By Gracie Fairfax and Wren Haynes | Echo
New home. New adventure. New responsibilities. Change runs rampant on college campuses, and it is something Bergwall's new hall director, Kate Austin, knows well. As students moved into new rooms and unpacked boxes this August, she was downstairs doing the same thing.
A former graduate student at Taylor, Kate completed the Master's of Arts in Higher Education program (MAHE) in 2013, where she met her husband, Steve Austin, the current director of student programs. Following her two years of MAHE, she spent a year at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as a residence director, before returning to Upland last year to work in the Alumni Relations office. Since her move back to Upland, which included her marriage to Steve in October, her life has been in constant transition.
"That year, I learned so much but definitely missed working with students directly," Kate said.
In July 2015, she left her job in Alumni Relations to pursue a doctorate, with hopes of eventually teaching at the college level. Earlier that year, she also learned that she was pregnant-exciting news that meant even more transitions.
During the summer, as she was processing her decision to pursue her doctorate, she felt like she was taking a step in the right direction. But as she prayed, she told the Lord that she didn't feel that her work with students was over. She felt a calling to walk with young adults in the confusion of college life and help them find hope, but there was no clear opening at the time.
Two weeks later, the Lord answered her prayers in a text from Emily Bryan, the wife of former Bergwall Hall Director, Isaac Bryan. The Bryans had accepted staff positions at Eastern Mennonite University. While Kate was saddened to lose great friends, the vacancy presented her with a new opportunity as she applied to be the hall director of Bergwall Hall.
She had a phone interview on Aug. 3, an in-person interview on Aug. 6, and a job offer the next day. Having just bought and moved into a house on Main Street in Upland, the Austins packed their lives back into boxes and moved to Bergwall three days before the PAs arrived on campus.
The experience has helped her connect more deeply with incoming students and increased her empathy for people who are also new to the Bergwall community.
"Seeing my freshmen come in this year was very different for me as a hall director, because having just moved in . . . I was right there with them," she said.
Even the hard things about transitions have made her a better hall director. Often, student development can seem like a revolving door of students coming and going. Kate's challenge is to help them become contributing members of her hall's community.
"Many (students) come from a very known place to a very unknown place," she said. "And that process of becoming known is so redemptive and healing, but it doesn't happen overnight. But we want it to."
Kindness and understanding go a long way when forming relationships. She recommends that students remember to give each other grace, as they don't often show the best sides of themselves during an unstable time. Having a strong support system can be all the difference between enjoying a new experience and buckling under pressure.
Over the years, Kate has discovered that when she invests in others, others invest in her. Though students play a role, Kate most consistently looks to her friends and small group for support-especially in moving from place to place.
"They've moved us around Upland without question," she said. "And as we figure out what it means to be new parents, both (of us) in full-time work, I know they will be the people who help us figure this out."
Now, as she settles into her new home, Kate feels at peace with the way her life has changed.
"I think transitions really help us distill the most important values we have," she said. "I think that's why Steve and I like being in higher education. It's the conversation and the growth that happens around transitions."
As the Austins continue to settle into their home in Bergwall, they know their next transition is just around the corner-welcoming a tiny Trojan into Bergwall Hall.
