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Kim - Chi Alpha Campus Ministry
38 Plays1 month ago
There are occupations that don't always have a clear cut path and yet there is a calling. Mentoring youth thru the difficult college years can be challenging but so rewarding. The benefits you receive for following that calling can be worth far more than a higher paycheck. If mentoring others and helping to mold the lives of college students is something you have interest in or want to know more about, then Kim is a phenomenal representative of that path. If you feel like supporting Kim and their program, they can be found HERE and HERE *
*The Jobs podcast is in no way affiliated with Semoxa.com, Chi Alpha, AGGiving, or their affiliates/subsidiaries.
If you found this interview entertaining or helpful, you can support the channel HERE. Thanks!
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Transcript
Introduction and Kim's Unique Career Path
00:00:01
The Jobs Podcast
Hey folks, you're listening to the jobs podcast. I'm your host, Tim Hendricks. Today we have a pretty cool guest. We have Kim with us and I'm going to let Kim tell you what she does because it's an extremely unique niche or niche career.
00:00:16
The Jobs Podcast
And if you're interested in working with students or in missions or ministry, this is an interview that you're probably want to save and make sure you listen to.
Kim's Early Life and Education Journey
00:00:26
The Jobs Podcast
So Kim, thanks for joining me today.
00:00:28
Kim
Yeah, thanks for having me.
00:00:30
The Jobs Podcast
So let's just start off like we always do. Give us a little snapshot of where you were born, your upbringing, high school, college, and we'll just kind of go from there.
00:00:39
Kim
Sure. Well, I'm from a small town in South Central Missouri in the Ozarks, and I lived in the same house my entire life until I went off to college at Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri.
00:00:51
Kim
And yeah, like I don't know, like I just had a very nice, wonderful upbringing, great parents, great family, nothing too crazy, pretty typical family.
00:01:01
Kim
good childhood, I guess you could say.
00:01:03
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, well, that's good.
00:01:05
Kim
Yeah, nothing super crazy.
00:01:08
The Jobs Podcast
So you're in high school.
College Decisions and Faith Alignment
00:01:11
The Jobs Podcast
Was there anything in high school that you thought I might want to get into missions work or I might want to work with college students or in that kind of arena?
00:01:19
The Jobs Podcast
Or when when did that kind of get on your radar?
00:01:23
Kim
Oh, yeah, 100% no. I wanted to, well, originally, like I was really into astronomy, like space and stars. And I had reached out to NASA to figure out what colleges I should go to you know, like what they looked for in their employees and everything.
00:01:31
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, cool.
00:01:39
Kim
And so, yeah, I really wanted to go work for NASA. And very long story short, my brother and I, he's three years younger than me. And we got really, really close my senior of high school and he was really good at football.
00:01:55
Kim
And I told him if he lettered in football as a freshman that I would go to every single one of his football games. And he lettered before lot of people did.
00:02:07
The Jobs Podcast
Of course he did.
00:02:08
Kim
I know he's so good.
00:02:09
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:02:10
Kim
And I was like, okay, well I need to go to college somewhere nearby. dad was very insistent that I stay in state anyway. So the best college within driving distance was in Springfield, Missouri.
00:02:23
Kim
So I went to Missouri State and I did go to every one of his football games until he graduated high school. But no, like ministry was not on my radar at all. Like was very much like I want do astronomy. I'm going to figure out my major at Missouri State.
00:02:39
Kim
And, throughout the course of college, just through like actually getting closer to God myself of like, oh, maybe I should actually talk to God more. realizing, this isn't the major for me. And I actually changed my major seven times in college. Like,
00:02:55
The Jobs Podcast
Good grief.
00:02:55
Kim
I, oh, yeah, I stressed out my parents so much because like every semester I'm like, I'm changing my major. And they're like, gosh, not again. Like so much so that my junior year of college, Missouri State sent a letter saying you have to actually declare and stick to it. Like you have so many credits.
00:03:14
Kim
And my dad was like, you have to get out in four years. Like, I don't care how you do it. But if you're not out of college in four years, like you're completely on your own, you got to figure it out. So that was really big motivation for me to like, okay, God, like, what do you want me to major in instead of me hopping around from like,
00:03:33
Kim
Like I was in astronomy, majored in physics, majored in advertising, journalism, think photojournalism, maybe
Passion for Astronomy vs Reality
00:03:38
Kim
for a couple weeks. I don't know. Like there were so many just because like it interested me in that moment.
00:03:46
Kim
And I finally got to a point where was like, okay, God, like I can tell you don't want me to do these majors. Maybe I should actually ask what you want me to do instead of just like randomly picking something out of a hat.
00:03:57
Kim
Yeah.
00:03:58
The Jobs Podcast
What was it that you wanted to do? You know, you talked about NASA, you've mentioned them a couple of times.
00:04:02
Kim
Yeah.
00:04:03
The Jobs Podcast
Was there one particular aspect at NASA? I mean, were you wanting to be an astronaut or was there, was there a certain job that you had your eye on?
00:04:11
Kim
So I'm kind of older. And when I originally reached out to NASA, the requirements for an astronaut, you had to have 20-20 vision. And at that point, I already knew I didn't.
00:04:22
Kim
And I was not interested in LASIK eye surgery. So I was like, well, I can't be an astronaut.
00:04:25
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:04:27
Kim
but I was very big into like astrophysics and even like astrophotography. I really liked studying the life cycle of stars. so I wasn't really sure yet what direction I was going to go. I just knew didn't qualify that time for an astronaut, but I did like, you know, astrophotography and specifically studying the life cycle of stars.
00:04:47
The Jobs Podcast
Has that, well, that's a cool hobby.
00:04:47
Kim
I still kind of like it actually.
00:04:49
Kim
So, yeah.
00:04:51
The Jobs Podcast
I've never really heard anybody that had that hobby, the life cycle of stars, but has the, and this is a bit of a rabbit hole, but do you know if NASA no longer with PRK and LASIK and things being so advanced, is that no longer a requirement?
00:04:51
Kim
Yeah.
Involvement with Chi Alpha and Career Choices
00:05:05
Kim
I don't think so. To be honest, I haven't looked back into the requirements.
00:05:07
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:05:07
Kim
I do know that by the time I would have graduated with undergrad and gone on to get a master's or doctorate, NASA had a massive bunch of layoffs in 2008 maybe something.
00:05:20
Kim
And so I probably realistically had I gone down that route, I would have been let go.
00:05:25
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, okay.
00:05:26
Kim
And like, I don't know what would have happened after that. Like, so I know that that career would not, probably would not have lasted very long. So it's crazy.
00:05:34
The Jobs Podcast
Well, I mean, you know, in hindsight, that was a blessing, so...
00:05:37
Kim
Right? Right?
00:05:40
The Jobs Podcast
So NASA is not an option. You've been given ultimatum by the school and by your parents.
00:05:43
Kim
Yeah.
00:05:46
The Jobs Podcast
You need to shift gears.
00:05:47
Kim
Right.
00:05:49
The Jobs Podcast
You've settled on what major did you settle on and then walk us through the next steps to graduate and move on.
00:05:55
Kim
Sure. So I finally relented. I was like, okay, God, need you to direct me instead of me just like picking a flavor of the month.
00:06:03
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:06:03
Kim
And I was like flipping through course catalog because that's how it was back then. had a catalog of all these majors. And, okay, good.
00:06:12
The Jobs Podcast
I'm old enough to remember those. Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:14
Kim
And like very long story short, like I'm just talking to God as I'm mindlessly flipping and I feel led to like go to a specific section of the book And I find English and I'm like, really?
00:06:30
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:06:32
Kim
anyway, so very long story short, I landed on majoring in English with a creative writing option.
00:06:38
The Jobs Podcast
Hmm.
00:06:38
Kim
And I was still able to graduate in four years. I loved it. I love the people I met in those classes. And during this whole time I'm in college, though, here's the big kicker.
00:06:48
Kim
is that I was involved in a student organization called Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. And so that was a group that really helped me figure out my own relationship with God and how to pray and how to hear from him and discern if it's him versus me.
