“Uhhh… an article about me???” The text from Jenn Smith, the associate director of Student Leadership and Engagement at Union, caused my phone to vibrate on Monday evening after I asked if I could interview her. She was surprised, humbled that she was the subject of someone’s writing, but just as open and eager to get to know me as I was to get to know her.
The moment I walked into her office, I glanced around at the pictures covering the walls and desk, some of which were of students, just students, not even with her.
My friend Kate walked in with me just to see Jenn for a few minutes, and she greeted us with a warm but refreshingly genuine smile, sporting a hip and versatile denim jacket with a long peplum, pin-striped shirt (peplum is a fancy word for a skirt on a shirt), jeans and the classic Jenn Smith nose ring. I sat down in the plush, blue chair adjacent to her desk.
Jenn had soft music playing on her computer, so quiet that if you weren’t told it was playing, you might have never known. I’m still not sure what was playing. She paused her music, but I told her I didn’t mind it. “It’ll be distracting to me,” she said.
Jenn Smith grew up in California, the only girl among four brothers, and was raised in the church. At the age of five, she responded to the gospel message and professed Christ as her Lord. Four years later, Jenn attended a Christian camp for the first time, and as a nine-year-old, understood fully her need for a Savior. “That’s where I think I started to recognize that I want my relationship with Jesus to impact every area of my life,” she said.
And it’s evident that he has. Within five minutes of walking through that office door, we began to dive deep into conversations of sanctification, forgiveness, love and trusting in the goodness of God, all lessons God has used to painfully but sovereignly refine Jenn for her position among students at Union.
Jenn received her B.A. in Youth Ministry after attending Colorado Christian University, a school similar to Union in size and mission. I ventured to ask about her college experience. She laughed. “Oh gosh. College Jenn,” she said, reminiscing.
She and her college friends had a hobby of dressing up in costumes, but they weren’t just in costumes. They became characters.
“We wouldn’t break character. One time, we pretended like we were old women on a cruise ship. One time we pretended we were TV evangelists at a revival. One time we pretended like we were at our high school reunion…” Jenn suddenly broke into a perfect New Jersey accent as her high school reunion character took form. “I don’t know why we used this accent,” she said, laughing.
Because CCU doesn’t have Friday classes (someone please make this happen at Union), Jenn’s spontaneous spirit flourished, going on midnight camping trips in the Colorado wilderness, leading multiple mission trips to Scotland, hosting as emcee of many on-campus events and being president of SAC. I got the vibe that if there was a “Who’s Who at CCU” publication, Jenn might have been the first one featured.
After graduating from CCU, Jenn moved back to California and got her M.A. in spiritual formation and soul care from Talbot School of Theology near Los Angeles. Jenn knew from the beginning that she wanted to go into camp ministry full time, so she was working part time for a camp while finishing her master’s degree. However, her trajectory began to change from her longtime goal.
“The pace in which you’re required to live at camp is really unhealthy in my opinion. And I started to realize that I don’t want that,” Jenn said. “I was about to graduate with my Master’s and was realizing that I wanted to make a switch. I started thinking, ‘What do I love about my job at camp?’ And my favorite aspect of my job was the relationships I got to build with the college summer staff.”
God began to take Jenn’s life plans and flip them upside down. Instead of working with camp ministries, she would be working with universities, two very different atmospheres to say the least. Jenn, however, walked into this career change with open hands, willing to go whenever and do whatever she felt was the Lord’s calling.
“I saw the job posting for Union and was like, ‘I’ve never even been to Tennessee, but I’ve got to be willing to move anywhere,’” Jenn said.
Within three weeks, Jenn had gone from submitting her application to boarding a plane for a multi-faceted interview process on Union’s campus, some with staff, but much of which was conducted by students.
“I think what sold me on the job was the students,” she said. “I thought, ‘If I get to work with students like this, then I want to be there.’”
The move from California to Tennessee came with some culture shock for Jenn, everything from wondering if recycling bins even exist in the South to being a 31-year-old strong, single woman in a culture that tends to put marriage on a pedestal. It came with a lot of adjustment, but after a year and one month as a part of the Union faculty, Jenn has found a home in Jackson.
Jenn’s vision for student life at Union is to see greater unity across the student body. “I’m desiring for people to see each other, to see the person, not the involvement,” Jenn said.
She also wants to see more innovation and creativity employed to improve student life. “I get the answer a lot of, ‘Well, that’s what we’ve always done.’ But I’m somebody who values: ‘Is it working?’ If not, then let’s rethink it,” she said.
The vibrancy, life and hope that sitting with Jenn brought to me, paired with knowing about her Master’s degree in Soul Care, naturally caused me to wonder what Jenn’s message to the entire student body would be if I gave her a platform, a bullhorn and 30 seconds.
“We cognitively know that our identity is in Christ, but what does it mean to really be anchored in that,” she said. “Be aware of the things in your life that you’re tempted to find your identity in.” Jenn pointed me to John 15, a passage that I have personally declared to contain some of my life verses, where Jesus speaks of abiding in Him, knowing that apart from Him, we can do nothing.
I stayed in Jenn’s office for another 30 minutes after our interview, talking about life and generally getting some “soul care” from the woman who knows it best. I began to pack up my bag begrudgingly, thankful for our conversation and not really wanting to leave. Backpack on and striding toward the office door, I reached for the knob.
“Hey, let’s get coffee sometime, Emma. I’d love to hear your story,” she said from her office chair.
I turned around. I could tell how much she meant it, how much she cared. Not just for me, but for Union, its students and the institution.
“I would really like that,” I replied. Somehow I knew it wouldn’t be long until the next time I would laugh and cry in that little blue chair next to Jenn Smith’s desk.
