NAOMI BYRD
Staff Writer
Settlers were attracted to California because of a shiny yellowish substance that would make them rich. Gold! The Gould’s, however, were attracted to this state for different reasons.
Professor Kara Gould is one of the new Communication Division teachers at Pepperdine University. Hearing the journey that brought her here to Malibu, one is able to key into her desire for her students’ success.
“I am still getting adjusted being here in California. It’s an exciting feeling to come and meet everyone. I think an important adage is getting to know my audience, getting to know my students. There is different, common ground with each class. You cannot assume that one class will be similar to the other. They are very different audiences.”
It is comforting to know Gould has an understanding with students and the awkward feelings about being in a new environment.
“I can completely identify with them as newcomers. Adjusting and being here has helped. I feel less new than last semester. I know about six out of twenty students in each class this semester, versus not knowing any!”
This new season of her life has been both a new adventure and leap of faith for Gould. Having taught at other places of learning, this college is drastically different.
“Pepperdine is the first place I have taught that’s truly a residential community. The sense of community is different when people live and go to school together. Other colleges you couldn’t expect students to meet outside of class since they were commuter schools. Now, it’s different. I have to restructure my mindset, and I want to participate more in this strong community.”
Gould had always wanted to stay “west of the Rockies.” Originally from Holden, Mass., Gould carried a New England accent with her all the way to the South. An interesting transition was made when Gould relocated to Little Rock, Ark. It was there that she decided to go to Wheaton College. This proved to be a pivotal decision. It was there that she met Darren Gould, her future husband.
Hearing about a professor Gould desired to study under to receive her Ph.D., the couple relocated to Utah. Salt Lake City was being prepared to stage the Olympics, so work was easy to find. Eventually, Darren started his own media production business, and two additions were added to the family, Allie and Jacey.
“I am particularly fond of Utah because when we went there, we had no kids. When we left there, we had kids. It has that established place of where our family began.”
After hearing about the opportunity to teach in beautiful Malibu, Gould decided to give it a shot. E-mails, interviews, and defending her dissertation later, with the job having landed, the Gould’s moved within a short, couple of months.
Alongside moving to a completely different area, transitioning into a new dwelling place, and adjusting to the surrounding neighborhood of Los Angeles County, Gould is responsible for her own personal audience at home. Their names are Jacey and Allie. They are Mrs. Gould’s six and a half year old twin daughters.
Having visited Pepperdine only a handful of times, their description of Pepperdine is “Big. A big place, with a lot of people. It is nice. It does have a nice view of the ocean, but the palm trees get in the way.”
Jacey aspires to be a zookeeper, or even maybe an artist. Yet, there is one occupation that she has already crossed out in her mind. “A policeman, I mean a police woman. You have to deal with mean people when you are a policewoman, right?”
Jacey enjoys being a twin. She describes it as being “great, a lot of fun. I just don’t like to fight. We end up in timeout.” And her view of mommy? “I don’t like pizza. Mom does.”
Allie was eager to describe what she thought about some of the students and facilities at Pepperdine.
“They are big kids. Yeah, I saw one of the classrooms. It was nice. Kinda boring though. Our classrooms are more colorful.”
Inquiring about how to improve that situation, Allie suggested the colors pink and yellow. “I mostly like pink though.”
In addition to being entertained and occupied with the responsibility of this adorable pair, Gould enjoys music. She enjoys playing the piano, singing in her church choir and listening to music… in fact, Gould started out as a music major while first attending college.
“Yes, that eventually changed. I really like challenges, deadlines, and multi-tasking. Working under pressure keeps me going.”
Gould also enjoys viewing movies, reading philosophy and learning more about the psychology of twins.
Allie’s discussion about colors brings to mind a statement that she is sure of: “You know, you can’t have a rainbow without yellow. It is the main color. It brightens up the rainbow, right?”
Gold is a hue of yellow. And as Allie simply put it, yellow brightens up the rainbow. Having a little Gould in your life could simply make it brighter.
03-19-2007