12 minute read
The Ripple Effect
by Becky St. Clair '05
How five alumni embraced the lessons they learned at WWU to build faith, fellowship, and purpose in their communities.
In a world where individual success often takes center stage, it's easy to overlook the deeper value of creating a purpose-filled, service-oriented life—a life centered on faith, surrounded by community, and steeped with intention. While there is likely no single moment any of us can point to and say it’s what established those principles, many can and do point to their college years as a time when much of the groundwork was laid.
Leadership and service opportunities, engagement with diverse perspectives, safe spaces for asking hard questions, and development of purpose come with the territory in higher education, shaping our futures and giving us the tools we need to help positively shape the world around us. These experiences create a ripple effect that extends far beyond campus, setting the stage for a life rooted in compassion, connection, and impact.
Here, five alumni share how their experiences at Walla Walla University became the foundation for lives centered on faith, community, and service. In their unique ways, each of them has carried the values gained in college into their work, making a meaningful impact on the lives of others and enhancing their own lives in the process.
A Mission Well-Prepared For
David and Kathy (Overbaugh) Iwasa ’90
David and Kathy met while serving as taskforce workers at Gem State Adventist Academy in Caldwell, Idaho, so it seems only fitting that the couple have committed a majority of their careers to education. They have served in various secondary and higher education schools across the country and are now in Southern California; David is associate dean for residential life at Loma Linda University and Kathy is registrar and guidance counselor at Redlands Academy.
Kathy says their experience as students at WWU showed them what true community looks like, and it’s something they’ve tried to embody in all of their roles since.
“We both had mentors who showed us what true Christian leaders should be,” she says. “They weren’t always easy on us, and we knew it was because they loved us and wanted us to be the best we could be. They inspired us to do the same for our students.”
After graduation, David and Kathy were particularly sad to leave behind the built-in community on campus— things like vespers, intramurals, and SA and dorm activities. “You couldn’t just go down to the gym anymore and pick up a basketball and shoot hoops with classmates, or walk down the hall to see your friends,” David says. “That loss of community was huge, and was a big adjustment for us.”
One of the reasons Kathy stepped away from online teaching and into her current role was because she missed one-on-one interactions with students—the opportunity to connect and create a sense of belonging.
If you build relationships well, the community turns into a family.
“There’s nothing better than being able to walk beside someone and help them figure something out—whether it’s their future, a relationship, or just a bad day,” she says. “The opportunity to share that moment with others has given me purpose.”
Together, the Iwasas have fostered community on every campus on which they’ve served; from weekly dinners to worships and social gatherings, and even just lending a listening ear.
“If you build relationships well, the community turns into a family,” David says. “It starts slow and builds on itself, and it’s a joy to see busy, stressed, tired students take time to slow down and get to know each other, laugh, and take a break. To just enjoy coming together.”
Communities, the Iwasas say, should contribute to one’s faith experience, and should allow one to contribute to the faith experiences of others. “It’s hard to separate them,” Kathy says.
WWU was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Iwasas’ passion and goals throughout their careers, and really built their personal faith in God. “We do what we do for the relationships and connecting people to each other and to God,” David comments. “It drives everything we do.”
Kathy adds, “Everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve done our best to create that experience for others. It’s the mission we feel called to, and were well prepared for.”
More Than Just a Job
Cassie Ragenovich ’74
In 1970, Cassie Ragenovich ’74 arrived on the WWU campus, having never attended Adventist school before. “It was very quickly apparent to me that there is extreme value in Christian education,” she says. “Not just in what you hear in the classroom, but also your peers. It’s different in an incredible way.”
After graduating with her degree in office administration and education, Ragenovich spent one year teaching near Seattle before returning to WWU to work in student finance, at the university’s request.
“I told them I’d give them two years,” she says. Nearly 50 years later, Ragenovich is still working part-time in the student finance department at the university. “They’re probably wondering what happened,” she adds with a laugh.
Ragenovich admits she bargained with God when he asked her to stay at WWU for the long haul. She told him she would do so under one condition: that he promise to always come through with resources for students who truly wanted to be at WWU.
“I said, ‘God, the minute you don’t meet that commitment, I won’t be able to do this job anymore,’” she recalls. Five decades later, she says God has never failed to hold up his end of the bargain.
She has story after story of just the right amount of funding coming in at just the right moment, and just as many stories of spending hours in prayer over specific students’ situations. Each story is a defining moment in Ragenovich’s walk of faith.
“My time at WWU has developed my faith tremendously,” she says. “Personally understanding the value of Christian education has ensured I work extra hard to make sure students who want to be at WWU can be. This has also deepened my sense of community—not just with my colleagues, but with the students, alumni, and our surrounding community, as well.”
In June, Ragenovich was the recipient of WWU’s Generosity in Service Medallion in acknowledgement of her many years of service to God, students, and the University. “It’s nothing I did,” she comments; “I feel so undeserving, but the Lord has blessed my efforts, and I’m eternally grateful.”
