Latest / Hart & Hustle Podcast / How Virtual Services Are Reshaping Higher Ed — A Look Behind the Curtain
Transcript
- Efrain: Welcome back to another episode here on the Horror and Hustle Podcast and today we're virtually in Texas with Miss Becky. Miss Becky, what organization? I mean, actually what university are you a part of? Not even organization. Becky Spurlock: That's right, the University of Texas Permian Basin. Efrain: Love it. How long you been there? Becky Spurlock: I've been here seven years. Efrain: So seven years a long time, almost a decade here. Okay, you just shy away from that. What what brings you into the higher ed space? I mean, such a passionate, purpose, ⁓ filled role, you know, ⁓ you're still working with the kids. Did you ever I actually have this question. Did you ever leave college? So many people get to college just never leave. Is that what happened to you? Becky Spurlock: I've never left. I often tell the story that I set foot on a college campus in the fall of nineteen ninety and I thought college was the coolest place I'd ever been. Now I tell people I'd been really nowhere and seen nothing, but I still thought it was the coolest place I'd ever been. And I've never left a college campus since then. And I will tell you all these years later, I still think a college campus is the coolest place I've ever been. Efrain: Why? Why was it so cool? Well how did it change your your life? Becky Spurlock: Yeah, you know, it was the first real time I was in an environment where everything and everybody around me was dedicated towards really building towards something for your future. Everybody was trying to become better. Everybody was trying to develop themselves. And everybody really understood that you could try lots of things to really expand who you were and how you see the world. And college campuses are hope-filled places. And I would still say that's true after all these years. I often tell colleagues who don't work in higher ed, who work out in community, if they're having a bad day, let me take you to lunch in the college cafeteria. Because there's nothing like a slice of pizza from the pizza oven and seeing people who are spending their time deliberately working on improving themselves so they can serve their communities better, that'll make you feel great about the future. Efrain: I love that. And and what is your role currently and where did you start off? Did are you still in the same role that you started off so many years ago? Becky Spurlock: Yeah, my role's evolved here. I'm the senior vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. So my suite of responsibilities starts with, hello, can I help you come to college? All the enrollment functions. While students are here, we support them academically, we support them in their development and in their student experiences. And then we have teams that work with folks when they're graduating. And so we end with, can we help you find a job? And all the things that happen in between, we get to work on with students along their journey. I came here as the vice president for student affairs. My portfolio has expanded. So I've done a wide variety of things in my seven years here at UTDB. Efrain: What is the end goal? Do you have an end goal in mind or you just ⁓ kind of seeing where the wind blows? Becky Spurlock: Yeah, I would love to be a university president someday. You know, I think college has been life-changing for me personally and in all the work I've I've done over the course of my career. I think very young Becky, when when I was an undergraduate, you know, even back then said, I'd I'd like to be a college president someday. I know a lot more about what a college president does. But after more than 30 years, you know, working or being in college campuses, ⁓ I feel equally passionate about the opportunity to continue to serve. Efrain: Thirty years in total, Bucky? Becky Spurlock: Well, I guess I mean if you count, I my first full time job was in nineteen ninety six. So that's ⁓ yeah. Yeah. But I've never been on a campus even longer, you know, and so yeah. Efrain: Yeah, yeah. Wow, time is flying by. Times have change, ⁓ I I hear, especially in the sense of parents being more involved on the just decisions, right? Going more on these campus tours. How how how are we as a university and and colleges, how are we also navigating that change where we know now we're not just speaking to the child, but we're actually speaking to the family to make these decisions. Becky Spurlock: Yes. Gosh, you're so right. I have seen a real journey and change on on the involvement of parents from my own experience all the way through all my years of higher ed. I've worked at seven universities across Texas and Tennessee, many of them in the middle part of my career private institutions, which tends to have a different student profile and different level of of parental involvement. and so I've seen a a wide variety of shifts there. You know, here at UTBB, we really understand and believe that. The whole family unit is part of this decision and the investment to support somebody who's going to college. And so we think it's really important to make sure that we're working with whole families and system units. And one of the things that we really love is that often then turns this into a family affair. I can't tell you how many times we've started with a student only to ultimately recruit a parent. We've had several ⁓ graduation moments where we've had parents and their children graduating together. ⁓ or one after the other. And so, and that's our ultimate goal, right? Is to to really change the outcomes of people's lives through college education. And so when we can do that for whole whole individuals and whole families, that's a great day. I sure was first in my family to go to school. My grandmother who who made it to 99 and died last year, Efrain: No for sure. Were you a first gen student? ⁓ so Becky Spurlock: was maybe my most proud supporter and just thrilled to have a a doctor in the house to go from first generation all the way through a PhD. ⁓ nobody was prouder to call me Dr. Sperlock than her. Efrain: I love it. I mean, lived a long life, ninety nine years. I'm hoping to see those