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By Brianna Kudisch | Echo
For one baby to be born while a parent is a hall director in Bergwall is interesting. For it to happen twice is coincidental. For it to happen four times is downright noteworthy.
That's exactly what happened to the Mowerys, the Drakes, the Bryans and most recently, the Austins.
Julie and Erick Mowery moved into Bergwall when Erick took the hall director position in 1991, straight out of graduate school. Born on April 18, 1993, their daughter, Eliza, grew up surrounded by college students.
"The day we brought her home from the hospital, (Bergwall students) had put signs in the windows welcoming her home. The students loved her," Julie said.
The Mowery's remembered placing Eliza in a Johnny Jump Up, a seat that hangs on a door frame and allows the child to bounce up and down. From there, she watched countless college students pass before her eyes.
Looking back on the experience of married life in a dorm with a newborn, Julie said, "We had to learn to set boundaries and healthy expectations. (We also) loved the community we had with the other hall directors and people in student development."
The next set of new parents was Whitney and Jacob Drake, whose son, Miles, was born in an unusual way.
On April 23, 2011, Whitney woke up in the early hours of the morning with a sharp, constant pain. She immediately knew the baby was coming. With the help of Jacob and her close friend Susan Smartt she gave birth to Miles on the welcome mat of their apartment.
Although Miles's birth involved complications, Smartt gave him mouth-to-mouth and he was fine. He was even named the "True Son of Taylor" by a Board of Trustees resolution and received front page coverage on the Marion Chronicle Tribune on Mother's Day.
"(Miles's birth) has become one of our favorite stories to tell because it ended well, and there was so much evidence that night that made us realize what a provider the Lord truly is," Jacob said.
The Drakes, who now live in Georgia, look back fondly on their time in Bergwall.
"We consider our years in the hall some of the best years of our lives. We love our home now, but we actually do miss the late nights with students, the non-stop interruptions and the way our students became a part of our family," Whitney said.
For the Bryans, dorms were the norm in their early married life. They previously lived in Wengatz, where Isaac was the assistant hall director when their first son, Benjamin, who will be 4 in May, was born. Later, they lived Campbell where Isaac served as a hall director.
Shortly after they finished MAHE, they moved from Campbell to Bergwall where Isaac accepted the hall director position.
"I was just excited to have a three-bedroom apartment and a back deck," Emily said.
Their son, Wes, who is now 11 months, was born on May 11, 2015, while they lived in Bergwall.
Their first son, Benjamin, slept in the Bryan's hall closet in Wengatz and then their bathroom in Campbell, due to those apartments only having one bedroom.
When reflecting on their time in the dorms, Emily and Isaac mentioned the value of co-existing with the students.
"We both had significant roots at Taylor and believed strongly in the mission of its student development program," Emily said.
Rounding off the Bergwall hall directors is Kate Austin, who lives in Bergwall with her husband Steve, director of student programs.
Their daughter Jace was born on December 31, 2015. Her arrival was welcomed with love and affection from Taylor students.
"(Jace) has been held, cooed and prayed for by so many," Kate said. "I look forward to when she will be able to more understand the beautiful community she was born into."
Kate emphasized her appreciation for Taylor's community life, especially while in the residential dorms. She mentioned the rewarding aspect of the practical, transformative work that hall directors aim to do in students' lives.
"Though we do not separate our homes by yards or faces, we make up a funny neighborhood with every neighbor you can imagine," Kate said. "They see us doing our everyday lives-from bringing back groceries to taking care of Jace together. Sure, there are quirky parts of where we live, but we truly enjoy our Bergwall neighbors, and it's a wonderful season for our family."
All four families expressed genuine love and appreciation for residence life within Taylor's community. The successive pattern of newborns only brought more joy to the equation.
When asked about the coincidences of the past three Bergwall directors having babies while in the position, Whitney Drake said, "We are sure, though, that every Bergwall hall director from now on who is expecting will hear jokes about delivering the baby in the lobby. Things become a tradition so easily at Taylor."
