Danny Paschall

Danny Paschall

20 Questions

Name: Danny Paschall
Position: Dean of Students.
Education: Azusa Pacific, B.A., Liberal Studies; M.A., College Administration.
At Biola since: 1994
Your StrengthsFinder top five? Individualization, discipline, empathy, connectedness, developer.

1. What do you do in your job (briefly)?  My job is to make sure undergrad students have all the tools and resources they need to be their best selves...all that God has created them to be. My job is to bring leadership and oversight to the division of Student Development.

2. The five (or so) most influential books you've read:
Let Your Life Speak- Parker Palmer;
Slight Edge- Jeff Olson;
Happiness is a Serious Problem- Dennis Prager;
Letters to a Young Poet- Rainer Maria Rilke;
Risking Everything- Roger Housden;
The Gift of Fear- Gavin DeBecker.

3. Do you think it is possible to live with no regrets? I read a great poem yesterday that said "the past is the past, and the present is what your life is, and you have the ability to choose what that life will be…" I am not sure it’s possible to live without regret but one way of moving toward that idea is to do all that I can to enjoy every little moment in front of me…right now.

4. Why are you at Biola? I believe in Biola's values: the way we prioritize biblical integration, focus on academics and value healthy community living.

5. What does contentment mean to you? How close are you to that, now? I believe if I am not content now, the way my life is, I never will be. So for me, I do my best to be grateful for my current condition and life circumstances.

6. A guilty pleasure: Kraft Mac and Cheese; apple fritters.

7. If God put you completely in charge of creating Heaven, what would it be like? It would always be Fall, all the animals would be able to talk, and everyone would eat vegetarian food.

8. If you could relive any part of your life, what part would it be, and why? I loved age 11.  I was old enough to explore on my own (build forts, ride motorcycles, etc.) but young enough to not have major responsibilities (mowing lawn, etc).

9. What are five things you are most thankful for in your life right now?
Carrie, Ramie, Brody, and Brenner,
Health,
Warm bed to sleep in,
Fall season,
My parents and my in-laws.

10. In difficult times, who would you most want praying for you? My friend Gail Taylorson, Nate Hamlin, Matthew Hooper, Dan Dau.

11. A book you would insist your children read? The Ox Cart Man, The Old Woman Who Named Everything.

12. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Foliage in Vermont, beaches of Kauai, a field of tulips in Oregon.