As Josh Okerman ’07 begins his role as Wheaton’s new Chief Alumni Officer, Wheaton magazine asked a few questions about him and his new position.
Photo: Amy Aiello
I studied business/economics and minored in communication. I was deeply involved in the work of the Office of Christian Outreach (now the Office of Ministry and Evangelism) all four years: Chicago Evangelism Team, chair of the Christian Service Counsel, part of Missions in Focus Cabinet. I played in a lot of intramurals. I managed sound for World Christian Fellowship and helped with Arena Theater productions.
I’m excited to work with so many quality people who are Wheaton alumni—and I’m thankful for a great team of people here at Wheaton. Alumni work is about building relationships, and I like that—I believe in building long-term relationships that can last through the ups and downs of life.
God has used so many ways to teach and shape me through the years. I’ve certainly learned a lot from working under Cindra Stackhouse Taetzsch ‘82 all these years in the alumni office. But I think back to other things, too: being a retail manager and learning to work through conflict in customer service issues; not having a strong friend community in high school and learning how to create that for myself or others in college and after; learning about the faithfulness of God through seasons of hardship. Growing up as a missionary in Japan gave me insight into two very different cultures and how to build cross-cultural relationships.
While Wheaton classes are certainly excellent, there is much additional value from the rest of the Wheaton experience: life on campus, clubs, leadership opportunities, extracurriculars. Take the time to get to know and learn from people. Wheaton does a great job of creating structures for building community, but take the time to learn how to be a true friend. If you know how to be a friend to others, you’ll have friends throughout life.
