Shaped by SPU’s Vision
“Enlightening. Challenging. Fun. Deep. Transforming.” That’s how Seattle Pacific University alumna Bethany Krumm Tuggle ’07 describes her SPU experience when asked to boil it down to just five words.
Tuggle graduated from SPU three years ago with a major in international business, and was active as a student leader throughout her time at SPU. She planned campus activities with the Student Union Board, served as a peer advisor in the residence halls, and was elected president of Associated Students of Seattle Pacific during her senior year.
With her strong academic background and leadership experience, she could have gone straight into the business world. Instead she headed to Ethiopia for a year. Why?
More Than a Mission Statement
“SPU’s vision to engage the culture and change the world totally shaped me,” says Tuggle. “I heard that mission statement thousands of times. President Eaton, Dean of the Business School Jeff Van Duzer, and many professors and mentors at SPU encouraged me to live out my faith in tangible ways.”
After many conversations with a close group of friends, Tuggle and three of her peers (two of them also SPU alums) decided to look for a yearlong mission project they could tackle together. They were directed to Hope Enterprises, an organization that provides hope for the needy in Ethiopia.
The four friends worked together to raise more than $35,000 to cover travel and living expenses for one year while they taught English to students in Ethiopia. Much of their financial support came from the SPU community — friends, faculty members, and staff.
“Our goal for our time in Ethiopia was to truly engage the culture,” says Tuggle. “Some Americans stay very closed when they are there. We didn’t want to do that.”
Ethiopian Lessons
Tuggle and her peers rented a home owned by an Ethiopian family. They loved having students drop by their house before and after school, and developed strong relationships with students and families.
One 19-year-old student, Getu, made a profound impression on Tuggle. “Getu wanted to come to the United States. But we encouraged him to stay in Ethiopia and work for change in his country. He eventually understood the importance of staying.”
Tuggle and her friends have kept in touch with Getu since their return to the States, and have even sent money to help him pay for school and medical expenses in his country. “This man became like a brother to us,” says Tuggle.
Ready for Any Setting
Now back in Washington state and working at a private equity firm, Tuggle wrestles with how to serve God in her day-to-day life. “I learned from my SPU business professors that we can be ‘secret agents’ in the world. Christians can make a difference and model faith in any setting. I’m trying to do that.”
Tuggle has good support as she grapples with issues of vocation and faith: In 2009, she married Josh Tuggle ’07, one of her three companions on the Ethiopia mission trip. Josh is currently pursuing a master’s degree in teaching — a decision he attributes to his positive experience teaching English in Ethiopia.
There’s no doubt that both Tuggles will make an impact wherever they go. “Bethany and Josh are both very ‘can-do’ people,” says President Philip Eaton. “They have a vision to make a difference in the world, and they are committed to carrying out that vision.”