Tammy Guerra leaves students publications after more than 20 years associated with Pepperdine.
By Sarah Pye
Living Editor

When Tammy Guerra used to sit at home in Tacoma, Wash., watching her favorite celebrities duke it out on “Battle of the Network Stars,” she never guessed that the television show would change the course of her life.

It was that program, filmed against the backdrop of Pepperdine’s ocean vistas and waving palms, that first piqued Guerra’s interest in the beachfront university. Today, preparing to leave Malibu after being associated with the university for 21 years, Guerra said she will take with her many memories of the “meaning” that attending and later working for Pepperdine has held for her.

THE ROAD TO MALIBU

The Student Publications Coordinator for Seaver College’s journalism program, Tammy Clarke first came to Pepperdine as a transfer student from the University of Puget Sound in her hometown of Tacoma in 1982. After being impressed by what she saw of Pepperdine’s campus on television, she consulted the university’s course catalog and was again intrigued.

“I looked at Pepperdine’s catalog and it immediately jumped out at me as being unique,” she said. “I was really excited about coming here.”

Guerra (her married name for the past two years) said that, at the time, she hoped Pepperdine would bring her more of the “real college life” she felt she was missing by living at home while going to school nearby. However, she found herself initially disappointed by what Pepperdine had to offer.

“I didn’t really like it that much at first,” Guerra said, adding that she even thought of transferring. “I think I had it build up a little bit too much. I expected perfection.”

Guerra said that although she was at first put off by the lack of social activities at Pepperdine, she found it worthwhile to stay because of the other things the school had to offer. She said she appreciated that professors and administrators got to know who she was, and she felt as though people cared about her here.

Working on Pepperdine’s student publications also helped Guerra feel as though her years as an undergraduate had meaning.

During her two and a half year undergraduate career, she served as the assistant opinions editor for The Graphic, the news editor for the summer edition of The Graphic, and also worked as a writer and copy editor for both Oasis magazine (now Currents) and the Impressions yearbook. She also enjoyed attending journalism conferences in the early 1980s when – “like now,” she said – The Graphic was a nationally recognized, award-winning publication.

Guerra’s time writing for the different Pepperdine publications also helped to shape her hopes for a future career.

“I knew I didn’t want to work for a newspaper, but I knew I loved writing,” Guerra said.

Working with Dr. Steve Ames, who was then the director of Student Publications, helped strengthen Guerra’s commitment to Pepperdine’s communications curriculum: “I liked the idea of journalism education more than I liked the idea of being in the field.”

TAKING THE CAREER PATH

Graduation, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in December of 1984, did not spell the end of Guerra’s time at Pepperdine. Far from it. By that time, Guerra said she “really liked being at Pepperdine,” and so, when a position as an administrative assistant became available in the Seaver Dean’s office, she took it.

Though it was Guerra’s initial plan to only work at Pepperdine temporarily, she ended up spending four years in that position, after which she transferred to a position as an assistant in the journalism department, working with her former adviser, Ames.

Guerra has spent the past 14 years working with Pepperdine’s Student Publications in the position that has now evolved into Student Publications coordinator. In addition to serving as an office manager for the Student Publications office, Guerra also works with The Graphic’s advertising staff to develop campaigns and strategies, keep track of sales, and coordinate student workers.

She also serves as the assistant adviser of the Impressions yearbook, meeting weekly with the staff and serving as a liaison to outside vendors and advertisers.

“She has really helped put a lot of integrity into the yearbook,” said Dr. Mike Jordan, director of Student Publications, who has worked with Guerra for the past 12 years.

 “Her job has become one of the most important jobs in Student Publications,” Jordan said. “While she probably started out as an office manager … she has a lot of expertise in journalism, so she evolved into assistant adviser of the yearbook.”

Additionally, Guerra coordinates Pepperdine’s master’s program in communication, serving as the contact person for students with inquiries and helping to recruit interested students to the program.

All of this, however, will come to an end on Oct. 10, Guerra’s last day of employment with Pepperdine.

