Far before stepping on Pepperdine soil for the first time, first lady Joline Gash spent her days in the then 400-person town of Penngrove in Northern California.
“I lived in the country, where we didn’t have sidewalks but we had a lot of animals,” Joline said.
Early Life
Born Joline Oliver, she grew up as the youngest of seven children in a blended family. She was raised by her mother and stepfather, and described her childhood home as “always busy.”
“We were the house that other families sent their kids to hang out,” Joline said.
Joline was very involved with her church growing up, attending three times a week. Her family often hosted youth group in their home.
“That was a really fun experience for me to be in a home that hosted people, and to see what that looks like and how to be hospitable,” Joline said.
Throughout her experience in youth group, Joline said she met so many amazing people. Yet, there was one individual who particularly stood out.
“One of the great people I met in my church was Jim Gash,” Joline said. “I was only 13 when we met.”
Jim was 16 at the time, and Joline explained that over the years as they grew their friendship, their families got to know one another very early on.
Throughout her childhood, Joline said her family collected quite the roundup of pets. She mentioned the typical dogs, cats, fish and guinea pigs, but said that her family also owned a donkey and ducks.
“My parents got us each a duck,” Joline said. “And then it grew from a few ducks to about 30 ducks.”
Joline’s biggest responsibility as a child was mending the vegetable garden and watering the plants daily. But for her, this turned into something bigger than having fresh produce.
“I think that for me, growing up in the country surrounded by nature, it really started my interest in science and in learning more about God’s creation,” Joline said. “I see that as a very important part of my background.”
Soon enough, young Joline’s interest turned into a source of income. When her neighbors went on vacation, she was the one they turned to first to look after their animals and gardens. Before she knew it, this love for and curiosity about nature turned into what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing.
College Years
When it came to thinking about college and her options for life after high school, Joline said she never had particularly high hopes. As the youngest in such a large family, she knew her family’s financial situation would be a tough burden to overcome.
“We didn’t have a lot of money, and my parents said, ‘You know, we think college is important, but we can’t afford to send you to school, so if you want to go to college, you’ll have to figure out a way to do that,'” Joline said.
During her junior year of high school, Joline’s minister took her youth group to visit his alma mater: Pepperdine University. During Thanksgiving break, Pepperdine used to hold an event called Youthfest, which was held from 1971 until 2006, where high school students came to stay on campus for the week.
“When I set foot on campus, I just thought, ‘This is the most amazing place,'” Joline said.
As she reflected on her week-long visit, Joline said she couldn’t get Pepperdine off her mind. Yet, there was still the financial barrier standing in her way.
“Coming to Pepperdine was a dream that I thought I could never obtain,” Joline said.
Joline then spent her time rigorously searching for scholarships, getting the best grades possible and doing everything in her power to go on to study at a university. Soon enough, her dream came true, and she became the first person in her family to go on to get a college degree.
“I think God had a plan for me to be here,” Joline said.
Gash began her university schooling at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. President Jim Gash had begun his schooling there three years earlier, while Joline was still finishing high school. After Jim’s first year was complete, the two started dating.
During her time at Abilene, Joline said she still had her sights set on Pepperdine. Before her junior year, Jim and Joline got married and she made the decision to transfer to Pepperdine.
Joline said the most remarkable aspect of her years as a student at Pepperdine was that she got to study science in a Christian environment — two things that didn’t go hand in hand throughout her adolescence.
“I could go to class with some of the most remarkable professors and learn about science and then see them at church and be able to worship with my science professors,” Joline said.
More than 30 years later, 54-year-old Joline said she still finds herself reaching out to her past mentors with questions. She finds Pepperdine to be a unique place in that the bond between faculty and students is so strong.
“That’s something that I hope our students are realizing as they’re here to not take for granted,” Joline said. “Take the time to be with your professors and get to know them and let them really get to know you.”
Post-Grad
After graduating from Seaver College in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology, Joline stayed an extra year to receive her teaching credential. Her very first job out of school was teaching science at Malibu High School, fulfilling the dream she had had since childhood.
“I knew from a pretty young age that I wanted to be a teacher,” Joline said. “I loved my high school biology teacher. I just wanted to be like her.”
As she grew ecstatic about her new role just down the street, Gash soon learned the job came with a catch: They wanted her to teach a class in journalism and be in charge of the school yearbook and newspaper.
“There was nothing on my resume that would have indicated I would have been ready to do that,” Joline said. “But I was like, ‘I’m a Pepperdine graduate. I can figure this out.'”
Family Life
After her first year of teaching, Jim Gash had finished his time at the Caruso School of Law, which quickly took the couple all over the map. As they moved from California to Texas to Washington D.C., Joline said she realized that finding a job in other states was going to be difficult with only a California teaching credential.”
“I made the decision that I wanted to focus on starting a family and following Jim’s legal career,” Joline said.
During their time in Texas, Joline and Jim started their family with their first daughter Jessica. Once they moved back to Southern California a few years later, the couple grew their family even larger with the births of their children Joshua and Jennifer. All three of the Gash children would go on to become Pepperdine alumni.
Joline said many people often came to their family home and asked if they were from the Midwest due to the amount of games they had in their closet.
“We’ve been told we have a very Midwest vibe,” Joline said. “We loved playing games.”
As her children grew up, they quickly became familiar with many of their father’s undergraduate and law students, as they came over to the house often. Gash said this reminded her of her own childhood.
“Kind of like when I was growing up, that we always had kids coming over,” Gash said. “Kids wanted to come to our house, whether it was our kids’ friends in school or the law students.”
Jennifer Gash, daughter of Joline and Jim, said she remembers having students in the house growing up from a very young age. She said her earliest memories are when the family lived in London for the international program when she was just 3 years old. Jennifer said the students would babysit them as kids, but beyond that, they just became part of the family.
“I remember a law student’s spouse teaching me how to do makeup for the first time,” Jennifer said. “As I got into high school, I remember talking to different law students about boys that I was interested in, or I would be doing my math homework at the kitchen table and they would be setting up for Bible study.”
Lucy Perrin, director and archivist for the Rushford Center and the Churches of Christ Heritage Collection and wife of Pepperdine Vice President Tim Perrin, said she met Joline when their husbands were both teaching at Caruso. Perrin often walks with Joline on campus.
“We both studied biology as undergrads, so many of our conversations include an appreciation for and curiosity about creation and the beauty that surrounds us,” Perrin said.
Perrin said she admires Joline’s involvement with groups on campus, such as the Student Wellness Advisory Board.
Joline said she is SWAB’s “biggest cheerleader” and finds the work they do for other students to be remarkable. She pops into their meetings once a week to see what they are working on and how she can be of support to them.
Outside the Pepperdine world, Joline said she loves to continue her passion for science. Whenever she goes on vacation, she makes it her mission to interact with the beauty of nature.
“One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to go snorkeling, to just be in the water where it’s quiet and I can interact with the fish,” Joline said. “Being in the water experiencing God’s creation is so relaxing for me.”
Gash is full of love for the thousands of students at Pepperdine and encourages them to not take their time here for granted. Additionally, she invites students to share the same curiosity for science and God’s creation that she does, whether it is through looking at plants around campus or embarking on curiosity-inspired journeys.
“I think the word that comes to mind for me when I think about my mom is perseverance,” Jennifer said. “I think that goes hand in hand with her wanting to help other students develop that skill and that character trait.”
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Contact Amanda Monahan via email: amanda.monahan@pepperdine.edu