numbers as well. Yeah, we gotta take care of ourselves. ⁓ What when you think about being a first gen student, did and going to college was this always I wanna get that PhD or was it just being on the campus that just kinda led you to that PhD? Becky Spurlock: Yeah, me too. Yeah. No, I had I think I was a typical first gen student. I don't even think I knew what a PhD was. I I don't think I knew what a master's degree was. I'm not sure I even understood basic career paths. I often tell people when I went to school, I sort of understood you as a woman at that time. I thought my choices were, you know, teacher, ⁓ maybe nurse. ⁓ you know, I didn't really understand a full suite of of options and military. I grew up in a military family, so I Efrain: Yeah. Becky Spurlock: I sort of understood, although knew that probably wasn't for me. ⁓ I look back now and think, I would have made a great attorney. I didn't understand what an attorney was or or what a pathway to to to get there was. I'm not disappointed at all with my career choices, but very typical first gen, I did not have a a real deep understanding of that. But I did fall in love with college, the experience for myself and the impact I believed that you could make system-wide in in in individuals on the campus and the communities that colleges. are situated in. And so I came to understand very very early on in my college career that a master's degree would be would be necessary for entry to that. So I did go straight into a master's program at my same undergraduate institution. And and then it was a few years later when mentors and others said, you know, if you're serious about making this a career and and you want to be at a senior level, a a an advanced degree is going to be required. And that's really how that unfolded for me. But no, it was not an early dream. I I don't think I could have told you what a PhD was. Efrain: Hey, you're here now though, and and knocking out the park. And it's always cool to just see those that may not have known but because of as we talked about university and and people that were mentoring you probably along the ways, there was teachers, there was ⁓ counselors that would really navigate you maybe through some of those hard times. What what are some of the challenges that students are facing today that maybe people are not even aware of? Becky Spurlock: Such a great question. You know, I think for many people, the picture they have in mind about college doesn't match the reality of college anymore. So I think for many people, we talk about college and they think of an Ivy-lined campus where students go to school for four years, they live on campus, you know, college is their main priority, right? Maybe they're having the time of the best years of their life, they're partying, they're having fun. I think that's still what so many people think of. That's actually not the majority. Of the experience for students in the United States. And it certainly isn't for our students here at UTPB. You know, the vast majority of students today that are in college are working halftime or greater. They often are taking care of their family of origin or they have a family of their own. They're working professionals. They're even if they're very young or right out of college, college might be on the list, but not might not be the number one thing on their list. They're juggling a lot. And so consequently, college has to fit into their life. It's not for many students their singular and only focused. And so it's important to really adapt to meet the needs of a wide variety of learners and make sure that people can access college and make it affordable and available, regardless of whether it's you have the the ability to focus on it just full time. Efrain: And that kinda li I guess ⁓ brings me to the virtual. Are you seeing a lot more people doing virtual classes these days? Becky Spurlock: Yeah, you know, UTBB was very early into the online learning space, well before COVID. ⁓ And so we were really well situated there. But we have a significant number of our students that are fully online, and we continue to see interest in that grow. Both students that want to be in a fully online program, but even if they don't do a fully online program, they often want the flexibility of being able to take a mix of in-person and online classes, which Which is something that's really different. I see that by the way, even at institutions that have far more traditional populations. I think just the flexibility of being able to navigate learning in a variety of contexts and fit in all the things of your life, that continues to grow. Efrain: ⁓ yeah, I was definitely that kind of wherever I could take a online class, I wanted to take the online class. However, not every class was online, so then you had to go in person. But ⁓ I've always appreciated it. I think the only thing that ⁓ got me sometimes was the communication, right? Having to get something answered and then having to wait some time. What does it look like? I also remember going into like a I don't know if it's like this anymore, it's some time, but whenever I needed answers I'll go into I guess the student service area and you have to wait in line and it's like an hour. Becky Spurlock: No. Well done. I think we've repeated it. Yeah. Efrain: Sometimes you don't have the time 'cause you are working at nine to five. Has those type of things actually ⁓ been, you know, addressed, adjusted? Becky Spurlock: Yeah. Love that because yes, we meet students where they are here at UTBB, and I think a lot of colleges work on that too. So, for example, we opened this last year a brand new one-stop shop, right? A physical desk located in a high traffic area where students can come and get a wide variety of questions answered in one space, and that's great. But guess what? We offer the same service virtually, and that's important, right? That when we built it, we built a physical space, but we built a Corresponding tech support item, right? So that students can also get in line virtually. And so that they also are queued up, in addition to the people in the in-person space, to be able to get their questions answered. And that's a good example of making sure that we're