00:07:05
Kim
And so I think because I had that going on in my life, as I'm trying to navigate what major and realizing, oh, God doesn't want me in advertising, But then realizing, oh, I should maybe actually ask God what he wants me to do. Like having those people in my life that are like, no, you should actually talk to God really helped me like learn how to really have my own relationship with God and how to hear from him trying to figure out how to graduate in time.
00:07:34
Kim
So.
00:07:35
The Jobs Podcast
The what was what was the name of the it's a fraternity, correct?
00:07:39
Kim
it's a campus ministry. Yeah.
00:07:41
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:07:41
Kim
It's called Chi Alpha, which sounds Greek. It's because it was formed in the 1953 and they thought sounding Greek would sound, you know, like a college group.
00:07:48
The Jobs Podcast
Oh.
00:08:00
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:08:08
Kim
being Christ ambassadors. So,
00:08:10
The Jobs Podcast
Is that a nationwide organization or they global or where?
00:08:12
Kim
yes. So they are global, but in Europe and other continents, it has a different name just so it's more clear because in America we are very more, oh, Greek, that's college.
00:08:22
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:08:26
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:08:27
Kim
And so there's about, I think it's like 260 Chi Alphas in the ranging in different sizes. And I don't remember how many are in the world. So, but they're in Europe and Asia and Africa. So.
00:08:41
The Jobs Podcast
Do you find them only on college campuses or are they ancillary to college campuses or how does the logistics of the layout nationwide work?
00:08:51
Kim
Sure. Yeah. So Alpha is only on college campuses for college students.
00:08:56
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:08:57
Kim
Yeah. And They can, it's open to anybody who wants to come that is a college student. And some people maybe have heard of Chi Alpha from their churches, like growing up, or maybe they had somebody like me visit a church or visit like a church camp or something like that. But like, it is specifically for college students.
00:09:18
The Jobs Podcast
Okay. So what kind of interaction and I know I'm jumping ahead a little bit here, but what kind of interaction do you have with college students? Is it a weekly thing? Is are their counseling sessions?
00:09:30
The Jobs Podcast
Are you involved in their, their education or how? How are you involved with them day to day week to week?
00:09:45
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:09:49
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:09:49
Kim
Our specifically has like a worship service that meets on campus and we have small group Bible studies that meet on campus. And then myself, my husband and like our staff team, we do meet with some of the students for like one-on-one discipleship or accountability or just different things depending on what that student might want or need in that time.
Senior Year Decisions and Mission Work Inspiration
00:10:12
Kim
so
00:10:12
The Jobs Podcast
Do you have a good working relationship with the school that you're with right now?
00:10:17
Kim
Yes, actually, It has, I've been on a couple of different campuses, but, and I know seasons can come and change, but like right now, yes, we do have a great relationship with our campus because think we, our campus knows that we are there to serve and to help make our campus feel like a home for our college students. they want their college students to be involved in things that that helps their retention rate. It helps those college students tell their younger high school friends, no, I love this campus, like come here.
00:10:48
Kim
And so I think they realize like that we can work together even if our goals might be slightly different that the premise is like, we do want college students to love their time here.
00:10:48
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:11:00
The Jobs Podcast
Sure. So I know I got to head there with what all you do. Let's jump back to your education.
00:11:05
Kim
you're fine.
00:11:06
The Jobs Podcast
You're you're done with college.
00:11:08
Kim
Yeah.
00:11:08
The Jobs Podcast
And now what? Yeah.
00:11:12
Kim
Yeah, senior year, I was stressing hard. was looking to either like maybe go to grad school because that's what a lot of my other friends in my major were doing. And I or to just start working, I was filling out applications to like work at Hallmark, their greeting card, you know, headquarters, and things like that.
00:11:30
The Jobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:11:32
Kim
And I had a friend Actually, I had one friend that was a year ahead of me and she did this crazy thing where she decided to do what's called giving a year.
00:11:43
Kim
And basically what that meant was she had graduated college a year ahead of me and she decided to give a year back to missions, specifically to our Chi Alpha organization. But she was doing it in Louisiana where there's another Chi Alpha. And I just thought that was the coolest thing. And she was there when Katrina hit.
00:12:02
Kim
And mean, she was, yeah, she was safe and everything, but like seeing how like she was able to be there in a great time of need and how that impacted her of just like, she knew she was called there and she was there.
00:12:02
The Jobs Podcast
Ooh. Mm-hmm.
00:12:16
Kim
And then Katrina hit of just like, man, like God knew she needed to be there at that time for that campus and those college students.
00:12:24
Kim
and then I was like, man, like, that's incredible. I had another friend who was in the same class as me. He was preparing to give a year admissions to South Africa.
00:12:34
Kim
and I was like, wow, that's amazing. And another friend, ended up later being my husband, we were not dating or anything at the time. We were totally just friends. he was getting ready to give a year admissions to Japan.
00:12:46
Kim
And so like this, like just really challenged me of like, okay, like I have been growing closer to God. Like, do I really trust God with my future? Would I really be obedient to whatever he might ask?
00:12:58
Kim
And got to that point of like, you know, God, like I changed my major like seven times and I feel like I wasted a lot of time and money there. Maybe before I just assume what my future is next, I should actually ask you what you want to do with it.
00:13:11
Kim
And so I was looking, I was like, man, like what's one year of my life? Like, if I'm going to live to even be 70, like what is one year of my life?
00:13:24
Kim
And so, I was looking into like also giving a year somewhere in missions. and I had talked to my Alpha director at the school was currently at at Missouri state. And he was like, yeah, like you can absolutely give a year here. Let's talk.
00:13:39
The Jobs Podcast
Thank
00:13:40
Kim
But then at the same time, there was another Chi Alpha that, the directors there had just taken over at Mizzou, University Missouri in Columbia. And they had actually been on staff at Missouri State Chi Alpha my sophomore and junior year. And I got really close to them. they had just taken over as directors at Mizzou and they had no staff.
00:14:01
Kim
And visited them like a couple of times here and there, saw how they were doing. I was like, they are so stressed. Like they are trying to do so much.
00:14:11
Kim
with so little. And again, what's, what's one year of my life to help them out while me, like, and then maybe somebody else will join them and then I can peace out.
00:14:22
The Jobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:14:23
Kim
So, you know, I talked to them and they were like, you know, yeah, we can talk about it. Let's see, like, you know, what's possible and blah, blah, blah.
Mission Work Realities and Personal Growth
00:14:32
Kim
I interviewed with both at Mizzou and Missouri state.
00:14:35
Kim
And I was praying about it. Cause I was like, man, like, There's incredible opportunities both places, but I don't want to make the mistake of not being where God wants me. And so I was praying about it. I had friends praying with me. was talking my parents about it.
00:14:49
Kim
And again, long story short, I was like, okay, I am supposed to go to Mizzou and go help out my friends up there. And so, yeah,
00:15:00
The Jobs Podcast
I have one question I'm curious about.
00:15:01
Kim
sure. Yeah.
00:15:03
The Jobs Podcast
How does the picking where you're going spend your time, do they rely on each person to pray about it or to contemplate it or to look at their options? Or they basically, here's a sheet of these are the openings globally? Or how does the logistics of that, do they rely more on what you are looking to do or do they try and fit you somewhere that they think you will be most successful.
00:15:30
Kim
it's very much, want to say like case by case individually, you know, cause I, I have seen people that are like, man, like, I know I want to give a year, but I know it's somewhere in the United States.
00:15:33
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:15:41
Kim
Okay, cool.
00:15:41
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:15:42
Kim
Like here's, here's some options you can explore. or, know, like I've had some students that are like, man, like I want to go overseas. Cool.
00:15:49
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:15:49
Kim
Like, do you have any idea where, or, you know, like trying to help them, like asking them different questions of like, well, I have seen you connect really, really well with like other,
00:15:54
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:15:59
Kim
internationals from Japan. Have you ever thought about Japan? You know, like you just seem to connect really well with Japanese students. Yeah, actually, like, I mean, I don't know the language, but I, I, I do connect really well with Japanese, you know, like, and just trying to like, help them, hey, like, this is what I've seen, but it is still up to them, like, in their own relationship with God of like, hey, I do feel like God's leading me in this direction.
