will be taking a gap year prior to submitting applications to medical school. Our students continue to be successful following graduation. Thirteen out of the 16 students were accepted to medical school and three out of five students accepted to dental school. Additionally, two students went to physician’s assistant school and one entered an occupational therapy program.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
19
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
LUTHER 500: A STUDY OF MARTIN LUTHER During the month of May, 23 Seaver students participated the Luther 500 program, which focused on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 theses. Students stayed at Pepperdine’s Moore Haus in Heidelberg, Germany. They took classes in German language or culture and could choose between courses in the New Testament, taught by professor Kindy DeLong, or the theology of Luther, taught by professor Ray Carr. Six graduate students were also a part of the group, studying Luther at an advanced level. The program took advantage of Germany’s anniversary celebrations, visiting famous sites connected with Luther. A highlight was Wittenberg, where Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Schlosskirche. In Eisenach, they toured Wartburg Castle, where Luther lived while translating the Bible into German. They visited the monastery in Erfurt, where Luther lived as a monk for six years, and Eisleben, the city where Luther was born and where he died.
PROFESSOR CHRIS DORAN RELEASES A NEW BOOK Hope in the Age of Climate Change: Creation Care This Side of the Resurrection forthcoming by Cascade Books argues that the resurrection proclaims a notion of hope that should be the foundation of a theology of creation care that manifests itself explicitly in the daily lives of believers. Christian hope not only inspires us to do great and courageous things but also serves as a critique of current systems and powers that degrade humans, nonhumans, and the rest of creation. Belief in the resurrection hope should cause us to be a different sort of people. Christians should think, purchase, eat, and act in novel and courageous ways because they are motivated daily by the resurrection of Jesus. This is the only way to be hopeful in the age of climate change.
20
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
FACULTY AND STUDENT COLLABORATION Christina Littlefield, assistant professor of journalism and religion, received the American Journalism Historians Association’s Rising Scholar grant. The $2,000 grant will fund an ongoing interdisciplinary book project with religion graduate student Falon Opsahl (’15). Littlefield and Opsahl are investigating social gospel muckrakers. They are examining the journalism of late 19th- and early 20th-century Protestant religious and social reformers in Great Britain and the United States. Social gospel leaders used their own newspapers and journals to promote reform needs throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, providing a Christian imperative for addressing Industrial Age social ills. Opsahl’s quantitative work has allowed Littlefield to better analyze and cross-compare the journalism reform work of the theologians. This book builds on Littlefield’s first book, Chosen Nations: Pursuit of the Kingdom of God and Its Influence on Democratic Values in Late 19th-Century Britain and the US. Littlefield and Opsahl have a journal article coming out summer 2017 in American Journalism on social gospel leader Josiah Strong. Opsahl graduated from Pepperdine with a double major in journalism and Hispanic studies in three years, completing her degree in 2015. She is scheduled to complete her master’s degree in religion with an emphasis in Christian thought and ethics in spring 2018
seaver.pepperdine.edu
21
SOCIAL SCIENCE
AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPMENTAL ECONOMICS The Social Science Division welcomes Julia Norgaard as a new assistant professor of economics in fall 2017. Norgaard will be creating new courses in the field of developmental economics, which focuses on the ways in which developing nations can improve their economic stability. She will also teach courses in intermediate macroeconomics and intermediate microeconomics. Having earned her undergraduate degree at the University of San Diego, she understands the value of liberal arts education within a Christian context. She received her PhD at George Mason University where her dissertation focused on the hidden economies of internet-based shadow markets in the “deep web.”
AN EMERGING LEADER The Social Science Division was proud to help Cecilia Arteaga attend the 2017 Emerge Latino conference, founded by the League of United Latin American Citizens. Arteaga, a student of ethnic studies and political science, attended this Washington, DC, conference where she created networks with people across the nation who focus on issues of public health, education, and immigration as they relate to the Latino community. Arteaga was able to meet Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza; Jessica Reeves, the chief operating officer of Voto Latino; and Roger Rocha, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Other prominent presenters included US Congressmembers Luis Gutierrez and Nanette Diaz Barragán and US senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Arteaga said, “The trip was an amazing opportunity to meet and connect with many Hispanic leaders in government and NGOs.”
