Bagpipe writer Hannah Vanbiber shadows Dr. Niel Nielson
It doesn’t sound like a real job description: world traveler, preacher, husband, diplomat, friend, executive, faculty member, grandfather. But President Niel Nielson manages to fill all of these roles, often simultaneously.
The warm, wood-paneled office beams hidden from the howling wind outside. I walked in at 8:30 am to find a chipper President Nielson pouring his coffee and chatting with his two assistants – the Executive Coordinator for Presidential Advancement, Sabrina LeBeau, and sophomore Susanna Griffith. Soon he turns to face the formidable stack of papers at his desk.
There are the regular papers that need signing or response and the regular list of calls to be made. There’s the stack of devotional books to choose from for a men’s Bible Study he’s leading in February. Then there’s the fabulously large mass of paper from the federal government, to which he gives a half-joking, “Oh please no.”
On this particular Tuesday morning – Nov. 15 – Nielson has just returned from a weekend trip of building relationships with churches, high schools, and potential donors in the DC/Baltimore/Annapolis area. In four days he will be gone again, heading this time to Quarryville, PA not only to visit people, but also to preach.
Thanksgiving Break? “Chicago. And seeing our granddaughter for the first time.”
Travel is a big part of the job, and a big part of the travel is figuring out how to communicate the college’s mission to widely varying audiences. The goal, says Nielson, is “diverse communication without divergent messages.”
Think about explaining “small Christian liberal arts college” to a sophomore in high school student. Now explain the same thing to a fifty-year-old CEO. Now make them both want to invest something of their time or money into it. Nielson says it’s intimidating.
“It’s like always dancing with different partners. I like it, but it’s a challenge.” One gets the feeling that’s exactly why he likes it.
Back at Covenant, most of a day’s action is between the papers and scheduled meetings. “A lot of what I do every day is stuff that just pops up,” says Nielson. It could be an email, a call, or a drop-in visit – any of which could change the track of his day. “This is not a job for people who like to spend a long time focusing on one thing. When you switch gears, you have to be all there.”
Today the schedule includes a faculty meeting, a conference call, an Admissions pep talk, and a devotional with the men’s basketball team. Somewhere in there, Nielson says he is looking forward to a meeting with junior Laurel Brauer about her Seed Project as well as drafting a personal letter to another student.
“I love interacting with students themselves,” said Nielson. “Kathleen and I are usually at athletic events during the week and last night we went to the etiquette training dinner. We love that kind of thing.”
“The real key to my job is keeping my eyes open and outward to trends and developments both here at Covenant and in the larger community of higher education,” says Nielson. “Others in our offices are day-in and day-out looking inward, doing critical work to make this school go.”
Words of advice from the President
Academic:
Take your non-major courses very seriously – both core courses and electives. Such courses opened up areas of interest that I didn’t know I had, and helped to equip me for the wide variety of callings and involvements that I’ve enjoyed over the years.
Don’t leave Covenant without taking a course from that professor about whom you’ve heard great things.
Romantic:
Liking is as important as loving in a healthy and life-long relationship, i.e. be sure you truly enjoy being with one another.
While not everyone will get married, keep marriage in mind; it’s a blessed state and a gift from God, and the person you date could be either your spouse or someone else’s spouse.
Life:
What you’re doing right now is God’s calling; do it with all you’ve got, for his glory.
What you’re doing right now is a portion of God’s pathway for you; be open to his leading.
Love and serve the church; it’s God’s principal means for accomplishing his redemptive purposes in the world.
Aim for heaven; it’s where God’s callings and leadings and church all find their good and glorious end.
What you’re doing right now is a portion of God’s pathway for you; be open to his leading.
Love and serve the church; it’s God’s principal means for accomplishing his redemptive purposes in the world.
Aim for heaven; it’s where God’s callings and leadings and church all find their good and glorious end.
[Originally published here.]
