The School of Education at Olivet Nazarene University provides pre-service teachers with a strong academic foundation to teach children from Kindergarten through grade 12. The overarching goal is to equip future educators so they can influence the lives of young learners with both knowledge and purpose.
Many Olivet graduates enjoy long teaching careers in the classroom, but others transition their work into administrative roles. Jacob Hildenbrandt ’19 did just that. The academic preparation he received at Olivet paved the way for a purposeful career in education. After spending a few years as an elementary school teacher, he earned a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Administration so that he could shift into an administrative role — something he had been interested in as a young adult.
Olivet marketing recently interviewed Jacob about his experiences as a student at Olivet and his career now as a dean of students at Thompson Crossing Elementary School in Indianapolis. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Olivet: Why did you initially choose to attend Olivet and study elementary education?
Jacob: I grew up attending Indianapolis First church of the Nazarene, where I came to know Jesus and learned to develop my own faith. In high school, a lot of people recommended that I check out Olivet for college. As an only child, I wanted to stay closer to home, but I came to Olivet for a tour anyway.
The campus felt like home, yet it was still a hard decision to leave my comfort zone. But, I was really drawn to Olivet’s mission of “Education With a Christian purpose.” I wanted to be around friends that lived the same way, so Olivet felt like the right place to be.
My mom is a teacher, and growing up, I saw her influence on her students’ lives. I saw how she encouraged the future generations she taught. I’ve always loved working with kids, so choosing to study education was a natural fit for me too. In my own career, I wanted to take it a step further from education to administration. In high school I shadowed a principal for a day and I loved it. I knew then that my goal was to be an elementary school principal someday.
Olivet: How did your student experiences at Olivet shape your career experience?
Jacob: In the School of Education, my interactions with the faculty were really impactful. For example, I still keep in touch with Dr. Kelly Brown. She was an amazing mentor. She taught me how to find joy in the work — she always had something to laugh or smile about. Dr. Brown also taught me good administrator lessons and truly listened to things I had to say.
Outside of the classroom, I was the manager for the men’s basketball team during my freshman and sophomore years. Ralph Hodge was the coach at the time and I loved working with him, especially seeing how he combined a love of basketball and with a love of serving the Lord. That experience made me want to become a coach after college.
During my junior year I was a resident assistant in Stratford Apartments. That was awesome. I loved connecting with the guys in the building and walking through life with guys that were going through similar things. That taught me how to support my peers in creative ways.
As a dean of students, I deal with disciplinary issues for students. But I see my job as three-pronged task. I’m there to support students, but also, staff and parents. Students often need to work on emotional regulations, conflict resolution and how to self-manage behaviors before they can work on academics. That means in addition to helping care for the students, I also step in to support the staff through classroom management strategies and communications with parents. Sometimes it’s just giving the teacher a break by pulling a hard student out for a little bit. I try to support the family/caregivers of the students by providing resources and clear communication of how the school plans to help their students succeed.
Olivet: How is the “Education With a Christian purpose” you received at Olivet relevant in your daily life and career?
Jacob: It is really easy to get caught up in the day-to-day struggles and headaches in the field of education. My goal is to find joy and show joy through the hardships. We know as Christians that it’s not easy — there’s a lot of junk we go through daily. But, there’s nothing bigger than what God can do. There’s nothing that happens in a school day that surprises the Lord.
As an administrator of discipline, my goal is to be clear, fair and consistent. I need to be clear with expectations in language that the kids understand; fair across the board in awarding consequences; and consistent in teaching students how to turn behaviors around. I try to never send a student back to class thinking they’re a failure, or that they’ve permanently messed up. I want to communicate “We believe in you. Keep walking forward. I’m here for you.”
As an administrator, my day doesn’t stop — I love that. As soon as I walk in, there’s something for me to do. I do a lot of problem solving every day. Education is a hard field, but I feel that if I can be of little assistance — helping even one teacher or student — that work makes a meaningful difference.
My encouragement for future educators is that if you have a passion for it, you’ll get through it. Keep relying on the Lord — He’s our best teacher. If we rely on him and ask for his blessing in our career we will succeed. Teachers are strong. We don’t give up easily. Follow your heart and your passion.
For more information about the School of Education at Olivet, visit Olivet.edu/Education.