00:16:10
The Jobs Podcast
Okay. All right.
00:16:21
Kim
Great. How can I help?
00:16:23
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:16:23
Kim
So.
00:16:24
The Jobs Podcast
That's a big decision. remember in college, there were some students that were determined they were going to be missionaries and you would see them, you know, just bright eyed and they would go to the mission field and then they would come back and they look like they'd been to war.
00:16:33
Kim
Oh, yeah.
00:16:37
The Jobs Podcast
And that's not that's not a decision that you want to make lightly is.
00:16:37
Kim
Oh, for sure.
00:16:42
Kim
New.
00:16:42
The Jobs Podcast
you know, we're going to go to Papa New Guinea. You've never even left Cleveland. I mean, what are you doing?
00:16:47
Kim
Right. Yes.
00:16:47
The Jobs Podcast
You know, so that I think sometimes there's a knee jerk reaction. They romanticize the mission field and you have to realize that's going to be rough in certain spots and you, you need to go into it.
00:16:53
Kim
Yes.
00:16:59
The Jobs Podcast
So I'm glad to hear that they, they help you walk through. Let's look at your strengths, look at your weaknesses, look at where you might be a best fit as opposed to just, I'm going to, you know, Syria.
00:17:03
Kim
Oh, yeah.
00:17:10
Kim
Right, right. It's like, do you know where that is? Like, right.
00:17:11
The Jobs Podcast
it's, that's,
00:17:12
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, yeah. Show that to me on a map, you know? So,
00:17:16
Kim
Well, the mentoring is so important, too, though, of like, you know, like, hey, man, I've known you for three years.
00:17:17
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, yeah, sure.
00:17:22
Kim
And you're telling me you want to go to Japan, but you've never even talked to the Japanese students in your small group. Like, you know, like, so.
00:17:27
The Jobs Podcast
Right. Yeah. Yeah, I get it.
00:17:31
The Jobs Podcast
So you have decided that you're going to go assist this couple in, you said it was Columbia, Missouri, right?
00:17:36
Kim
Yeah. Yeah. Yep. University of Missouri.
00:17:39
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:17:39
Kim
Yep.
00:17:40
The Jobs Podcast
So how did that, walk me through that year of service that you did. How did that play out?
00:17:44
Kim
Oh gosh. Yeah, it was rough. I mean, like it was great in that, like, man, I left college. I left lot of my friends. was moving even further away from home, which like part of that was exciting because I do like adventure
00:18:02
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:18:02
Kim
I'm, I'm really good with some change.
00:18:06
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:18:06
Kim
And, so move up there and, you know, my now boss is, you know, like, Hey, here's what you're going to do. And I'm like, I don't know how to do that. he's like, yeah, figure it out. I'm like, Oh my gosh, what?
00:18:19
Kim
like
00:18:20
The Jobs Podcast
Welcome to the real world.
00:18:20
Kim
I mean, there was like, right. Pretty much like there was some like guidance and some training, but there was also like a lot of, yeah, I'm trusting you to figure this out. And there was like so many tears, so many, I hesitate to say fights, but there, I mean, there was like tension and it was hard.
00:18:39
Kim
And, but at the same time is really good because I was being challenged in every way of my life, which I was good with, you know, like, I mean, maybe not in the moment, but like, ultimately it was good with, yeah.
00:18:47
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:18:55
Kim
Yeah, it was just like, wow, this is really hard work. And especially like, okay, I'm now working and serving college students, but I am not a college student. And so on the one hand, I could still have a college student lifestyle, like staying up late, hanging out with them. Like I was, you know, single and had no other friends. And so here I am like, yeah, like, let's,
00:19:15
Kim
you know, go drive around to like this random big tree in the middle of nowhere at like midnight. That sounds great.
00:19:20
The Jobs Podcast
Sure. Yeah.
00:19:21
Kim
Having these fun adventures. But then at the same time, like, oh, I don't have to study for a quiz. I'm not stressed about midterms anymore.
00:19:29
Kim
so like, it was weird figuring out like that next level of like, well, then who am I now? Because I'm not a college student, but I am still hanging out with college students.
00:19:40
Kim
But I'm also supposed to be like, in some way a spiritual guide to them. Yeah, so it was hard. It took a lot of adjusting.
00:19:48
The Jobs Podcast
That is, that's a big shift in gears for a lot of people when they leave school. You're so used to having this structure around you and people saying, here, do this, do this. This is what you do next.
00:20:01
The Jobs Podcast
And then you get into the real world and it's, oh, shoot, they're paying me to do this and I have to figure out how to make it happen.
00:20:05
Kim
Right.
00:20:08
Kim
Right.
00:20:08
The Jobs Podcast
And there's nobody guiding me along because I'm getting a paycheck now. It's up to me to make it happen.
00:20:13
Kim
Yeah.
00:20:14
The Jobs Podcast
And then you add to the fact that you're learning that while also trying to learn how to be a mentor for people that you can still see. You could probably still relate to them a little bit. It was only four or five years prior that you were them.
00:20:24
Kim
Right. Right.
00:20:25
The Jobs Podcast
But you have three or four different growing pains going on at once.
00:20:30
Kim
Oh yeah.
00:20:30
The Jobs Podcast
So that's, that's a lot to soak up.
00:20:33
Kim
Yes.
00:20:34
The Jobs Podcast
how did the year, let's look into the year six, eight months into it. You've, you've got your, your legs about you. You're kind of, everything's kind of falling into place a little bit.
00:20:45
The Jobs Podcast
How did it, how did it move towards the end? And then what was after that year?
00:20:51
Kim
well, yeah, I'll fast forward to, guess, like about eight months of, okay, like, I'm starting to find a groove. I'm starting to like, yeah, like get my feet wet and kind of like, okay, like, there's still, yeah, and there's still good days and bad days.
00:21:03
The Jobs Podcast
I can do this. Yeah.
00:21:06
Kim
But like, okay, like, it's okay.
00:21:06
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:21:07
Kim
I'm growing in confidence and figuring this out. And in that timeframe, was just like, well, okay, so what is next then? Because,
00:21:20
Kim
I think I figured this out. They still don't have anybody else joining them. And I'm like, I can't leave them in the same spot that can't, you know, and like, we've grown even closer. And, you know, I was just like, God, like, this is this is ridiculous. And even I should also say there was one other girl that came that joined them on staff and she was my roommate.
00:21:44
Kim
And she had said she would be on staff with them for four to five years, but she did not do the best with her job. And she quit very abruptly.
00:21:58
Kim
And was like, oh my gosh, you know what? I can pick up her commitment. Like I can do this for another four years.
00:22:07
Kim
Like I'm figuring this out. I'm not going to leave them in the same position that I came into. Like, cause I just feel like that's wrong. Like, oh, Hey, I came to help.
00:22:16
The Jobs Podcast
Right.
00:22:18
Kim
Oh, bye. Like leaving you in the same place.
00:22:20
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:22:34
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:22:34
Kim
would you, would you let me take on her commitment?
00:22:39
Kim
And they were like, well, yeah, like, let us, let us pray about it and make sure that's good decision for you too. And cause we, they're like, we just don't want knee jerk reaction kind of thing. Right.
00:22:51
Kim
And they were like, no, we would, we would love to have you. And so then was like, cool. One year turned into four more.
Personal Life and Balancing Ministry with Family
00:22:59
Kim
Yeah.
00:23:01
The Jobs Podcast
Is it a contract where they typically do like after the first year, then it's a four year or how does the four year factor into that?
00:23:08
Kim
So each Chi Alpha can do its own thing. Yeah.
00:23:12
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, okay.
00:23:14
Kim
And it was more of just like, I, it was for us, it was like the idea of like, I will be here for a generation of college students, like to help set culture to be somebody that you can rely on.
00:23:23
The Jobs Podcast
I see.
00:23:29
Kim
So,
00:23:29
The Jobs Podcast
I hadn't thought about that generation of college students. That makes perfect sense why they would do four-year.