SHIPPING OUT

In March, the thing that Guerra had feared most became a reality. Her husband of two years, Rich Guerra, a dentist serving with the Navy, was called to Iraq to serve for an indefinite amount of time.

“When we said goodbye, we had no idea when he would be returning,” Guerra said.

The two had known since November that Rich might have to serve overseas.

“We were really up in the air over the last six months before he left,” Guerra said. “I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster. Our lives weren’t under our own control. But I knew he felt like it was his duty to go, and I wanted to support him.”

Though the unit that Rich went to Iraq with returned to the United States in June, he and a handful of others had to stay behind. Guerra said the date of her husband’s return was continually being changed, and it was hard for her to believe he would ever return.

However, the day eventually came in late July.

“I didn’t believe it until they e-mailed me with a plane roster with his name on it,” she said.

Though the two were able to keep in weekly contact through e-mails, letters and telephone calls while Rich was in Iraq, the extended absence only compounded the fact that Rich is regularly stationed at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, near San Diego, several hours’ drive from Malibu.

“I had been here (at Camp Pendleton) two years already, and I had hoped that she would come down to Oceanside,” Rich said. “But I knew she loved where she was at Pepperdine.”

However, after his return, the pair decided that Guerra’s job at Pepperdine simply required her to be away from home too many nights a week, as she often stays with friends in the Los Angeles area during the week rather than making the commute.

“(Rich’s time in Iraq) made us realize more that life is short, and we need more time together,” Guerra said.

Rich said that though he is glad his wife will be joining him full time in San Diego, he understands how hard it will be for her to leave her job of so many years.

“For me, leaving the Navy would be the same thing,” Rich said. “I appreciate her sacrifice. They always say in the Navy, the toughest job is being a Navy wife.”

MOVING ON

Though Guerra will leave Pepperdine Oct. 10, she will not soon be forgotten by the many people whose lives she has touched during her career at the university.

“The thing is that Tammy is one of the few people who touched three generations of student publications,” Jordan said. “We lose our institutional memory, in a way, because Tammy has seen it all unfold.”

Jordan pointed out that Guerra was not only a part of The Graphic, Impressions and Currents when she was a student writer and editor, but also saw the publications through some tough times in the early 1990s, and was with them to help the transition into the new work space in the Center for Communication and Business in 2002.

“The journalism office isn’t going to be the same without her,” said junior Katie Phillippe, the current yearbook sales manager, who has been a student worker in the journalism office for the past three years. “She’s the backbone of every aspect of this department, and she genuinely cares about all the students and everyone she works with.”

Senior Angie Beard, the advertising sales manager for Student Publications, has worked with Guerra for the past year and a half.

“It’s going to be really sad to see her go,” Beard said. “She’s the best boss I’ve ever had, and she’s the most considerate person that I know.”

Senior Laura Pearson, advertising director for The Graphic, agreed.

“I don’t know how they’re going to replace her,” Pearson said. “She’s just a really nice person to work with.”

Phillippe said she has also benefited from Guerra’s pleasant office demeanor.

“It really shows in the way she takes time out of her busy schedule to talk to the students – just to chat, even if it’s just for a few minutes,” she said.

Jordan agreed that Guerra is a considerate colleague.

“In all of the 12 years we have worked together, I have never once heard Tammy complain about anything,” Jordan said. “She looks on the optimistic side of life, and is a problem solver. She’s just a can-do kind of person.”

Guerra said she will remember Pepperdine just as fondly as her colleagues remember her.

“Pepperdine has changed so much from when I was a student,” she said. “The campus and the journalism department have grown so much. The things we have done with The Graphic – a lot of growth, a lot of evolution.”

However, Guerra said she has seen a lot of things that have remained the same during the past 20 years.

“Despite all these things, there are still the common threads of being a Christian university and a family oriented campus,” she said.

Having been in the same job so long, Guerra is a bit apprehensive about leaving it all in someone else’s hands.

“I want to leave things in good shape before I go,” she said. “There’s so much I need to get ready for. It will be strange the last day, but I’ll always want to keep in touch and know how things are going. I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to work here.”

September 25, 2003