She could be called the matriarch of Pepperdine, or the founder of the Associated Women for Pepperdine, but what Helen Young, 93, hopes others remember about her is a lifetime of dedication and genuineness toward her beliefs and family.
One of seven children born to the Mattox household, Young grew up in an atmosphere of faith.
“My mother and father were very religious people,” Young said. “We always went to church and Sunday school from the time we were little.”
Though she grew up in Oklahoma City, for the first two years of college, Young attended Harding University in Arkansas, and then came to George Pepperdine College during its first year of operation.
As a Business major, Young was able to help her family pay college tuition during the Great Depression.
“Families with as many children as we did were pressed to have enough money to get seven children through college,” Young explained. “It still isn’t easy.”
Young’s mother, a strong working woman, has always been a great influence on her. Her mother’s work with civic and community organizations, as well as her belief in the importance of a Christian education largely influenced Young’s life and decision to attend Pepperdine.
“Her mother was a dynamo. She was a speaker for women in churches. She was a woman of great faith,” said Young’s daughter Emily Lemley.
Much like her mother, Young has been a religious patron through her life. She even founded the Associated Women for Pepperdine, which has raised more than $4 million over 50 years of existence.
After graduating in 1939, Helen Young married M. Norvel Young. She was granted with a new position in the university as first lady in 1957, when her husband became Pepperdine’s third president. He retained the position for 14 years.
In 1986 the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) honored the Youngs with the M. Norvel and Helen Young Professorship in Family Life.
During her lifetime of service, Young has seen growth in the campus and its continued pursuit of excellence as a college.
“The school has grown in every way [over the years],” Young said. “It has put emphases on scholarship and professors who are outstanding. We have grown every year, since it started in 1937.”
Even now, in times where faith is not apparent for everyone, Young explained that by attending a university like Pepperdine, students may grow as they are surrounded by friends in Christ.
“I would encourage [scholars] to come here, because they would find friends who have faith and who would encourage their beliefs,” Young said. “It is a faith-building institution.”
Throughout her involvement at Pepperdine, Young has created a lasting legacy.
“I’ve been associated with Pepperdine ever since it began,” Young said. “I knew Mr. Pepperdine very well, and I knew Mrs. Pepperdine very well. [The school] has rendered a tremendous service to young people.
“[I always admire] the development of the mind and the development of the heart — for people to be not only honest, but kind.”
“My dad used to say that my mother was the most unselfish person he knew. I think many people would say that about her, her hospitality and her open home.”