00:23:32
Kim
yeah.
00:23:34
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, okay.
00:23:35
Kim
Yeah.
00:23:35
The Jobs Podcast
Now, I may be jumping ahead with this question. You've mentioned a couple of times about this fella that you've got in your life now.
00:23:43
Kim
Yeah.
00:23:44
The Jobs Podcast
Where did he enter the picture?
00:23:47
Kim
We met when we were both college students at Missouri State in Chi Alpha. It was actually one of his best friends that dragged me to Chi Alpha as a freshman. Yeah, he was he actually was a groomsman in our wedding and lots of fun stories there. And.
00:24:05
Kim
I do remember when I first saw him thinking he was cute. but I had a boyfriend at the time. So I was like, whatever, like, cool. There's cute guys here in Chi Alpha.
00:24:12
Kim
That's nice for them. and, we became friends, like just in being in Chi Alpha, becoming friends with other people in Chi Alpha and everything.
00:24:23
Kim
And over the course of years, We were both on the Chi Alpha student leadership team together. We went on mission trip together. We were actually neighbors along with some other Chi Alpha people. We lived in the same apartment complex.
00:24:36
Kim
We hadn't planned it that way. just happened that way. It was kind of fun. And yeah, like we just became really good friends and his little sister and I were friends because we're all, again, like we're all in Chi Alpha together. We're really big on community.
00:24:48
Kim
And yeah, and so then like he... left to go do missions in Japan. He would like, that's where he wanted to give a year back to missions. And he got kicked out of the country after six months.
00:25:01
The Jobs Podcast
A real bad boy, huh?
00:25:04
Kim
It was, you know, like, I like saying it like that, because it sounds dramatic. But basically, like, no, he laughs.
00:25:08
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, he's probably cringing right now, isn't he?
00:25:12
Kim
He knows I tell it like that. Because like, basically, what happened was he went there on a tourist visa, because he couldn't get a work visa.
00:25:13
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, okay.
00:25:19
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, okay.
00:25:19
Kim
And after three months, he went to South Korea for a couple of days, tried to come back to Japan on another tourist visa. And Japan was like, this is suspicious.
00:25:29
The Jobs Podcast
I see.
00:25:30
Kim
And basically said, okay, you can be here for three more months. And then after that, you got to get out and stay out.
00:25:35
The Jobs Podcast
Okay, okay.
00:25:36
Kim
Yeah. So, so he, he was still felt committed to like, though serving in missions for six more months. And so he actually joined me that it wasn't really joining me, but He knew the directors at Mizzou Chi Alpha. And so he asked if he could serve one semester there. And they were like, yeah, sure.
00:25:55
Kim
then he went on to become a teacher, middle school art teacher in a town about an hour and a half away.
00:25:59
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:26:02
Kim
So honestly, I was really disappointed in him that he did that because I was like, you're so good at this. Like, you're so good loving these college guys. and connecting with like every guy you meet.
00:26:12
Kim
And I was like, and you're gonna go be an art teacher. I mean, you're probably good at that too. Like, cause I was totally crushing on him.
00:26:19
Kim
So that might've also influenced my thought. And I was like, well, okay, that's fine. Go do the thing you got a degree for, that makes sense. But then we did start dating probably about like six, five, I think five months after he started teaching.
00:26:35
Kim
We started dating long distance and then like a year and a half later no. Yeah. We started dating November. proposed the like a year later and then we got married six months after that. And then he also joined Chi Alpha after we got married.
00:26:52
Kim
So yeah.
00:26:53
The Jobs Podcast
All right. So you guys were in each other's orbit for a long time before you finally.
00:26:56
Kim
Yeah.
00:26:58
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:26:58
Kim
Yeah.
00:26:58
The Jobs Podcast
Sounds like it was meant to be, but.
00:27:00
Kim
Oh, all of our friends from college were like, oh, finally. Seriously,
00:27:03
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah. We've been nudging you guys together for years.
00:27:07
Kim
seriously. Sure.
00:27:08
The Jobs Podcast
So guys are married. Now I'm curious about the... I keep using the word logistics, but that's one of the things I like to focus on.
00:27:18
The Jobs Podcast
Do you live in an apartment or a home that's provided to you like a parsonage, like a pastor would get a parsonage? Do you live in a home that's provided to you by the school or by your organization, or do they give you rent money, or how does that all kind of play out?
00:27:36
Kim
No, we No, you're on your own.
00:27:38
The Jobs Podcast
Okay. Okay.
00:27:39
Kim
mean, like, so essentially, we're like, according to the government, it looks like we're self employed.
00:27:46
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, I see.
00:27:47
Kim
Yes. And so there's that. And then beyond that, like, we also operate like a nonprofit where you have to have like, people that love and like support what you do, but then also donate essentially to your living expenses, to how you work and run.
00:28:08
Kim
So logistically, the only way we even get to do what we do is if people are like, wow, I love that you reach out to college students and that you reach out to them, share that with Jesus with them and disciple them.
00:28:22
Kim
I want to support you guys at 50 bucks a month. And then they send that to our, they send that to our organization that helps keep track of everything for taxes
00:28:25
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:28:31
Kim
all that like government stuff. And then they keep track of all of that. And then once a month, they send us basically a paycheck of like, here's all the support that came into you guys this month.
00:28:43
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:28:44
Kim
So, yeah.
00:28:44
The Jobs Podcast
So that can fluctuate then.
00:28:46
Kim
Oh, every month it does. Yep.
00:28:49
The Jobs Podcast
Well, that could be good or bad, I guess, depending on the month.
00:28:51
Kim
Right. Right. Yeah.
00:28:52
The Jobs Podcast
But yeah, yeah.
00:28:54
Kim
Living by faith a lot.
00:28:54
The Jobs Podcast
So, oh yeah.
00:28:55
Kim
So yeah.
00:28:56
The Jobs Podcast
Do you live right there close to campus? I would think you would want to be close to campus just for access to the students and then for them to be able to find you. You don't want to live 10 miles away from school.
00:29:08
Kim
Right. So my time at Mizzou, I did live in apartment and I moved twice my time at Mizzou. And they were it was very close to campus, but not too close, because if you're familiar with Mizzou, game days are crazy.
00:29:20
Kim
And I did not want to deal too much with crazy fans.
00:29:23
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, sure.
00:29:24
Kim
So but it was still like really close to campus, like a five minute drive. And then where we're at right now, which is in Cape Girardeau at Southeast Missouri State,
00:29:28
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:29:33
Kim
the first place we moved to was a duplex and it was like, from, we, we weren't familiar with Cape Girardeau. So we're just kind of looking at maps of like, yeah, like that's, you know, like, it's like a mile and a half from campus. That's fine.
00:29:45
Kim
it was in a really bad part of town, but we didn't know that at the time. So, but we were saving up for a house and everything. And so then, after living in the duplex on the bad side of town for a couple of years,
00:29:57
Kim
we were able to purchase a house. And so we are now about, I mean, we're like three miles from campus, but like, it's super easy to get to. So.
00:30:05
The Jobs Podcast
Okay. Your days are probably, mean, you might have dedicated office hours or dedicated access time.
00:30:14
The Jobs Podcast
You know, you can find me here at these certain hours, these days of the week, but you're probably on call quite a bit as far as, you know, students, I go to bed early, but my kids, they're not even college students yet, they're up way past midnight, which now at the age of 50 is completely foreign to me.
00:30:32
The Jobs Podcast
But I saw the sunrise many times in college, so you probably are 365 kind of
00:30:36
Kim
Oh yeah.
00:30:41
Kim
Yes and no. When I was single. Yeah, that was totally fine.
00:30:46
Kim
When I got married, my director at Mizzou, he and his wife like were, and still are amazing mentors in my life. So he was like, Hey, you're about to get married.
00:30:55
Kim
You have to put new boundaries in place because your husband comes before ministry.
00:30:58
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:31:02
Kim
And I was like, oh, I mean, yeah, that makes sense. And he's like, no, no, you need to actually like think this through. And he's like, it's okay if you're not available after midnight. Like, it's okay. Because like they have to have community and they have to rely on not just you because when you leave or if you fail them in some way, like, you know, because you're not available at 3 a.m.