22
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
RESEARCH BY PSYCHOLOGY HONOR STUDENTS The members of the 2016 Honors Program in Psychology presented their research projects at professional conferences this year. Each one made important contributions to their field. Brian Lammert attended the conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in San Antonio, Texas. The other students attended the American Psychological Association conference in Washington, DC. • Brian Lammert (’17) presented his research on the relationships between religious fundamentalism, defensive religious beliefs, and anxiety about death. • Laura Ashlock (’17) studied the contemporary trend of adult coloring books and found that coloring does actually reduce anxiety levels, but that structured coloring is no more powerful than free-form coloring. • Mariama Furman (’17) showed that ineffective coping strategies led college students to experience poor sleep and to perceive their stress as more extreme.
• Although previous theories predicted that extraverts and introverts would be affected by distractions while taking a test, Nicole Virzi (’16) found that visual distractions are no more powerful for one group than the other. • Madeline Wick’s (’17) research showed that college women who edited pictures of themselves before posting them on social media platforms had greater levels of body dissatisfaction.
• Contrary to her expectations, Kendall Jory (’17) found that people with high-level cognitive styles were actually more likely to blame their spouses for difficulties in their marriage compared to people with less abstract reasoning abilities, and this led to a lower likelihood of satisfaction with the relationship. • Jenny Song (’17) researched perceptions of the racial climate on campus and found that students of color perceived more race-related concerns than white students did. The concerns were lowest among those white students who believe that race does not affect a person’s opportunities or experiences.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
23
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS Pepperdine was ranked the #1 university in the nation for study abroad participation and for long-term study abroad in 2015 and 2016 by the Institute of International Education. Approximately 2/3 of Seaver students study abroad during their time at Pepperdine.
GLOBAL LEARNING WEEK BRINGS THE WORLD TO SEAVER This year’s Global Learning Week was full of events sponsored by International Programs (IP) and partners from across campus. The week culminated in GlobalFest, where over 600 members of the Pepperdine community visited booths designed by cultural clubs and IP alumni to educate students about the world and the cultural diversity on campus.
YEAR TWO OF LANDED: A RE-ENTRY PROGRAM Over 250 students participate in the Landed re-entry program, a club convocation program where students unpack their abroad experience. Here’s what a couple of students said about the program: “Being able to digest our experiences together, as well as recollect and make new memories, was invaluable to readjusting this semester and maintaining close contact with our closest friends from last year.” “(Landed) has just caused me to look back on ways being abroad made me think differently and what changes happened in me and incited a desire for me to continue that personal growth and change even being back here.”
24
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
BUENOS AIRES Students engaged in an initiative called Education Is a Social Responsibility, where students engaged with local nonprofit organizations through service projects with La Casita, Granjas Comunitarias Adulam, Comunidad “El Negrito,” and El Hospital de Niños, as well as other locations.
DC PLUS Students can now spend a semester interning in DC and a semester in another international program location. More than 30 students will take advantage of this opportunity in 2017-2018.
FLORENCE Florence students engaged in a global leadership development seminar which focused on personal leadership skills, selfexploration, confidence, and negotiation, all in the context of intercultural experiences.
HEIDELBERG LUTHER RELIGION PROGRAM To commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, Seaver graduate and undergraduate students took part in a four-week program that included in a fourday educational travel tour of the Luther sites in Germany.
SHANGHAI Students started lifelong friendships through language and cultural exchanges with students from Fudan University. Students went on educational field trips to Tibet in the fall and Kyoto, Japan, in the spring.
SUMMER 2017 NON-CAMPUS STUDY ABROAD OPPORTUNITIES Madrid: Upper-division Spanish Jordan: Middle East studies Uganda: Exposure to nonprofit work in East Africa Thailand: Partnering with local community development agencies
Kenya: Partnering with the Made in the Streets organization
2/3
— OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATE — in one of Pepperdine’s highly regarded international programs
Stay Connected: Check out our Vimeo page and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. seaver.pepperdine.edu
25
STUDENT LIFE
Campus traditions are important. They build community, instill pride, express shared values, and span generations. Seaver College enjoys a vibrant campus, in part, because of the blend of long-standing traditions and new programs that express contemporary student interests. Four of the longest-standing traditions are Songfest, Step Forward Day, Dance in Flight, and Blue & Orange Madness.
