Wade's World

Andy Nelson, the Morningside University Campus Chaplain, came into COMM 208 class to talk about his life and what he does for a living.

As a Campus Chaplain, he gives a pitch to prospective students, letting them know that their faith is important, and that they can continue to follow it, even when they come to college.

Nelson helps and supports any type of faith one would like to continue at college. He provides the resources needed to connect with specific religions and worshipping communities.

Nelson emphasized the ability to express any religion you want here at Morningside, which made him recall the First Amendment rights we have posted outside of our classroom here in the library at Morningside. He thought that it was a great thing to have posted so that everyone would always have a subtle reminder.

Some of the things he does to help students is host worship services and help others get connected with worshipping communities of their interest.

Nelson knew he wanted to connect with college students because that is the group of people he did his seminary training with, and he really enjoyed it. Morningside was his destination because his wife was working here, and a Campus Chaplain position opened up so he applied.

His road to being a chaplain and pastor was sort of back and forth. He recalled when he was in college that he called his parents saying,

“I think I want to be a pastor!”

What he didn’t know was that his mind was going to change several times before he decided to stick with it.

A piece of advice that Nelson had for his younger self was to take a break between his student life and his real job. He wanted to avoid getting burnt out and wanted a better transition from student life into the real world.

If he had to have a different occupation, he would want one, defined by Nelson, where it is easier to “see what you have added to the world.”

This doesn’t mean he doesn’t see that as a pastor though, it is just a little harder to understand and wrap his head around. With more experience, Nelson mentioned it is easier to see what he is adding to the world.

Faith is the most important thing in Nelson’s life. He mentioned that everyone has a different perception of faith so it may not be the most important for them, but many factors contribute to why it is the most important thing in his life.

“It shapes how I view the world.” Nelson states.

Jacob O’Dell’s real estate production company has allowed him to perfect his communication skills with business professionals in the real world.

O’Dell has a very useful skill… his ability to speak with people.

“I am able to think critically before I speak, that’s what sets me apart.” O’Dell states.

O’Dell loves to sit back and observe situations and just listen to business professionals. He knows that they have much more knowledge than him since they have been in the industry much longer.

Being able to absorb information, process it, and think critically of a response is very helpful for him when he is in business meetings. His trick is to basically absorb the information from the business professionals, think of it in his own words, and say it back out in the way he understood it, to make sure he is interpreting it in the right way. This is what allows him to have such great communication skills.

O’Dell likes to credit a lot of what he has learned about communication skills to Youtube and a specific book he has read. The book is called The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.

O’Dell summarized what he has learned in one sentence.

“Shut up and Listen.” O’Dell expresses.

O’Dell repeatedly emphasized how important it is for him to listen to older business professionals and absorb all of their information, since they have the most experience and have been through more real life experiences.

Jacob Samuel O’Dell is a sophomore business-marketing major attending Morningside University.

Q: “Tell me a little about yourself. What do you like to do in your free time?”

“I don’t really have much free time, to be quite honest with you. If you mean when I am not in class or playing baseball, then I enjoy learning new skills, watching YouTube videos to help my business succeed, and networking with business professionals in the area.”

Q: “You mentioned something about a business, Jacob, tell me about that.”

“Yes, I run a real estate production company. Real estate agents hire our company to help photograph and video different properties. Our job is then to help the agents market their listings online.”

Q: “How long have you been in this business?”

“I have been doing this for about a year when November rolls around.”

Q: “Do you have any goals for this business?”

“Yes, of course. I plan to continue this business after college and make a career out of it. I would like to try and expand as the business grows but I understand that this will take some time. In the future, I would also like to expand near the west coast, where I am originally from. I have some business professionals that I am in touch with from Utah and Arizona that would like to help me expand.”

Q: “Jacob, it seems like you have your future planned out. What is the benefit of getting a college degree?”

“A college degree doesn’t drastically benefit me to be completely honest. I am in college to build connections and to network with business professionals. I also wanted to continue to play baseball.”

Q: “Tell me a little about your baseball career.”

“I started playing baseball when I was 5 and I was not very good. There are a lot of good athletes from California so it was hard to stand out. The first year I felt like I stood out was my freshman year of high school.”

Q: “How did you get recruited by Morningside and why did you choose to come here?

“My high school coach was actually a catcher at Morningside a few years ago. He told me to take a visit and see what Morningside had to offer. That’s how I got in contact with the coaching staff and faculty here. I chose to come here because I wanted to get away from the west coast and I didn’t want to go to a huge university.”

Interviewed by Wade Canaday