Kaitlyn Baker
Staff Writer
A woman who has been a part of Pepperdine for as long as it has existed just celebrated her 90th birthday. Still a part of the Pepperdine community today, Helen Young often reflects on how she first came to the University.
“[My mother] wrote me and said, ‘There’s going to be a new school in Los Angeles, and I know the man who is going to do it,” Young said reflecting on a letter from her mother about George Pepperdine College.
Young’s mother, who knew George Pepperdine, wrote to her encouraging her to find out more about the new school in Los Angeles that Pepperdine was founding.
“I think it would be very good for you to have the experience,” Young said her mother told her. “It would broaden your education if you would go there next year.”
Young credits the letter with sparking her interest in the University. But, she said at the time she could not imagine the role Pepperdine would play in her life.
Helen soon went on to graduate from Pepperdine and later, became the wife of Pepperdine’s third president Norvel Young.
In appreciation of Young’s dedication to serving Pepperdine, friends and family gathered together on Aug. 27 in the Thornton Administrative Center to celebrate her birthday.
“She’s my hero and my inspiration, because her outlook is always [focused] on everyone else,” said 17-year-old Madeline Jackson, Young’s granddaughter.
The celebration included a video tribute to Young, speeches by friends and family and a time for guests to greet Young and enjoy food.
“I’m so happy to have this birthday party,” Young said. “I’m so thankful to God for letting me live and work at Pepperdine. And, I’m looking forward to a few more years.”
Young’s career at Pepperdine began in 1937 when she transferred to George Pepperdine College as a junior. She had been attending Harding University in Arkansas, but a visit from George Pepperdine convinced her and a classmate to travel to California to be a part of the new school, which was located at the time near USC in downtown Los Angeles. The school moved to Malibu and was re-named “Pepperdine University” in 1972.
“It was kind of exciting to go to a new school,” Young said. “There was a small student body that first year, but some very outstanding people … [George Pepperdine] had gone from one school to another and told them about what he was going to do and invited them to come.”
As a student in Pepperdine’s earliest years, Young was able to participate in many important decisions for the University, such as choosing the school’s motto, emblems and colors. She was also a member of the first Graphic staff.
Young said she enjoyed working for the Graphic and was close friends with the editor and business manager.
“They were experienced and had been editors wherever they had come from back East, so they did a good job,” said Young. “It was fun to put out the Graphic for the first time.”
In 1939, Helen graduated from Pepperdine. Shortly thereafter, she married Norvel, who was teaching history at the college.
Young’s birthday party last week was an opportunity to recall fond memories of Norvel and earlier birthdays. Young’s 21st birthday was her most memorable because, amidst the normal festivities, it was also her wedding day. She and her soon-to-be husband went to see a movie before the ceremony. The movie was one she would always remember, as it caused them to arrive late for their ceremony.
Young and her husband continued their education in Tennessee and didn’t return to California until 1957, when Norvel began his 14-year career as Pepperdine’s third president. Norvel passed away in 1998, a tragic loss to Young and Pepperdine.
As the first lady of the University, Young partnered with Helen Pepperdine to raise funds for the financially struggling school by founding the Associated Women for Pepperdine. Since then, the organization has raised millions of dollars for scholarships.
“It was very nice and I enjoyed it,” Young said. “The school grew and became better educationally, and it has continued to expand and grow.”
Young has supported Pepperdine University throughout the years, through both its toughest moments and times of success.
“She has just devoted her life to the success of this school,” said Young’s daughter, Sarah Jackson, who is Director of the Seaver Parents Council. “She was just a great partner to my father during the 42 years of his career at Pepperdine.”
Jackson noted that her mother also founded the Associated Women for Pepperdine in 1958, which today is still a vibrant organization of Christian women raising funds for scholarships for Christian students.
Young’s friends agree that she has always had a positive outlook on life and shows compassion toward everyone.
“She is one of the most observant, loving people that I know,” said President Andrew K. Benton. “She personifies grace and generosity. She has boundless energy and grace. She is the epitome of what a Pepperdine first lady should be.”
Young still lives on the Pepperdine campus. Many of her children and grandchildren have graduated as Waves, and some of her family members are Pepperdine faculty members.
“She’s been an example of someone who is self-sacrificing and dignified,” said Young’s the wife of Young’s grandson and chaplin David Lemley. “I’ve never known anyone else as generous as Helen.”
Pepperdine will always be an important part of Young’s life, she said, because of her many years of involvement at the school.
“[Pepperdine] is very important, because it’s just been my life for so many years, from those first years as a student, then those years as a faculty wife and then later on as the president’s wife,” Young said. “And then, with the death of my husband, I stayed on and have helped the school follow up on fundraising. I knew so many of those older people who are well to do, so I stayed and helped some.”
Throughout her years at Pepperdine, Young has observed the University’s change from her time at George Pepperdine College. She said it has been a struggle for Pepperdine to exist both as a religious institution and a place for thriving academics.
“In a way, those who work the hardest to keep it a Christian school are not the ones who can maybe keep it going financially,” Young said.
However, she said she is confident that the University is fulfilling George Pepperdine’s original vision.
“I knew Mr. Pepperdine so well, and I knew what he wanted,” she said. “And, I think we are fulfilling his dream for it. He wanted it to be academically strong, because he was a businessman, and he didn’t want it to be looked down upon as an educational institution. I think it is fulfilling his dreams and surpassing them.”
Young’s legacy will always be remembered and her influence on others will have a lasting impact, as well.
“She’s my ultimate role model,” Jackson said. “By watching her, I’ve learned that life’s greatest blessings are faith and family and giving yourself to an institution like Pepperdine that is contributing so much to the lives of so many.”
09-04-2008