SONGFEST
STEP FORWARD DAY
Songfest has been a part of campus culture for 45 years. The 2016-2017 theme of “All Aboard!” featured six student groups with more than 375 participants performing mini musicals about modes of transportation. The groups wrote scripts, created sets and costumes, and choreographed dances. The winning group took home the Sweepstakes Award with their stagecoach-themed performance of “Wildest Ride in the Wilderness.”
Step Forward Day celebrated its 27th birthday by inviting the Pepperdine community to begin the year by committing to step forward in a life of service; 1,263 students, faculty, and staff answered that Saturday morning call to serve by engaging in projects such as working in area schools, organizing shelter supplies, and planting crops in community gardens throughout Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
26
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
DANCE IN FLIGHT Dance in Flight, is in its 24th year, continues to provide student dancers and choreographers an opportunity to cultivate creativity, physical expression, and teamwork in a professional performing atmosphere. Acknowledging the current social climate, Dance in Flight 2017 was inspired by the social movements of the 1960s and a vision to explore the past and present. The show featured nine styles of dance. Student participants described the experience as a form of worship, thanking God for the opportunity to express emotion in ways that cannot verbalized.
BLUE & ORANGE MADNESS Blue & Orange Madness celebrates the start of University’s fall sports season by highlighting men’s and women’s basketball teams and is the kickoff event for Waves Weekend (a combination of family weekend and homecoming). Almost 2,000 students, alumni, staff, faculty, and family members attended. Madness Village, featured a traditional carnival-style atmosphere with booths sponsored by campus clubs, food trucks, game vendors, and carnival rides.
REELSTORIES FILM FESTIVAL Reelstories Film Festival, began eight years ago and over 900 people attended this past year. This student-led film festival unites the Pepperdine community and the Malibu community through a night of celebrating the art of film. Two years ago the festival shifted to exclusively showcasing student films. This is a testament to the talent of our students. The evening includes a short-film competition, film screenings, Q & A with student filmmakers, and an awards ceremony.
CELEBRATING IMPORTANT MOMENTS Students have started several new traditions. Five years ago, the Student Programming Board developed New Student Sunrise and Senior Sunset as ways to honor the incoming and outgoing classes. The events featured food, Pepperdine hat giveaways, and an opportunity for students to reflect with their class. Both events were well attended with 420 attending New Student Sunrise and 450 attending Senior Sunset. Eight years ago SGA introduced the Christmas Tree Lighting which includes performances by the University Concert Choir and the Celebration Chapel band as well as scripture readings. Approximately 400 attended including members of the Malibu community. Five years ago the Student Programming Board started Winter Wonderland, a celebration full of holiday spirit and fun. Christmas songs, artificial snow, snacks, and warm drinks create a magical night of community and holiday atmosphere.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
27
CAREER CENTER
NEW TARGETED CAREER FAIRS MODEL In an effort to offer customized services the Career Center moved from two large fairs to six targeted career fairs. This allowed students and recruiters to opt into networking environments that were aligned with their interests. Over 500 students attended which was a 30 percent increase over prior years. The fairs included Meet the Firms (business), Government, Nonprofits, STEM and Healthcare, and the Entertainment + Media Mixer. Alumni representatives attended many of the fairs and provided valuable contacts for students. One student commented, “I liked the opportunity to meet people who have graduated from Pepperdine and get insight on how they have worked hard to reach their goals. It was inspiring and informative to hear their stories and gain advice from their journey.”
STUDENTS VISIT FULLSCREEN AND NICKELODEON More than 30 Seaver and Graziadio students visited Fullscreen Media in Playa del Rey. They attended a panel of Pepperdine alumni currently working for the company. Students learned about summer internship opportunities and gained valuable contacts to expand their professional network. In March Nickelodeon hosted 28 Seaver students at their animation studios in Burbank, California. Students took a private tour of the studios, met with recruiters, and enjoyed a special presentation from theatre alumna Lexie Tankersley (’16). Students gained insight on how to submit a successful application for summer internships and full-time positions and they learned about the various pathways to success in the entertainment industry.
28
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
STUDENT-ALUMNI SPEED NETWORKING DURING CAREER WEEK As part of the kickoff to Pepperdine Career Week, the Career Center partnered with Seaver Alumni Relations and the Alumni Leadership Council (ALC) to host a speed networking event between 40 ALC members and 26 current students. Each student spent five minutes talking with an alumnus before rotating to the next. Alumni enjoyed learning about current students and were energized by their ambition. Students articulated their professional brand and translated their liberal arts experience to alumni in the Pepperdine network.
