ALEXANDER BLACKMON
Staff Writer
Pepperdine’s newest addition to the Social Science Division is pushing research to a whole new level. The route to his success is notably the one less traveled.
Theodore Gardner did not take the normal route to a degree in clinical psychology. While many people graduate from college and attend graduate school, Gardner had different plans.
“My greatest passion is travel,” says Gardner. “It teaches you things that cannot be learned in the classroom.”
At a young age Gardner was devoted to stepping outside his comfort zone and exploring the unknown. After college he decided that he would travel all over Europe with no plans and a backpack. This enabled him to see the world in a different perspective.
“My four-month trip to Europe was unlike anything I have ever done,” Gardner explained. “I had a Eurail pass (train pass) and literally did not know where I was going the next day.”
On his journey Gardner visited places such as Germany, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, France and Switzerland. On a cool day in November Gardner met a woman with the same purpose and mentality as himself. As he was traveling along the rugged coast of Spain he met and fell in love with his wife to be.
“It was amazing to meet the woman of my dreams while traveling. It was concrete evidence that she was the one.”
After this trip, Gardner’s travel bug never seemed to depart. Since his wife is Australian, he had the pleasure of visiting Australia for some time. Although it might seem like this would be enough, Gardner packed his bags and headed to South America and then London with his wife. His experiences were amazing.
“I really had no purpose to live in London, but that is what is so exciting,” said Gardner. “Now I saved up a couple thousand dollars with my wife and went there hoping for the best.”
Within a few weeks Gardner got a job working in construction. Here he earned enough money to support himself and his wife for over a year.
After many years of exploring the world, Gardner was ready for a change. With a B.A. from Oregon State University, he soon realized that he wanted to venture back to school to become an accountant. Halfway way through his schooling he decided to change his focus to psychology.
“At first I didn’t plan to study psychology, but then one day it just all made sense,” said Gardner.
Gardner soon enough moved to West Los Angeles where he would undergo his masters in psychology at Pepperdine. Here he fell in love with the research and the teaching aspects of psychology. Not quite satisfied with an M.A., the driven Gardner knew he couldn’t sleep soundly without a Ph.D. With this in mind he ventured back to Oregon where he would attain his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Oregon.
In Oregon his passions came alive. Gardner’s specialty focuses on accountability in psychotherapy dealing with children. He is interested in minimizing the harm to these children by using a sensitive approach.
“The studies that I have done over the years deal a lot with data analysis that is longitudinal and put in models,” Gardner said. “Models facilitate understanding to the untrained eye.”
These studies take place over a long period of time to maximize effective results. Models help to facilitate understanding.
After his studies at the University of Oregon, Gardner headed to Pepperdine. His colorful memories of Southern California haunted him since the day he left.
He is now a professor in the psychology department at Pepperdine where he teaches Psychology 210, 430, and 434. His specialty class, 434, deals with child clinical psychology.
Psychology student Nichole Wallace looks forward to taking Gardner in psychology 430. “I hear professor Gardner is really good at applying the material to real life. I am so excited to take psychology out of the classroom”
Says Gardner: “I can’t say that I like one course more than another. They are all intriguing, well at least to me.”
With a steady job for once in his life, Gardner took a leap of faith and had a kid of his own. With the family’s recent trip to New Zealand, his son will by default follow his parents’ footsteps.
Although it might seem tough to go back to school, Gardner is a testament that it can be done.
“With an attitude to get whatever needs to be done, done while at home, you are more motivated when you return.”
With a rare knowledge of cultures and a Ph.D in psychology, Theodore Gardner is a modern Renaissance man.
12-06-2007