00:31:24
Kim
or whatever, like they need to know how to function without you because their world is not,
00:31:28
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:31:30
Kim
you.
00:31:31
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:31:31
Kim
Like they don't need to worship you. They need to worship Jesus. They need to rely on Jesus, not you.
00:31:34
The Jobs Podcast
Right.
00:31:36
Kim
And so like that kind of like messed with my brain in the best ways. was like, okay, now that makes sense. Like I just haven't really been confronted with that. And so that helped me develop boundaries.
00:31:47
Kim
And so even now, like I am 40, but I've also been doing this for 18 years. And so my phone goes on, do not disturb like at certain times.
00:31:54
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:31:58
Kim
And, you know, my college students have learned, oh, if Kim's not available they can reach out to their small group leader who is most likely another college student or other college students in their small group.
00:31:58
The Jobs Podcast
Sure. Yeah.
00:32:12
Kim
They, at this point, they kind of reach out to me like, oh, I'm in a lot of trouble. I need mom. Like I need my college mom now.
00:32:20
Kim
So it's like, okay, like, yes, that emergency is yes. Absolutely.
00:32:24
The Jobs Podcast
That's a good skill. That's a good skill for people to learn, though, is sometimes you won't have, there's not anybody there and you have to figure it out by yourself.
00:32:33
Kim
Yeah.
00:32:34
The Jobs Podcast
And, you know, it's good to have friends and everything, but you can't have the expectation that everybody else's world will come to a halt when you need it to.
00:32:42
Kim
Right.
00:32:43
Kim
It's part of growing up.
00:32:44
The Jobs Podcast
Yes.
00:32:44
Kim
And that's a lot of what we have to teach them sometimes.
00:32:48
The Jobs Podcast
Plus, too, that's not fair to your marriage.
00:32:50
The Jobs Podcast
And I don't know if you have, you have kids?
00:32:51
Kim
Right. I do. have a nine-year-old girl and a five-year-old girl. Yeah.
00:32:55
The Jobs Podcast
Right. So you have a family and your husband and you both need to make sure that that is healthy and growing correctly as well. So there needs to be a balance. But I can see that being a tough change to make.
00:33:06
Kim
Yeah. And I'm, I'm really glad that, you know, my, my friend, his name's Tom and Missy, that they told me that like, as I was getting married, preparing for marriage of like, Hey, you need start thinking differently.
00:33:20
The Jobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:33:20
Kim
Cause then like in having kids, like, I mean, I had to start thinking differently again. But I think it's also important. I mean, like, I don't know how much you or your listeners know about just college students in general and like the way demographics are shifting and like, all this stuff. But I think it is super important for college students to see what a healthy family looks like.
00:33:42
Kim
And that, that is boundaries.
00:33:45
Kim
And that's like, Hey, in my life, God, a hundred percent comes first. And then my family and then ministry, like that's, you know, sorry, guys, my kids come before you. Sorry, not sorry.
00:33:53
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:33:57
Kim
So,
00:33:58
The Jobs Podcast
Well, yeah, you shouldn't have to apologize for that. And yeah, in a world where divorce is just, it's just a, almost an emotional decision.
00:34:08
The Jobs Podcast
I'm just going to get divorced now, or I'm just going to, you know, the examples of a healthy marriage.
00:34:09
Kim
Yeah. It's hard and I don't want to do it. Yeah.
00:34:13
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:34:14
The Jobs Podcast
The examples of healthy marriage that yes, they've had brutal times. They've had awful times. They figured out a way to make it work because they're in it together. it's getting harder and harder to find
Challenges and Future in Chi Alpha
00:34:24
The Jobs Podcast
those.
00:34:24
The Jobs Podcast
And so to have young people that are in a very stressful growth time in their life to see a good example of that, I mean, you can't help but clap for that.
00:34:35
The Jobs Podcast
So what do you like most about your job? And on the flip side of that, what do you dislike most about your job?
00:34:45
Kim
Oh, man, I could probably just start crying thinking about it. About what I liked, how would I just like?
00:34:50
The Jobs Podcast
Right. Okay, good. I'm glad you clarified.
00:34:52
Kim
I mean, like there is nothing like, yeah, I probably will cry. Watching a student give their life to Jesus and actually like getting what that means.
00:35:01
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:35:06
Kim
Like not just like an emotional, oh, cool. Like everybody's excited. Yeah, I want Jesus. But like actually like, recognizing he's changed my life.
00:35:15
The Jobs Podcast
Mm-hmm. Do you get to follow students? Do you keep in touch with your students that, you know, from 15 years ago, do they still reach out to you periodically and you kind of get to see them grow up?
00:35:28
Kim
Yeah. um um We've only been on our campus where we've at since 2013, which I mean like that's, you know, coming up on 12 years.
00:35:35
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, yeah.
00:35:36
Kim
But you do lose track of some that like maybe weren't as involved or connected, but like, it's crazy because now they're like starting to have kids and like, oh my gosh, like, so you do have Facebook that helps.
00:35:48
The Jobs Podcast
Right. Oh.
00:35:51
Kim
And we have a Facebook group that when they graduate, they get invited into this alumni group. And so like I'll post updates of like,
00:36:01
Kim
like so-and-so just graduated from like chiropractic school, like, yay, or like highlights and different things. So like to keep them up to date with whatever, like what else is going on with their friends from their Chi Alpha days.
00:36:12
Kim
But then I also try to like, you know, the girls, especially like I'll call or text them. I visited a couple of them over the summer last year that were in St. Louis. And some of them, like, we also try to have every homecoming,
00:36:27
Kim
we have like just a big barbecue to invite our alumni to, to just come, come back and hang out our house, like James is grilling. And so we've got that going on. And now one of our alumni who still is in the area, and his wife are trying to do like another alumni invite hangout beginning of August, just to be like, Hey, like here's another chance to like reconnect with everybody and hang out if they want to.
00:36:52
Kim
we try to have like, yeah special alumni events to come to but then I also just try to like I check on them see how they're doing and yeah so I don't know if that answers the question oh yeah
00:37:02
The Jobs Podcast
That's got to be neat. You does. Like every four years, you see a new group leave, you know, and a new group comes in and then you see them when they're in their 30s or getting older, you know, and it's like, I remember when you were just a snot-nosed punk and a freshman in college and now look at you, you know, you're successful, you got a family.
00:37:19
The Jobs Podcast
That's got to be neat to see them almost like a parent to a certain degree.
00:37:19
Kim
it's crazy
00:37:22
Kim
Yeah, it is really cool.
00:37:23
The Jobs Podcast
But what now every job, even the jobs that we love, they have downsides, they have things that we dislike.
00:37:30
Kim
Yes.
00:37:32
The Jobs Podcast
Is there anything that and you don't have to go hog wild with it if you don't want to.
00:37:35
Kim
Oh, you're fine.
00:37:36
The Jobs Podcast
But what you dislike about your job?
00:37:37
Kim
Yeah.
00:37:40
The Jobs Podcast
What's tough about your job? Let's put it that way.
00:37:42
Kim
it tough. Like we do have oversight and we do have like, authority over us, which is great. And I think that's super important for any organization to have somebody that they are accountable to.
00:37:56
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:37:56
Kim
And so that part I'm fine with. I think it's, it's very hard. And I can't imagine being the people in our higher up offices and stuff. I do not want that job. I do not envy that job.
00:38:10
Kim
I think it is hard though, of like, man, like, I don't, know that any of these people even know who we are or like that they it seems like communication's not always the best it's just kind of like slap in the face of like oh you got to start implementing this now or oh hey we decided to change this thing now or you know what and so like that it can be very jarring at times of like oh uh like yep that's cool i'll figure that out next week or nope this week i'll figure out this and yeah so like it
00:38:42
Kim
Again, can't imagine being in charge of over 200 and some odd Chi Alphas across the nation.
00:38:46
The Jobs Podcast
Sure.
00:38:48
Kim
So I don't actually know how hard that is. But on this side of it, it can feel very like a disconnect of like, I'm not sure how much I'm actually cared about from our higher ups.
