“It’s crazy what God had in store.”
Emily Clementz made this comment after reflecting on a full day of teaching at Eastbrook High School to grab a bite of food, sushi, which slowly disappeared.
Now, not even a full year after her college graduation, she is back in Bergwall, serving as the interim hall director. Clementz lived in Berg for her first two years at Taylor, so it's not unfamiliar ground.
Even so, she was not planning on hall directing or teaching. Her thing was human physiology. Other people, however, saw potential in her.
“Throughout my time at Taylor, I had several people speak into my life that I should look at teaching,” she said.
Nonetheless, she took some education classes while a student at Taylor. Clementz then found out about the Transition to Teaching Program and discovered that, with the classes she had taken, she was halfway done with completing the requirements.
“I love inquiry and wonder and getting students to ask hard questions or think about things they’ve never thought about, and discover answers,” she said.
It is clear that Clementz likes learning, however, when people asked her if teaching was what she wanted to do, she said that she was not sure. If she were to teach, she envisions a nontraditional setting.
Interestingly enough, the work that she is doing both at Taylor and at Eastbrook relate closely to working in relationship with others. This reflects the culture of where she grew up in Papua New Guinea.
“I tell people that it is a culture driven by relationship over time,” Clementz said.
She recalled how she and her friends would go on long walks without any real destination in mind. They would simply stroll together in fellowship.
Adjusting to U.S. culture was a challenge. Clementz’s transition to Taylor was hard, like it is for many college students.
For the first couple of years, she did not find her people right away, especially coming from the mission field. Clementz lived in Berg for two years, then in English, and finally, in Wolgie.
“I came to Taylor because it wasn’t like other schools I had heard of,” Clementz said. “There were a lot of similarities between the town I grew up in in Papua New Guinea … if I walk around on a sidewalk and pass someone, odds are I’ll be able to say hi and know them. Yeah, that’s what did it for me,” she said.
However, some of her now family-like friends didn’t come until her senior year. These are the friends who she knows she will keep in contact with for years to come.
For Clementz, it was the rhythm of fellowship and daily life that was an integral part of her senior year. She knows what it is like to live with people day by day.
After four years of being a student at Taylor, Clementz graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in human physiology and preventative medicine.
All this to say, she still hasn’t left Upland.
During Homecoming weekend in 2023, she talked with David Neel, the director of Samuel Morris Hall, who encouraged her to apply for the role of interim hall director for Bergwall.
Despite how impossible it seemed, the doors kept opening for her to take the position.
“I am very confident that God brought me into this because of how clear he made the steps,” she said.
From her time at Taylor as the hall director, she does just that: taking on challenges and surprises as they arise.
Nevertheless, both her responsibilities as a teacher and hall director could individually be considered full-time positions. Against what was perhaps better judgment, she decided to do both. One can wonder as to how Clementz is doing both. It certainly came as a surprise to her.
Every single day, Clementz has to rely on the Lord and ask him for his mercy. Without fail, she continues to see God provide in different ways, whether it is having a class period at school that is more lively and joyful or getting more time to get work done because a meeting changed.
In this season of stretching, relying on God’s strength is necessary for Clementz. It has also brought a deeper understanding of what it means to trust.
“He took an either crooked or non-existent path … and made it so straight,” she said.
Despite how impossible it seemed, the doors kept opening for Clementz to take the position.
She reflected on the meaning of Proverbs 3:5-6 as she recalled the whole process. She discovered that she felt she was doing what the verse says — trusting in the Lord and not her own understanding.
It felt like a whole truth that took on new life.
Sharing the story with people of how all of these things happened provided so much encouragement during the beginning when it was difficult.
Even though she doesn’t know where the path will lead, as far as she can see, the Lord made them straight.