EMPLOYERS WHO RECRUIT AND HIRE PEPPERDINE STUDENTS Seaver College students benefit in numerous ways from Pepperdine’s strong brand in the marketplace. This past year, 137 unique employers recruited on campus, giving students the opportunity to personally meet representatives from large companies like Goldman Sachs and AT&T, as well as recruiters from nonprofit and government organizations like Teach for America, the CIA, and the Aurelia Foundation. Graduates in the class of 2017 were employed by companies like Amazon, Target, EY, Burson Marsteller, Deloitte, the FBI, the US House of Representatives, Disney, RPA Advertising, the Department of State, McBeard Media, Warner Music Group, LinkedIn, the National Park Service, and many others. Via the Handshake career management system, students had access to over 14,000 jobs and 3,400 internships from more than 11,000 employers.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
29
ATHLETICS
WOMEN’S BEACH VOLLEYBALL The women’s beach volleyball team finished second at the NCAA Championships, taking top-ranked USC to the limit before falling by the closest imaginable score. Each of the final three matches came down to a third set and ended with a 15-13 score, but USC won two of three to prevail by a 3-2 overall score. The match was televised nationally by TBS. The Waves earlier won their second West Coast Conference title. Delaney Knudsen and Madalyn Roh were named All-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and that duo was joined by Brittany Howard and Corinne Quiggle on Volleyball Magazine’s All-American team
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S GOLF Both the men’s and women’s golf teams advanced to the NCAA Championships, held at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. It was only the fourth time in school history that both teams made it in the same year, and the first since 2006. The men’s team finished 13th overall, its best finish since 2004, while the women placed 23rd. For the men, Sahith Theegala earned All-American honors and was the West Coast Conference’s Co-Player of the Year. Both he and Roy Cootes were also All-WCC first team and All-West Region. For the women, Hira Naveed, Tatiana Wijaya, and Katherine Zhu were All-WCC first team.
30
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
WOMEN’S TENNIS For the second year in a row and the sixth time in program history, the women’s tennis team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, matching the squad’s best-ever finish. After sweeping West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament titles for the fifth straight year, the Waves beat Long Island-Brooklyn and UCLA at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships, then beat Georgia on its own court before falling to Vanderbilt. The Waves ended the season with a #8 national ranking. Christine Maddox and Mayar Sherif ended the season as the nation’s #1-ranked doubles team and were All-Americans. Sherif, Ashley Lahey, and Luisa Stefani were All-Americans in singles, with Lahey reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA singles tournament.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS The men’s volleyball team ended the season with a #8 national ranking and David Wieczorek made All-American honorable mention. Marv Dunphy stepped down after the season after a remarkable 34 seasons in charge of the Waves, which included four NCAA titles. Long-time assistant David Hunt was elevated to head coach. The men’s water polo team captured the inaugural Golden Coast Conference Tournament title, beating Pacific in its own pool in the championship game. The Waves finished the season with a #7 national ranking. Marko Asic made the All-American second team and was the GCC Player of the Year, while Zack Rhodes and Mark Urban were honorable mention All-Americans. The women’s soccer team won the WCC title for the third time in program history, then advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time, where they reached the second round. Hannah Seabert and Bri Visalli made the
All-Region second team and Rylee Baisden was on the third team. Aaron Barnett of baseball and Izzy Connell of women’s track were both named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, becoming just the 11th and 12th student-athletes in Pepperdine history to attain this honor. They were also named Pepperdine’s Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year. DeLisha Milton Jones, a 19-year veteran of the WNBA and a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, was named head coach of the Pepperdine women’s basketball team at the conclusion of the 2016-2017 season. Lamond Murray, Jr., became the first Pepperdine men’s basketball player to lead the WCC in scoring since 2001 at 21.4 points per game. He made the All-District second team and All-WCC first team.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
31
ALUMNI RELATIONS
WAVES WEEKEND In October Pepperdine celebrated the seventh annual Waves Weekend, which brought the Pepperdine community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and families to campus for three days of reunions and celebrations. With over 50 events across the weekend, there was something exciting for everyone. Some of this year’s activities included the Pepperdine Sweethearts Brunch, class and affinity reunions, surfing, paddleboarding, and the “Blue & Orange Madness” athletics pep rally with an opening carnival. The student lip sync competition capped off a weeklong battle for the “Spirit Cup” while Waves enjoyed food trucks, games, and alumni-class check presentations to Pepperdine for student scholarships. The main event was the Waves Weekend music festival on Alumni Park. Performing against the backdrop of a striking Malibu sunset, alumni artists Jessica Rotter (’10) and the band Jonny Come Lately opened up the concert for headliner Rachel Platten. We invite you to come home October 13-15 for the next Waves Weekend. pepperdine.edu/wavesweekend
WAVES OF SUCCESS GRADUATION LUNCHEON Over 600 guests celebrated the Class of 2017 graduates at the Waves of Success luncheon following the Seaver College Graduation Ceremony on Saturday, April 29, 2017. This event, almost in its 10th year, was created to emphasize Pepperdine’s culture of family and community as our new graduates embark on their alumni journey. This year’s luncheon showcased cuisine from L.A. Roots Catering. Alumni volunteers distributed alumni pins to welcome the new graduates to the alumni family.