00:38:59
The Jobs Podcast
Well, yeah, sometimes you get a, you get an order, a directive that's sent down from high above somewhere and it's, you look at it and think, did you even bother to ask any of us if this would work in the real world?
00:39:10
Kim
Yeah.
00:39:11
The Jobs Podcast
You know, sometimes the implementation of it is like, oh, well, okay, I guess we're doing this now.
00:39:15
Kim
Right, right.
00:39:16
The Jobs Podcast
But yeah, I mean, I don't know. You can justify either side of that conversation, but that's the messy part of business.
00:39:22
Kim
for sure. And right. And I recognize that of like, you know, again, I don't know what it's like to be in their shoes.
00:39:28
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, right.
00:39:30
Kim
But if I had to say like, this is the part I dislike the most, that would be it. So yeah.
00:39:35
The Jobs Podcast
The administrative side usually isn't very fun.
00:39:37
Kim
Yeah, which is part of, you know, every job. So
00:39:40
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah. So you've been doing this for how long did you say? 15 years? 18 years.
00:39:46
Kim
I have, I have been Chi Alpha missionary for 18 years, but my husband and I pioneered the one here at Southeast Missouri State in 2013. So 12 years, so. so
00:39:57
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:39:58
The Jobs Podcast
So what does the future look like? Where... I don't know what your next step is. mean, you're right in the middle of this. It sounds like it's going well. It's being productive.
00:40:10
The Jobs Podcast
You're doing a good job. What's next?
00:40:14
Kim
to keep on keeping on.
00:40:16
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:40:16
Kim
No, I mean, like, there, you know, feel like there are lot of jobs that like, okay, you get this, and then you strive for this, like you want this promotion, or you have this next tangible thing to aim for, should you want it.
00:40:30
Kim
And I guess to some degree, like, we do have that in Chi Alpha, like, you know, right now, like my husband and I are Chi Alpha directors, specifically for our campus.
00:40:40
Kim
And, you know, there are things like state directors and area directors and, you know, like other, and then being in headquarters and all this stuff, but I don't want those things.
00:40:51
Kim
Like I just, it's, you know, I love my college students.
00:40:51
The Jobs Podcast
Right.
00:40:53
Kim
I love my campus. So I'm, I'm very happy being here. Like I want to stay here. want take Simo Chi Alpha to continuing to grow in a healthy way.
00:41:07
Kim
We recently bought a Chi Alpha house And that has been a massive project and way outside my comfort zone. Oh my goodness.
00:41:15
Kim
And I, know, like my husband and are like, you know, we're here for a long time. Like we want you know, make this house a blessing, you know, to our campus. And we want to continue to figure out better ways to serve our campus.
00:41:28
Kim
And yeah, so that's what's next, I guess.
00:41:31
The Jobs Podcast
That's a big, that's a big project.
00:41:32
Kim
Yeah.
00:41:33
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:41:34
Kim
Oh, it's wild.
00:41:34
The Jobs Podcast
What's this, this question, I'm, I'm struggling to find the words, but let me mumble through a question and hopefully you'll see what I'm trying to ask.
00:41:43
Kim
Sure.
00:41:45
The Jobs Podcast
When I look at college students now, and I think about what I was like as a college student, I'm Gen X, and there's always generational differences.
00:41:52
Kim
Yeah.
00:41:54
The Jobs Podcast
And this isn't a, I'm not slamming on any generation that they all,
00:41:55
Kim
Oh, yeah.
00:41:58
The Jobs Podcast
think the one behind them is an idiot and then come to find out they're not that bad. And, you know, it's just as you grow up and realize, well, they kind of had the boomers got some things right.
00:42:02
Kim
Yeah.
00:42:06
The Jobs Podcast
So, you know, that's that's never going to stop. But as you're if you're older, what have you seen in students that has changed maybe for the positive and then also things if if someone wanted to get some advice from you about how to be successful in college today?
00:42:27
The Jobs Podcast
What's some words of wisdom that you would share with them?
00:42:29
Kim
sure so I I that's one of my other side hobbies is I love studying the different generations and yeah so you're gen x I'm a millennial my college students are gen z and my children are gen alpha so surrounded by a hodgepodge of fun so uh
00:42:48
The Jobs Podcast
That felt sarcastic when you said
00:42:50
Kim
No, honestly, it is so funny because like, I have to like, I've got my own slang that, you know, my staff makes fun of me for when I say certain things.
00:42:59
Kim
And my husband are like, what?
00:42:59
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:43:01
Kim
Like, and then like my college students will say things that, you know, my daughter is like, oh my gosh. And then she'll say slang that I'm like, what is that? Like, oh my gosh, where did you learn that word?
00:43:10
The Jobs Podcast
Right.
00:43:13
The Jobs Podcast
I'm still trying to bring, I want to bring fleek back.
00:43:13
Kim
and,
Adapting to Generational Changes and Communication
00:43:16
The Jobs Podcast
That's the word that I use with my teenage boys, and I don't even know what it means, but you know, so.
00:43:23
Kim
But Jen, it was fun transition, you know, because when I did start Chi Alpha, I was still ministering to millennials, you know, just like, you know, my, you know, younger millennials, and each generation has a marker, like a defining moment for them.
00:43:34
The Jobs Podcast
Right. Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:38
Kim
And for millennials, it was 911. And so like, you have you have like your older millennials and younger millennials.
00:43:44
Kim
And so My husband was a freshman in college when 9-11 happened. I was a senior in high school. And so like, it blows my Gen Z students' minds when I can tell them what life was like before
00:43:55
Kim
And so, but yeah, like, so you've got Gen Z who, they're very dependent on technology. They also don't want to be, like, they're aware.
00:44:07
The Jobs Podcast
Really?
00:44:08
Kim
Yeah, like they're aware that it's an issue, but they don't really care enough to do something about it.
00:44:14
The Jobs Podcast
I see.
00:44:14
Kim
Like, because it's the only, like they've, they've literally, it's been in their life, their whole life.
00:44:15
The Jobs Podcast
All right.
00:44:21
Kim
You know, like smartphones can't, oh, go ahead.
00:44:21
The Jobs Podcast
I think, yeah, I think Gen X, well, Gen X was probably the last generation that knows what it's like before the internet and then after the internet when, you know, I mean, I remember, oh yeah, sure.
00:44:32
Kim
Yeah. I mean, older millennials, like I remember not having internet my house. I remember having to share, yeah, and share a landline to connect to the internet.
00:44:37
The Jobs Podcast
A phone on the wall.
00:44:40
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, yeah.
00:44:41
Kim
Oh my gosh.
00:44:41
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:44:42
The Jobs Podcast
Dial up.
00:44:43
Kim
Oh, PTSD from that sign or that noise.
00:44:44
The Jobs Podcast
We're old.
00:44:47
Kim
Yeah.
00:44:48
The Jobs Podcast
Yes. And then someone would pick up the phone and then it would disconnect.
00:44:51
The Jobs Podcast
Oh, yeah. Yeah. No.
00:44:53
The Jobs Podcast
Sorry, I interrupted you.
00:44:54
Kim
No, you're totally fine.
00:44:54
The Jobs Podcast
You were saying.
00:44:56
Kim
I love generational conversations.
00:44:58
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:44:59
Kim
Yeah, so, but, okay, so millennials had 9-11. Gen Z has COVID.
00:45:04
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:45:05
Kim
And so I have my older Gen Zers that are one way and my younger Gen Zers that are a different way. And it's very interesting. And we had to walk through our staff, who most of them are older Gen Z anyway.
00:45:20
Kim
But they were like, why these guys so much different? And I was like, they are in some ways and they're not in others. And a lot of them had there for while. I think it's starting to get better.
00:45:32
Kim
But there for a while, we had some college students that were very, for lack of a better phrase, socially inadequate. And because like COVID happened, you know, their freshman and sophomore year of high school,
00:45:46
Kim
where like, you know, and then they were still kind of cleaning up the mess of it, their junior and senior year even. So like, we were dealing with a lot of college students for a while that never had a prom, that never had homecoming, that, you know, didn't go cruising or didn't, you know, like, didn't have awkward breakups or, you know, friendship betrayals because you like my crush or, you know, like things that are typical rites of passage in high school development.
