Jennifer Gober, a 2002 Howard Payne University alumna, spoke at the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities (IABCU) annual meeting held this summer at California Baptist University in Riverside. Gober is a member of the Baptist College & University (BCU) Scholars Program, a partnership between Baylor University Graduate School, the IABCU and IABCU partner schools.
In addition to travelling to the IABCU annual meeting, BCU Scholars have the opportunity to attend retreats and seminars, network with administrators from IABCU schools and fellowship with other doctoral students planning to teach in Christian colleges and universities.
Gober is pursuing a doctoral degree in chemistry at Baylor and plans to become a professor. She began her career in chemistry at HPU.
“I really enjoyed my time at Howard Payne,” she said. “I loved the small setting and the interactions I had with students and professors.”
Gober has particularly fond memories of then-dean of HPU’s School of Science and Mathematics, Dr. Donal Bird.
“Dr. Bird and his wife, Mrs. Marjorie Bird (who taught in the physical sciences and mathematics departments), really cared about their students,” she said.
According to Gober, the personal connections she shared with the HPU faculty members prepared her for life as a scientist.
“As a chemist, I have found that it is very easy sometimes to focus only on the science and the work right in front of me, be it my research in the lab or teaching the material to students,” said Gober in her speech at the annual meeting. “As a Christian, I endeavor to follow God and to love those around me. The question then becomes how to incorporate both the Scientist and the Christian in my approach to teaching and how to be a whole person who can teach from a solid base and help students grow as people, not just pass the tests and make the grade.”
She said the BCU Scholars Program has “opened her eyes to these questions.”
“Once you ask the right question, you can start finding the right answer,” she said.
Pictured above: HPU alumna Jennifer Gober, second from left, and other BCU Scholars (from left) Chris Moore, Courtney Parker and B.J. Parker, spoke at the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities (IABCU) annual meeting held at California Baptist University in Riverside.