32
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
ALUMNI BOOK SIGNING Peggy Grande (‘89) served as President Reagan’s personal assistant for 10 years after he left the White House. Her book, The President Will See You Now, is an affectionate and intimate memoir about Ronald Reagan. Grande participated in an onstage interview hosted by journalism student Kristin Vartan. She shared a number of personal stories about her time with the president and then signed books and visited with the 50 guests. Her stories were inspiring to our students interested in politics and communication.
USS INDIANAPOLIS SCREENING In February Sara Vladic (’01) screened her documentary film, USS Indianapolis: The Legacy, on the Malibu campus. Vladic directed the documentary, which followed the stories of the survivors of the World War II heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis. Three-fourths of the crew were killed after a torpedo attack, which left the survivors afloat in shark-infested waters for five days. The Seaver Alumni Relations office hosted a pre-event reception to the communities of Pepperdine and Malibu, and communication professor Craig Detweiler led an onstage interview with Vladic to introduce the film, which was passionately received by attendees, many of whom were veterans of the US Armed Forces.
seaver.pepperdine.edu
33
Alana Hutchinson (’16), Public Relations Major
Coordinator, Events and Community Relations at the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission “I can’t thank Pepperdine enough for providing the education, mentoring, tools, and opportunities necessary for success after graduation. The wonderful professors and staff always supported me and encouraged me to live up to my potential. During my time at Pepperdine I realized that my passion for sports could be my career. The classes, organizations, and programs, such as the Career Coaching Program, prepared me not only for my career, but the post-graduation transition.”
WHAT 2016 GRADS ARE DOING
2016 INDUSTRY BREAKDOWN
TYPES OF WORK
34
For-Profit
Nonprofit•Government
Entrepreneurs
70%
27%
3%
Pepperdine University | Seaver College Highlights 2016-2017
William Lawson (’16) Psychology Major Human Resources Coordinator for the A&E Network “Pepperdine, but more specifically the Pepperdine Student Employment Office and the Seaver College Career Center, have helped in so many ways. Being able to work for Pepperdine for my entire undergrad experience prepared and groomed me for my current job. I graduated and got my first full-time job within the same year. I’d call that success due to my hard work and the many amazing mentors I was blessed to have at Pepperdine.”
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Avery Davis (’16) Biology Major Campaigns and Communication Assistant for Sojourners “Pepperdine’s mission and dedication to preparing students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership provided me with a firm vocational foundation to act out my Christian faith at Sojourners. Staff and faculty recognize that education must extend beyond the academic to the spiritual and ethical. In the classroom, professors linked their own faith perspective with the course material, showing that faith can be inextricably linked to career. Outside the classroom, staff and faculty mentored me in my personal and professional life demonstrating the love and care that is central to our Pepperdine family.”
For more information on our student’s success after graduation click here. seaver.pepperdine.edu
35
ONE EXTRAORDINARY DAY. AN ENDURING GIFT.
Pepperdine’s SECOND ANNUAL GIVING DAY is your chance to join together with alumni and friends to help build upon the University’s time-honored tradition of GENEROSITY and SUPPORT FUTURE GENERATIONS of Waves.
SC1705075
Learn more: Give2Pepp.com