Apr 2, 2014 4 min read

Editor’s Note: The following is an interview with Mary Hamilla, of the Counseling Center, as part of a series of weekly conversations with members of the campus community about living out vocational faith.

Q. When did you first come to Waynesburg and what led you here?

A. I started in August of 2001, right before 9-11. I didn’t know that Waynesburg was hiring for this position at the time.

I was working at a private practice and I had been teaching at Penn State Fayette. I enjoyed teaching there, but then they implemented a policy to eliminate using adjunct professors and were only going to hire full-time professors, so I could no longer teach there.

I wanted to try to teach elsewhere, so I sent my résumé to Waynesburg and some other local colleges as well.

Nancy Ferrari, the director of the counseling center at the time, called and said you must have seen on our website that this position opened, and I really hadn’t. It was really strange, because I was just looking for some supplementary part-time work, but this position was open and it was also incredible, because it was counseling and teaching which was exactly what I love to do.

At the time, it was a really hard decision because it meant giving up my private practice that I cared a lot about and worked hard to establish, but I decided to go for it. Only after I was here for a while did I realize what a good decision I had made. This job is just perfect for me. So I feel like something bigger than me was telling me that I needed to take this job before I even knew about it.

Q. In what ways do you demonstrate your faith in your position at Waynesburg?

A. Hopefully, I do that in almost all of my interactions. I really try to love the students and respect them and accept them and help them to move forward.

It’s nice because there are so many ways that I can do that here.

I am free to either directly or indirectly talk about faith. A lot of students are directly trying to explore and figure out their spiritual journey, so it is lovely to walk with them in that.

Even in the classroom and peer education, I feel like a lot of what I am doing underneath the surface is demonstrating in teaching, how important compassion is. I teach two psychology classes, sociology, peer education, strategies for academic success, and I have taught career and life planning.

Though I do not teach that class any longer, I still help students one on one to figure out what they want to do career wise.

When helping people find vocation, we take a Christian approach to that as well in assisting people in finding out what they feel called to do.

It’s exciting to help someone figure out what they want to do with their lives. To see someone go from having no idea to finding their calling is very exciting.

Q. Have any specific moments with either students or faculty members really affirmed your faith and touched you spiritually in your time at Waynesburg University?

A. I feel like there are a lot of moments and that it happens all the time, but none are really lightning bolts or huge moments. They just happen really natural here.

I feel that way any time I really make a connection with a student or when they have an epiphany about their life or are taking a big step towards healing.

When I lost my husband a few years ago, that was a way that I was blessed by the community at Waynesburg, the faculty, staff and students, were so wonderful and really reached out to me.

I have always been grateful to have this job here that means so much to me. But since then, that gratitude has really been magnified.

That experience has really been touching.

Even on days when I am tired and don’t feel like working, I always feel blessed that this is where I work.

Q. Do you feel that you are where God wants you to be?

A. Yes, I really do. I used to wonder what my real vocation was and was always searching.

When I started here, I had in the back of my mind, if I do not like it here, I can always return to my private practice.

Only over time did I realize that this is my dream job and it does feel like I am where God wants me to be. There is a need here that I feel that I can meet, and that really fills me up.