"

Hi! It's nice to meet you. I'm Dean Taylor, and no, I'm not a student," I say, smiling to myself. This is just one of perhaps a thousand times I've repeated this phrase since becoming the girls' head dean at Indiana Academy nearly three years ago.

In between my sophomore and junior years in college, I made a decision that would change the direction of my life forever. I chose to take a year off and dedicate it to service as a task force worker. It was tough, and I faced challenges that forced me to grow. I knew what some of the duties assigned would be, such as making sure the girls checked in and out [of the dorm], creative programming, teaching Sabbath school, being the female sponsor on trips, and general dorm upkeep, etc. What I didn't realize was the direct impact and influence I would have with the students as an assistant girls' dean.

My family was supportive of my decision to take a year off, but ultimately it was between me and God to help each girl in my dorm face the battles that Satan waged on them daily that caused them to stumble. It was through tears that I shared with the girls as they faced divorced families, substance abuse and illnesses that I discovered exactly what I was being called to do. I went back to college the following year with an increased passion and willingness to follow God's leading.

The next two years of college flew by not only academically, but also through being an RA, head RA and eventually the resident dean my senior year. I graduated in June 2005 with the ambition of finishing my master's degree. I continued to pray for my future, a dorm with about 30 girls, an assistant dean, my desire to teach a class, and for a school located on the east or west coast. My heart told me to be specific as I went to work at Camp Ida-Haven for my seventh summer as program director and drama teacher.

It was during that summer I received a call that caused my heart to skip a couple of beats. I still remember the message as if it was yesterday: "Hi! This is Bill Hicks from Indiana Academy, located about 30 miles north of Indianapolis. We have a smaller school, and the girls' dorm has about 30 girls. We were wondering if you would be interested in applying for the head dean position, with an assistant dean, and you would probably be teaching a class, too..."

Wow! I sat in my vehicle, with the campers' mail scattered on the seat next to me, stunned in silence. The Lord had answered my prayers to a "T" (except for the coastal part). And I was able to see God's hand of guidance in my life with perfect clarity.

That is why I can smile each time I answer the question, "Do you know where the dean is?" Because I know God placed me at Indiana Academy, even at my young age, to help Him finish His mission here on Earth. And it is the perfect reminder of God's calling in my life each time I smile and say, "Yes, I'm the dean, and no, I'm not a student."

Kristen Taylor recently accepted a position at Southern Adventist University where she will be an assistant dean of women. She was greatly appreciated at Indiana Academy and will be missed.