Ragenovich adds that she has always felt that for WWU employees, it’s more than just a job; they really care about the students, and are truly committed to what they do and for whom they do it.
“Community is a place you can comfortably call home; where you feel secure and at peace,” she says. “I have seen that personified at WWU every single day for nearly 50 years, and it has been my honor to share it with everyone who has ever walked into my office.”
Learning to Lead
John Aitken III ’21
As a student at WWU, John Aitken III ’21 was among the student leaders of Circle Church, one of the university’s student-led church worship services— it was an experience that, at least in part, set him on the path he’s on now.
“The privilege of being a pastor of Circle Church was a defining role for me in trying to find out what this career looks like for me,” Aitken says. “The biggest thing was the amount of autonomy we had as students. We were able to take ownership of the program, which allowed the Holy Spirit to work fully through us.”
Having completed his bachelor’s degree in theology, Aitken is currently working toward his Master’s of Divinity at La Sierra University in California, and is also part-time pastor for a church plant in Temple City called New Life Socal.
“It’s aimed at people who might not feel comfortable in traditional church spaces,” Aitken explains. “We have tried to develop an experience that’s very comfortable.”
In addition to preaching, programming, and leading music, Aitken has established a leadership board. “It’s a vision-casting group, so it’s not just one person doing something they want to do,” he says.
“We’re all doing it together.”
A community-designed worship experience is something Aitken was part of at Circle Church, and has guided his leadership at New Life.
“We had an amazing group of volunteers who always took care to really see each other,” Aitken recalls of his time with Circle Church.
As a pastor, Aitken says his personal calling is to offer everyone that opportunity—the chance to be seen, heard, and valued for who they are. “Everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and that’s a big thing for me,” he says. “The community I would love to see in the world is one where we see value in everyone’s simply being.”
Everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and that’s a big thing for me.
As a kid of a pastor who was also a kid of a pastor, Aitken admits that for a while, church just felt like “the family business.” It wasn’t until he was at WWU that he began to really think about what church could be.
“The more involved I became in Circle Church, the more church began to move beyond just what we do in our family,” Aitken says. As a result, Aitken has been intentional about every step he takes as a leader. The essence of all of his preaching is love: that we are “so loved by God, who invites us to love people around us, too.” This, to Aitken, is the heart of true community.
“So many times we view God as being far away, but he sees so much value in us that he comes to us, and stays with us,” Aitken says. “The whole narrative of scripture is God placing value on us and choosing to be with us, and that’s what a community should do for each other, too.”
Looking for God in Everything
Jerry Woods ’ 97
After his senior year at Loma Linda Academy in California, Jerry Woods ’97 was headed to a school in New York on a full-ride acting scholarship. He chose to follow a girl instead, and enrolled at Walla Walla University. There was no drama program at that point, so Woods had no idea what he was going to do.
Thanks to a fortuitous introduction, Woods auditioned for a position at KGTS, the on-campus radio station, and was hired. “That’s what started it all,” he says.
“I launched my career at WWU, where the answer was never ‘no,’ it was, ‘If you can figure it out, go for it.’ That remains my philosophy to this day.”
Woods has been involved in radio ministry for 34 years, at six different stations covering multiple states. His consulting company also connects him to a radio network across Canada. He is now co-hosting the morning show and serves as director of marketing for WGTS, a Christian radio station based in Washington, D.C. This is his 12th year there.
“We work very hard to create a culture of teamwork and care here,” Woods says. “The key to effective ministry is to share a common mission and do whatever needs doing. If you’re on the same team, good things happen.”
What Woods loves most about radio is that it’s a massive spotlight, which can highlight any need and pull people together to do something significant. For example, when Hurricane Florence devastated the Carolinas in 2018, WGTS learned they desperately needed clean drinking water. “That was something we could help with,” Woods says.
WGTS partnered with a transportation company to park a semi-truck and driver at a major grocery store, and told their half-million listeners they’d be there for eight hours, asking them to bring as many cases of water as they could.
“We filled that truck in four hours, so the company sent a second truck,” Woods recalls. In the end, the WGTS community sent two trucks full of 80,000 pounds of water to the Carolinas.
“We live in a world that’s increasingly isolated, and building community is more crucial than it’s ever been,” Woods comments. “We have a platform to make that happen, so we use it to the best of our ability, because people in community do great things for others.”
We live in a world that’s increasingly isolated, and building community is more crucial than it’s ever been.
His work in radio has given Woods opportunities to start conversations with Muslims, Christians of other faiths, non-believers, and people who aren’t sure what they believe, building not just a community of caring individuals, but a community of faith, as well.
“On the days when I’m not feeling it, when I have doubt, those are the days God shows up the most,” Woods says. “Someone will call the station and tell me what I said encouraged them. I can’t even remember what I said, but that’s how I know it’s God working and not me.”
Over the years, Woods has learned not to ask God, “What do you want me to do?” Instead, he asks how and where God wants him to do what he’s already asked.
“WWU taught me to look for God in everything,” he says. “Even if I don’t think what is happening is his plan, when I look for him, he shows up.”