00:46:13
Kim
And so they come to college not knowing how or knowing even less how to have a confrontation with a friend or how to tell no, I don't want to date you anymore.
00:46:25
Kim
Or, you know, just like these basic things. Like I had to deal with one college student that tricked another friend in a three-way phone call that I was like, didn't even know you could do that on a cell phone. Like, and I'm sorry, what?
00:46:36
The Jobs Podcast
Is that what it is?
00:46:37
Kim
Yeah.
00:46:38
The Jobs Podcast
it because the communication was all electronic and so when it's done in person, they struggle to handle that?
00:46:46
Kim
I think they just struggled in general to have it like much less, you know, in person or over phone.
00:46:47
The Jobs Podcast
Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
00:46:50
Kim
But the newer thing I've just learned is that I got used to texting my college students because that was what they preferred. I don't have Snapchat. I do have Instagram and Facebook. They don't like Facebook.
00:47:04
Kim
And, but I was like, I'm not doing Snapchat or TikTok. that can theirs.
00:47:08
Kim
But yeah,
00:47:10
Kim
I noticed in the past couple of years that the texting hasn't been community, like it just hasn't been reciprocated as well. And what I learned is that they get so many notifications on their phone that you're just another notification and it gets lost.
00:47:27
Kim
But what they do respond to now is a phone call because it must be important because
00:47:32
The Jobs Podcast
Really?
00:47:34
The Jobs Podcast
We're coming full circle.
00:47:36
Kim
I know. And now they may not always answer because like you also have to have a certain level of relationship too. So like depending on the relationship I have, they might wait for the voicemail and then call me back.
00:47:42
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:47:46
Kim
Like, oh, okay, I'm not in trouble. Or like, oh, okay, she just wants a Taco Bell run. Yeah, yeah. But if I text, it's just like another red bubble on their phone that they'll get to sometime, maybe this week.
00:47:58
The Jobs Podcast
Hmm. Wow.
00:48:00
Kim
mean, because they just get so many all the time.
00:48:02
The Jobs Podcast
I never thought about that. I don't, I don't have, I mean, if I get a phone call or a text message, that's all I get on my phone. I don't have a bunch of social media stuff.
00:48:10
Kim
Well, I've turned off a lot of notifications on mine because I'm like, I don't care that somebody likes something on Facebook.
00:48:15
Kim
I just, don't care.
00:48:15
The Jobs Podcast
Right. Is Facebook, is that viewed as something that your mom or dad uses now and it's not younger generations?
00:48:23
Kim
Yes, and it's also maybe something they get after they graduate college.
00:48:28
The Jobs Podcast
I see.
00:48:28
Kim
Like, so it's almost like, oh, that's more adulting.
00:48:32
The Jobs Podcast
I see.
00:48:33
Kim
So I've had several college students that get it after they graduate or close to graduation.
00:48:33
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:48:39
The Jobs Podcast
If someone wanted to get into the line of work that you and your husband are in, What types of, I mean, are most folks, I would think you would have to be extroverted or at least be able to fake it well. I wouldn't imagine an introvert in a relational type career like yours is.
00:48:58
The Jobs Podcast
I think that would be a bit of a struggle.
00:49:02
Kim
pros and cons, if we're talking just extrovert and introvert, neither, it doesn't matter. but I do think that is a common misconception with ministry in general, that people do think it's an extrovert's job.
00:49:13
The Jobs Podcast
Hmm.
00:49:13
Kim
But my, my right hand girl, like if James and I were to get hit by a bus, like she's the one that would take over Chi Alpha, like until the dust settles kind of thing. she's an introvert and yet she is by far like rocking it.
00:49:30
Kim
because the thing is like, okay, if you know, God's calling you to do this, he is calling you to do this. Not you. If you're more extroverted or you, if you're more outgoing, like he's called you, as you are.
00:49:41
The Jobs Podcast
As you are. Yeah.
00:49:42
Kim
Yes. so like, she did learn like, oh, crap. Like I am an introvert, but I'm called to Chi Alpha. And I was like, that's fine. Like, it just means you need to make sure you take care of yourself and have time alone.
00:49:59
The Jobs Podcast
Right.
00:49:59
Kim
Like you to recharge to be you. And if you have to put that in your schedule, I don't care. Like I need you to be you like, and you know, and so there are times that like, you know, she's like, cool, like I can be around people because she's an outgoing person, but she is very much an introvert.
00:50:16
Kim
She needs alone time to recharge. And so that's what she does. And she is phenomenal at connecting with people and loving people. And mean, honestly, like she's, yeah, she's fantastic. And I am a crazy extrovert. Like I had to like, in order to do what my husband and do, we had to take some psychological exams and all this stuff to make sure we weren't too crazy.
00:50:40
Kim
And it showed like, I am very extroverted. And at the same time, like I, like it's different ministering to college students at 40 being an extrovert because like, I love them, but that's not the same to me as hanging out with my friends.
00:50:59
Kim
like that recharge me that like, Ooh, like I don't have to feel like I need to guide you and direct you.
00:50:59
The Jobs Podcast
Sure. Yeah.
00:51:05
Kim
Like I can just be with my friends. And so even for an extrovert, it's important to have friends outside of ministry that like can give you life.
00:51:16
Kim
And so introvert, extrovert, it does not matter. I think you just both just have different struggles that they have to be aware of and, you know, take to God as far as how how to deal with it.
00:51:27
The Jobs Podcast
Depending on the situation, there's a time and a place for all types of personalities, intro or
Mentorship and Developing Life Skills
00:51:32
The Jobs Podcast
extroverted.
00:51:33
Kim
Oh yeah.
00:51:33
The Jobs Podcast
But what types of – when you see someone coming up that is kind of following in your footsteps, what types of soft skills or interrelational skills do you see in the ones that are the most successful?
00:51:49
Kim
They do have to love Jesus. Like, because if you don't love Jesus, how are you going to guide anybody else in growing closer Jesus? So I think knowing like,
00:51:59
Kim
okay, do you have a strong and growing relationship with Jesus no matter what? Like whether you are on student leadership team or, know, whether you're on Christmas break or, know, whatever, like, do you, you love Jesus? And in loving Jesus, you have to love people.
00:52:19
Kim
And that can look different to a lot of different people, but like, you know, do you notice if somebody, you know, seems down and reach out to them? Like, do you welcome people well and offer them to sit next to you or, you know, go ahead and sit next to them?
00:52:36
Kim
So I think like you just, does your heart break for what breaks God's heart? And like, there are some things that can be taught or tweaked or whatever. But if your heart's not already in certain places and in it,
00:52:53
Kim
Like, I can't, I can't force somebody to love people. I mean, like, I might be able to, like, give you some skills of like, hey, like, maybe don't cut them off.
00:52:57
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:53:02
Kim
Like, don't, don't interrupt them. Like, you know, but the heart is there.
00:53:04
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:53:06
Kim
And so that makes them teachable to do it better. But like, yeah, mean, you really, you have to genuinely love God and love his people.
00:53:15
The Jobs Podcast
The teachable comment you just made, I can see that being, if you've got a diamond in the rough, that's got the basics, the foundation, but it's the interpersonal, like, you know, sometimes you don't have to say anything. Just listen.
00:53:29
Kim
Yes.
00:53:29
The Jobs Podcast
Sometimes just hang out with them, go do what they want to do, go watch the movie or eat where they want to eat, you know?
00:53:32
Kim
Yup. Yes.
00:53:36
Kim
Yes.
00:53:37
The Jobs Podcast
And if those are the kinds of things I think come with experience that you just have to learn to be there and, Just your simple presence can be a positive influence, and it opens the door to further discussions that can go deeper.
00:53:52
Kim
Yes, absolutely.
00:53:55
The Jobs Podcast
So failure is something that I talk about in every single podcast that I do because think it's important. You know, it was something that I learned early on, and I've had a couple of screw-ups in my life and my career, and I got some advice from mentors, leaders, bosses, etc.
