Darla HettingaQuietly diligent
What are your main job responsibilities?
I track chapel attendance, make ID cards, keep housing records, maintain the student handbook, supervise work-studies in the student development office and do a variety of other things. New to me this year is issuing parking tags and supervising the switchboard.
Working so closely with students and their parents, you must get questions that make you laugh sometimes.
I do. Once a mother of an incoming freshman boy asked if she could stay in his dorm room during orientation weekend.
What makes your job great?
I especially enjoy working with students, helping them however I can. It’s fun to watch them grow from freshmen to seniors—to see how they have matured and grown spiritually as they make plans for the future.
What’s among the worst excuses you’ve heard for poor chapel attendance?
“I thought I would make it,” or “I overslept just this once. Can you let me in even though I am [20 minutes] late?”
Describe yourself in three words.
Organized, honest, concerned.
Having so many student employees in your office over the years, you must have some interesting stories.
The craziest was a student who overslept all the time and asked me to call him to make sure he came to work in the morning. We were nearing the end of the semester without any time to hire someone else, so I worked with him until the end of the year—but I didn’t rehire him the next year!
What have been some of the highlights of your time at NWC?
The opening of DeWitt Theatre and the remodeling of the Rowenhorst Student Center.
As attendance tracker, you get to a lot of chapels. What have been some of your favorites?
I enjoyed the “I Have a Dream” student chapel speakers last year, especially Sarah Earleywine, who spoke about trusting the Lord to lead her after graduation. I also like musical chapels like the one done by Ken Medema.
What do you do in your free time?
In the summer I like to ride motorcycle with my husband and spend time with our children and grandchildren. I also enjoy gardening.