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Both sides of the desk
Bethel’s 2011 graduates include nine faculty and staff children.
by Jennifer Scott
For any college student, crossing the stage at commencement symbolizes turning the last page and closing the final chapter in the book about college. For several 2011 Bethel graduates, commencement also meant leaving the home they have known since childhood.
Bethel had a record number, for recent years, of nine graduates who are children of current faculty or staff. Austin McCabe-Juhnke (John McCabe-Juhnke ’78, professor of communication arts), Sam Piper (Jon Piper, professor of biology), Hannah Reber (Brad Born ’84, associate professor of English and vice president for academic affairs) and Alison Schmidt-Tieszen (Ada Schmidt-Tieszen ’74, professor of social work) are “campus kids,” who have been part of the campus community since they were babies or young children.
The rest got connected a little later in life: Sonia Barrera (Rosa Barrera, assistant to the president), Christina Dietzel (Shirley Dietzel, director of business services), Brittany Dirksen (Patsy Dirksen ’83, Student Life office coordinator), Ben Histand (Gary Histand, professor of chemistry) and Allison Kaster (Joanne Kaster, assistant professor of nursing).
For Sam Piper, growing up on campus “just was.” “Before becoming a student,” he says, “I took campus for granted like one would in their childhood.”
During his years at Bethel, Sam took two classes with his father. “It never felt unusual,” he says, though his father recalls that the first time (Sam has older siblings Josh ’07 and Emily ’10), he was a bit worried about having his own child in his classroom.
“When Josh was in my class, I went to the dean and asked if that was a problem – if someone else needed to grade his papers,” Jon says. “The dean said faculty actually tend to be harder on their own kids and [he had seen] no problem with favoritism.
“Having kids who went to Bethel and lived on campus [gave me] insight into the student perspective,” Jon adds. “I also appreciated being able to give them the faculty side of the picture.”
Both father and son are grateful for the tuition discount for children of Bethel faculty and staff.
“They looked at other schools, saw the tuition and decided to take advantage of the discount here at Bethel,” Jon says. “They also [liked] being able to come home to do laundry, eat a meal, sleep in their own bed if they didn’t feel well. We as parents got to attend performances and recitals.”
Both Sonia and Rosa Barrera deeply appreciated having easy access to the other.
“If I ever needed any help with anything, I knew where to find her,” Sonia says.
Rosa adds, “It was fantastic having her close by and it was always a great feeling to see her somewhere on campus.”
Having a parent in the college mix can be hard, but Rosa and Sonia worked through it.
“At times I worried about not giving her the space to experience college to the fullest,” Rosa says. “I wanted to make sure [to] not interfere so she would meet people, develop great friendships and have a great college experience.
“It was hard to run into her and not give her a big hug when she was with her friends or classmates or working on campus or involved in school projects. But [it made me happy] witnessing her becoming an educated, mature, responsible and caring fine young lady before my eyes.”
Rosa did succeed in giving her that “great college experience,” Sonia says.
“There really weren’t any ‘worst parts’ about having my mom around. Just that I would often be called by her name – but that didn’t bother me much.”
Ben Histand came to Bethel after a stint at Oklahoma State University. “I decided to transfer to be closer to an extensive support system, for family, and to get a business degree in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to at Oklahoma State,” he says, though he admits, “It was weird at first [to be back at Bethel].”
Ben’s father, Gary Histand, is glad Ben chose to transfer. “It was great to have Ben on campus. It was nice not having to travel far to be a ‘proud parent.’ We were able to go to activities Ben was involved in.”
“I had my parents close by and could go home whenever I needed to, but at the same time, the college was a distinct space I could be a part of without outside interference,” Ben says. “Seeing [my dad] around was pretty nice, but I’m not sure how I would have enjoyed being in one of his classes.”
Hannah Reber didn’t have to worry about having her father, Brad Born, as a professor since he was in administration rather than teaching by the time she enrolled as a student.
Plus, “I definitely had an advantage coming in. I knew where classes were and who professors were,” Hannah says.
However, familiarity with the campus and the people occupying it produced some pressure to do well, she says.
“Most professors knew me or knew of me, so I felt like there were already expectations in place that weren’t there for other students.”
Brad had an expectation to live up to as well – one he set himself for Hannah’s benefit.
“We talked about it before school started,” she says. “Dad made a point not to get too involved in day-to-day things. I would pass him on the sidewalk or see him in the caf, but I didn’t see him very often. If I needed something, I could stop in his office.”
Ada Schmidt-Tieszen and her daughter, Alison, also had some expectations. Ada remembers that the first class Alison took with her mother as the teacher was Human Sexuality, which Ada team-teaches with another professor.
“We thought if we could make it through that class, we would be OK,” Ada says. “It was stranger for her than it was for me. When I teach, I see a group of students, and Alison is just one of the group.”
One of Ada’s challenges was knowing: Is it all right to be Mom or am I still the teacher? They solved the problem by mostly being teacher-student.
“If Alison came to meet in my office with a student thing and a personal thing, we would discuss the student issue,” Ada says, “and then she would [almost literally] get up and walk out and come back to discuss the personal item.”
As a social work major who took some of Ada’s classes, Alison says, “I usually tried to be careful and not call her ‘Mom,’ but ‘Ada.’ She was a good professor – the only bad thing was when she [assigned] lots of papers. I’m sure she didn’t grade [me] harder or easier.
“For a really long time, I didn’t want to go to Bethel because my mom taught there and my sister [Tina ’07, another social work major] went there. In the end, I’m glad I did.”
Alison’s graduation was extra special to Ada because Bethel is Ada’s alma mater.
“I am pleased she got the education Bethel offers,” Ada says. “Students are confronted with issues of social justice and diversity and are pushed to be good critical thinkers.
“I think I’ve been a better teacher because I had [daughters] at Bethel,” Ada adds. “Seeing Bethel through Alison’s eyes engendered more empathy for students and offered me an inside view of their perspectives. I also learned to know more students because I met Alison’s friends – it’s always a good thing to know students outside the classroom.”
Jennifer Scott is a sophomore from Newton and the daughter of Bethel faculty member Lisa Janzen Scott ’84, associate professor of mathematics and education.