00:54:14
The Jobs Podcast
What is your best advice if a student comes to you and said, I royally screwed up. This is what happened and I just blew it. What's your advice on how to deal with that failure, both to process it in the moment, address the issue, but then moving forward?
00:54:30
Kim
Yeah. Well, it does depend on what kind of failure we're talking about here. Cause I can think of a lot, but a lot of it is like, okay, then what do you need to do now? Like, and trying to help them think critically instead of me just telling them what to do.
00:54:48
Kim
Because like, I think a lot of times, especially my younger Gen Zers, but this was also true for the older ones, they just want to be told what to do. they may or may not do it, but they just want to be told what to do.
00:55:02
Kim
And think the harder part is teaching them to think critically of like, what do you think you should do now? Like you're telling me you've screwed up.
00:55:11
Kim
And sometimes I might say, and I agree with you that you did. That's a good assessment. Yeah. So what do you think you should do about it? And if they're like, I don't know, I don't know. Okay, well, you've clearly upset your roommates.
00:55:24
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:55:24
Kim
Like, do you understand what you did to upset her? Well, yes, I did X, Okay, great. You've identified the problem. What does the Bible tell us we should do when we have wronged somebody?
00:55:39
Kim
don't know. Okay, great. That's fine. Let's look in that here, you know, like trying to like, help them like see like, oh, you need to, or like, or if they're mad at their roommate, okay, like, what did they do? Are you sure that's what they actually did? You know, because sometimes it's like, well, I heard that they said this or, you know, whatever.
00:55:56
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:55:56
Kim
Well, we don't need to make assumptions. What is factual? What really did happen? Well, I did this and I knew would upset them. So I'm sure it upset them.
00:56:06
Kim
Okay, well, what made you do that? So it's a lot of asking questions to help their brain,
00:56:11
The Jobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:56:14
Kim
I don't want calm down, but like when something major has happened, we're all emotion or at least like for girls, I deal with the girls mostly.
00:56:20
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah. Okay.
00:56:23
Kim
Like it's all emotion. It's all hype and like, like freak out. And so I ask a lot of questions to try and help them process, but also to get them to critically think.
00:56:33
Kim
And then I usually end it with, okay, so what's your next step so that they can actually verbalize. I need to find her and apologize. great how are you going to apologize like because sometimes sorry like you know like okay right or I'm sorry that offended or you know I'm sorry you took it that way like oh right right I apologize no no that was kind of you know
00:56:48
The Jobs Podcast
Or I'm sorry, but yeah, well, that's not really an app. I'm sorry you made me treat you that way kind of a thing. Yeah. It's like, good grief. Yes.
00:56:59
The Jobs Podcast
So you're trying to help them develop the skill to get through the noise, to get through the, just the static and get to, let's look at this logically or sequentially.
00:57:04
Kim
yes
00:57:12
Kim
Yes.
00:57:14
The Jobs Podcast
And then what would you, how would you like to be treated if you were on the receiving end of the wrong?
00:57:20
Kim
Absolutely. mean, sorry.
00:57:23
The Jobs Podcast
Do you find that that works a lot of times, or is that a struggle to get them to see that?
00:57:28
Kim
50-50.
00:57:29
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:57:29
Kim
think, well, because like they're not used to doing that. And so like, it's a new muscle they're having to develop. And sometimes they're just like, I don't know.
00:57:37
Kim
I'll just figure it out tomorrow. oh, okay.
00:57:39
The Jobs Podcast
Okay.
00:57:40
Kim
it depends honestly on how teachable they are, how much they actually want to grow.
00:57:44
The Jobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:57:44
Kim
and I've had some, I had one girl, this is an older Gen Z-er, but she was like basically freaking out because she's like, I, I need to break up with my boyfriend. And I'm like, okay, what makes you say that?
00:57:56
Kim
Even though in my head, I'm like, oh, thank God. But I'm like, no, you know, what makes you think that, you know, because then they, like, it helps them when you verbalize something, it makes it more real.
00:58:07
Kim
Versus just keeping it inside in your head, because then you can forget your own thoughts or you can change your thoughts, like change your mind.
00:58:12
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:58:13
Kim
But to verbalize it where somebody else can hear you makes it more real. And so was like, well, what makes you think you should break up with him? And so she's telling me and she's like, well, I'm realizing like that, you know, saying all these things. I was like, okay, well, when do you think you should do this? And she's like, well, probably the next time I see him when I go home, like, okay, how do you plan on, you know, like, so asking her these things and she's just like, oh my gosh, like,
00:58:35
Kim
you're making me really think about this. And I'm like, well, this is kind of a big deal. This isn't like, are you going have for lunch? Like, this is like, you know, you've been with this guy for a couple of years.
00:58:42
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah. Sure.
00:58:44
Kim
Like, and so anyway, so she does end up breaking up with him and she would reflect on that moment years later and be like, you actually like made me think.
00:58:56
Kim
And it was probably one of my first times aside from schoolwork that it actually made me think. I was like, oh my gosh. Like, I mean,
00:59:05
Kim
I'm glad I made you think, but I'm sad that's the first time. And anyway, she ended up like marrying one of our staff guys last year. So like worked out well for a lot of us, but yeah.
00:59:13
The Jobs Podcast
It all worked out. Well, that's a skill that a lot of folks need to learn is certain things deserve contemplation. You need to take the time to analyze this.
00:59:23
The Jobs Podcast
It can't just be an emotional or a flippant type of a decision.
00:59:24
Kim
Absolutely.
00:59:27
Kim
Right.
00:59:28
The Jobs Podcast
Because you're right. It's not lunch. This is a relationship that's – and there's another person on the other side of this.
00:59:33
Kim
Absolutely.
00:59:34
The Jobs Podcast
So –
00:59:34
Kim
And at best, at best, I'm with these students for four years at best, but they are going to have a life after Chi Alpha.
00:59:44
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah. Yeah.
00:59:45
Kim
I like one of our goals is to prepare them for what's next. And if if I can teach them this, actually stop and think, you know, like, oh, what do I need to do?
00:59:57
Kim
And why do I need to do it? Like, that's applicable, whether you're talking about a boyfriend or a job or, know, a church to go to or, you know, what of like, oh, I just want to leave this church because like they made me mad. OK, well, what what was said that made you mad?
01:00:12
Kim
Well, they told me I, you know, I have sin in my life. Well, do you have sin? You know, like, dang it. Oh, they're calling me out on truth or, know, just something that's like, hey, like, I want you to be able to do this.
01:00:24
Kim
and you know think critically and all the stuff when you leave here so
01:00:28
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah. There's a lot of what you learn. And thing that you're doing is you're helping them with their spiritual life. But, you know, junior high, middle school, whatever you call it nowadays, high school, college, there's a lot that you learn outside of the classroom.
01:00:40
Kim
right absolutely right right
01:00:45
The Jobs Podcast
And those are the things that help you become a well-rounded individual as you get older, or hopefully they do anyway. Some people get stunted in certain areas, but And I think that what you provide is not just a spiritual guidance, but it's just a life guidance on how to deal with relationships, coworkers, roommates, because you're going to, you know, you get married with someone, hopefully you enjoy their company, because if you don't, I mean, you're going to be both.
01:01:05
Kim
Yes.
01:01:10
Kim
That's a big commitment. Right.
01:01:11
The Jobs Podcast
Yeah, both. You're going miserable.
01:01:13
Kim
right
01:01:14
The Jobs Podcast
So, well, this, I wasn't quite sure on this one. I've never interviewed anybody that is in ministry in your line of work like that. So I was looking forward to it, but I wasn't quite sure how it was going to go, but it was, I really enjoyed myself and, and I think you've represented your organization very well.
01:01:35
The Jobs Podcast
You bet.
01:01:36
The Jobs Podcast
Well, good. That's always good. Well, I really thank you for your time today. It's, it's been a pleasure.
01:01:41
Kim
Yeah, no problem. Thanks for having me.
01:01:43
The Jobs Podcast
You bet.