Katie Tuttle

Name: Katie (Kathryn) Tuttle
Position: Director of Commuter Life.
Education: John Brown University (Siloam Springs, Arkansas), BS in Psychology; Azusa Pacific, MA in College Student Development; Talbot, PhD in Christian Education.
At Biola since:  1987 (’87-’94 Asst RD/RD; ’94-’04 Director of Leadership Development; ’04-Current Director of Commuter Life).
Your StrengthsFinder top five? Connectedness, Strategic, Activator, Inclusiveness, Woo.

1. What do you do in your job (briefly)? The bottom line is this – I am here to encourage the Commuter Life Team to work together to create an environment here at Biola that is welcoming, nurturing, encouraging and engaging for commuter students.  Often commuters feel isolated from the life and information flow of campus. My desire is that commuters would experience a richer, more connective experience and not feel like they are attending Jack-In-The-Box University.  It’s not about fast food education – pick up your classes and head for the car.  We are about providing a home-away-from-home, The Collegium a place to Rest, Work & Connect, as well as quality, fun programs for the greater commuter community.

2. The five (or so) most influential books you've read:

• Ragamuffin Gospel- Manning;
• The Return of the Prodigal Son – Nouwen;
• In the Name of Jesus – Nouwen;
• Practicing His Presence – Brother Lawrence;
• Out of the Salt Shaker and Into the World – Pippert.

3. Your best example of love? My husband.  He was the first person in my life to love me just because I was me.  Over the 3+ years we dated, I was continually amazed that I did not have to perform, wear a mask, or pretend I was or was not a certain way.  I just landed with all my baggage and he was willing to make long-term travel plans. During the time we dated, I kept thinking that sooner or later he would get tired of the real me. It took me a long time of testing to realize this was genuine. We will celebrate our 19th anniversary in June. There are a lot more details I would be willing to share over coffee, if you are interested.

4. Why are you at Biola?  In 1987 I was a grad student at APU and God opened a door for me to become an Assistant Resident Director at Biola.  I am not sure what to say other than God has been clear that He continues to want me here.  I have seen a tremendous number of changes here in the past 20 years.  No place is perfect, but I am continually impressed with the hearts of people who serve here, as well as the integrity of the University as a whole.  I love seeing students discover how they can use their gifts for God’s Kingdom.  Each year I am challenged to grow by colleagues and students as well.

5. A guilty pleasure:  Spending hours taking photos or planting seeds in my garden.

6. Your testimony (in 200 words or less): I did not grow up in a Christian home.  When I was around 8, my mom took me to Sunday school just long enough to learn about most of the famous Old Testament stories.  She stopped taking me just before we got to the part about Jesus!  I did not hear the whole Gospel message until I was a freshman in high school, when my choir director invited me to a Bible study with some other students.  The whole thing was on the down low, since I was at a public school.  I went to the Bible study for about two months before receiving Christ.

7. If God put you completely in charge of creating Heaven, what would it be like?  I would only agree to this if He handed over the blueprints and gave me a legion of angelic hosts to help!  I would hope there would be some new colors that we have never seen yet, gardens and waterfalls everywhere.  You know as a kid you wanted to pet every animal, but your mom said, “Honey, you can’t touch that, it’s a wild animal.  It would eat you up!”  Well, I would want everyone to experience petting a lion or maybe riding a zebra.  Wow – I just can’t wait to see how limited my perspective really is.

8. What movie have you seen in the last year that you wish all your friends could see? [or] A book you would insist your children read?  I hardly ever see movies – no time!  When I was a kid, my mom read the entire set of Narnia Chronicles to me and my two brothers.  I wish every kid could have this experience.  I still love being read to.

9. If you could relive any part of your life, what part would it be, and why? It is tempting to want to relive some of the really painful times, except with less pain, but the most painful times in my life have really shaped me for the better and help me to be a more compassionate minister of grace to others. 
   The most amazing experience of my life has been pregnancy.  I have three very different, quirky, awesome kids.  I was a gestational diabetic during all three of my pregnancies and had to inject insulin 4 times a day for the 2nd and 3rd pregnancy.  There was no luxury of ice cream, potato chip, etc.  Yet even with all the rigidity, I have had no experience that has ever moved me so much as feeling a child move within me.  These were both the most uncomfortable and inconvenient times of my life as well as the most awe-inspiring. Even so, I am quite content to let this be an excellent memory.

10. What is the most difficult choice you’ve ever had to make? What made it difficult? What factors helped you make that choice? Getting married was by far the most difficult decision I have ever made.  Having never seen a quality marriage, coupled with my desire to have a guaranteed positive outcome, made the decision extremely difficult.  The decision to get married was, I believe, the greatest leap of faith toward God I have ever made.  I have never regretted the decision and it is hard to imagine what kind of person I would be today without the defining and refining relationships I have with my husband and my children.  God really uses people in our lives to sharpen, challenge, and encourage us, as well as to keep us humble and dependent on Him.

11. What are five things you are most thankful for in your life right now?

• God’s Grace and Healing
• My husband
• My kids – Annika, Evan & William
• Health
• The gifts and strengths that God has given me
  

12. In difficult times, who would you most want praying for you?  My husband and my kids.

13. What was the greatest peer pressure you felt as a teen/college student? I have always been a pretty independent thinker.  In high school, I was a bit of a loner.  I was into health food, gardening, photography, vocal performance, fishing, hiking and camping.  The friends I did hang around were not into partying.  I really did not feel much peer pressure.  Most of the pressure I felt was internal and self-imposed disapproval and perfectionism.  I never measured up to my own expectations.  Thank God, He has released me from so much of that prison.  Even though I visit there from time to time – I don’t live there any more!

14. Do you think it is possible to live with no regrets?  Yes – God’s mercies are new every morning.  I have been forgiven and in turn have been given the power to forgive others.  One of the greatest lessons I have learned in life is that I am only responsible for keeping my side of the street clean.  I can offer help, kindness, forgiveness, etc. to others, but cannot force them to accept, engage or participate.  God’s grace is large enough to carry me through these times.

15. What is your definition of success? Do you consider yourself to be successful? Living with integrity; Being a genuine person; Using my gifts and resources in ways that honor God. In general, I feel that I am successful, but thank God that He is gracious.  Every day I need to grow in these things.

16. How much is your self-worth and identity determined by your job and your success at it?  I tend to have the greatest sense of satisfaction and self-worth when I feel that I have really used my gifts well.  When I can use gifts of hospitality, generosity, mercy or strategic problem solving to help someone, I feel most fulfilled and useful.

17. What are the most important things you look for when choosing a church?  Solid Biblical teaching, humility in the leadership, strong small groups, an outreach emphasis, multiethnic sensitivity & variety in worship.

18. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Each of my three children right after birth.

19. In what areas of your life is it most difficult to trust God? I have a firm “head-belief” that God gives me only what I can handle with His grace, but in the thick of stressful situations, I often feel like I have to think, work or fight MY way out.  In hindsight, I frequently ask myself, “So why did I not pray more about that?”

20. What does contentment mean to you? How close are you to that, now? Contentment is a multifaceted concept.  It is certainly not complacency. It is not simply being happy.  It is not a feeling of consistent calmness. Hmm. For me it is a balance between realistically striving toward honorable goals and restful reflection and thankfulness.  Ask anyone who knows me; I am much better at the former.  I really need to grow in the area of restful reflection.