GLORIA SHELLER
Staff Writer
She’s known as the University’s matriarch, “[the] most gracious and encouraging hostess and friend-maker Pepperdine has ever had, ” as daughter Emily Lemley described her mother.
From the day she accepted her diploma with George Pepperdine College’s first graduates, to her years as the University’s first lady, to today, Helen Young’s 70-year devotion to Pepperdine endures —an eternal legacy.
As a member of the very first Graphic staff, she says she remembers being part of the group that named the University’s newspaper — Pepperdine’s oldest, longest-running student organization. She said that because the word “graphic” includes the letters ‘g’, ‘p’ and ‘c’, as in George Pepperdine College, the name Graphic seemed to be the best fit for the school’s student newspaper.
Young, now 89, began her college career at Harding University in Arkansas. After a visit from George Pepperdine, Young and one other classmate made the move to California to finish their last two years at George Pepperdine College, beginning in 1937.
She fondly remembers the opening ceremonies “with the outstanding faculty, the governor, the mayor, new students and founders.”
Young considers the opening of George Pepperdine College as one of her greatest moments at the University.
Young’s late husband, Norvel, was her college history teacher who became the third president of Pepperdine in 1957. Throughout his term, the Youngs saw the biggest change Pepperdine has known to date: the move from Los Angeles to Malibu.
“The move to Malibu was so dramatic and has proved to be a choice decision,” Young said.
Young admitted that many believed a site in Agoura would be better for Pepperdine’s new campus, instead of the rocky and impossible cliffs of Malibu. She praises the late Regent George Evans for finding the Malibu site and helping raise the money to make the dream a reality.
“She loved having guests over to the house, whether they were faculty or parents or students,” Lemley said. “I know that because I remember doing all the dishes.”
Young has lived in Malibu since that move in 1972. The Youngs first enjoyed 13 years of falling asleep to the sound of real waves in a beach house now known as the Adamson House and Museum, next to Surfrider Beach.
These days, Young lives with all her Waves here on campus in a faculty condo, watching her Pepperdine legacy grow through her own family. Along with her four children, she has 13 grandchildren, one of which is a current Pepperdine student. Three other grandchildren, as well as three of her own children, also graduated as Waves.
Young, class of 1939, has stayed true to her alma mater with numerous donations of time, money and passion.
In 1958 the Associated Women for Pepperdine met for the first time on the lawn of the original South Los Angeles campus, with Young as its founder. Almost 50 years later the group remains dedicated to student advancement and is a vital support for the Pepperdine community.
The idea behind the Associated Women for Pepperdine was a way for women of Pepperdine to form a fundraising group for student scholarships, Young said.
“That group is one of her greatest passions,” Lemley said. “She’s so dedicated to it, and when I think of my mother and Pepperdine, it’s one of the first things that comes to mind.”
In 2008, the AWP will celebrate its 50th anniversary, marking half a century of furthering Christian education.
“She believes so much in Pepperdine and in Christian education,” Lemley said. “She’s truly a Christ-centered person.”
Young has focused her life on bettering lives, spiritually and socially, in the campus community. With the endowment of the Norvel and Helen Young Professorship in Family Life at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology’s opening, in 1986, the Youngs became, forever, a piece of Pepperdine.
In 1996, the Youngs furthered their care for Pepperdine students as the founding benefactors of the Boone Center for the Family. This section of the GSEP is concerned primarily with the relationships between family, friends and peers — all at the heart of Young’s legacy.
“My dad always said she’s the most unselfish person he’s ever known,” Lemley said. “She’s a true servant and loves Pepperdine so much.”
11-08-2007