meeting students where they are, because it doesn't make sense to be able to force an online student to have to operate online except for when they really need help. And and we've really addressed that in a wide variety of areas, you know, making sure our counseling services have virtual options, for example, making sure our career service programs, if you need a resume, right, you can come in and get help. But guess what? We take virtual appointments too. And we have a lot of programs available online where students can go through self-paced work so that if they want to do that late night, one night, that that works for them too. Efrain: I love that. Yeah, meeting someone with or at is so important. I always go back to ⁓ if you look at anybody's Amazon playlist, Spotify, Netflix is really curated for them and it's like how do we find and curate s that experience for our own students? Because that's just kind of the mindset that the next generation is. It's like it has to happen now, the answers. So it's it's great that you guys put that that desk in a high traffic area, right? 'Cause that's probably when they really have that question and now they can actually make that pit stop to just get that ⁓ question answered. really different times, but I I wanna take you off of just this education space. Let's go into Becky outside of the education space. What is she doing? What is that thing that when she turns off she loves to do brings her peace? Becky Spurlock: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well there are two things. I love to travel. I, you know, I grew up in a really small town. I always joked that if I if I wrote a book, it would be called Small Town, No Car. ⁓ I didn't have a car for a long time and had to, you know, spent my days walking the streets or negotiating or navigating how to get around for a lot of my my young life and then well into my twenties. ⁓ and so I as a first generation college student is somebody who even started out working education, I didn't make a lot of money. Travel was just not something that I had experienced. And as I got into my 30s and then into my 40s, I really wanted to explore the world. And so I'd love to travel. I've just come back from 12 days in Japan ⁓ with my son who graduated high school this year. ⁓ so young, when I look back on young Becky, I think she couldn't have imagined that that this Becky would go to Japan for 12 days, you know, for example. so I love to travel and I love all kinds of travel. I love international travel, but Efrain: Okay. ⁓ Becky Spurlock: I love local travel. And if I'm going somewhere in the US for a meeting, I want to learn about that city. I want to try new foods. I want to see the architecture. I want to understand how this place came to be. I just really love everything about that. And then ⁓ I'm an avid and voracious reader. And so I I just love books. And I probably read pretty consistently at least a book a week is I would say a a reasonable average and and sometimes sometimes more. Efrain: What? That's so good. ⁓ traveling, was Japan on your bucket list? Becky Spurlock: Yeah, yeah. It it was not actually. ⁓ my son graduated high school and that's what he wanted to do. He wanted to to travel and Japan was his choice. And so I was really like, okay, well, let's do this. I I ended up loving it. I would absolutely go back. we're a family of four. We I have a daughter that graduated college this year and a son that graduated high school. And we've traveled a lot as a family, but one of the things we've also done is travel in pairs. So just like most families, my kids have different interests. And so I really loved traveling with them individually as well as us collectively as a family. So this was just a mom and son trip, just the two of us ⁓ to Japan, which made it really even more special. Efrain: I it's funny you say that. Today I'm going to Boston next week, ⁓ for my brother to wedding. And I have a five year old and a two year old. And I You know what? I should ask my wife if I should if I could take the five year old, right? 'Cause you still gotta ask your wife. You can't just take your child. And she's like she started to like freak out. Mind you, we just haven't had that, right? She's been a stay at home mom, twenty four seven. And she's like, Wait a minute, we haven't even traveled together as a family. We haven't even done this. You haven't even taken her to just a basketball like we had to start small, so how long Becky Spurlock: Probably I can remember taking my daughter with me. ⁓ I surprised her and took her to Harry Potter World, I think when she was probably eight. ⁓ and I had a conference and I thought, you know what, I can just bring this this kid along. And and I trained my kids to fly ⁓ on their own really early. I think probably by the time they were six or seven, right? So I'd put them on a plane to grandma and they would sort of, you know, a direct flight, and here's how you can do that. And ⁓ Efrain: Really? Yeah, yeah. Becky Spurlock: So I was like, look, we can fly down together and then I can fly you back on your own. And ⁓ because I had to go to work, right? But we we came early and I remember surprising her after school and taking her to Harry Potter World and she was probably eight or nine. She's been with I had the opportunity to go to the Middle East a number quite a number of years ago to do some work. And I thought, why wouldn't I take a child with me? Our son was a little bit, I thought, too young for that, but but brought our daughter who I think was in fifth or sixth grade at the time. with me on that trip. So ⁓ we started early, I think really this idea that we were gonna gonna go out into the world and do things. And and I had kids a little later in life. And so my philosophy has also been I'm not waiting for some mythical point in the future, right? When maybe I have more money or more time to start doing the things I want to love. And so I've got to figure out how to do them now and fit them into my life. And and that has absolutely been been our approach and philosophy the whole time. Efrain: Hell yeah, I love the way you think. And Becky when when you talk about just just the traveling, like what is on the bucket list? We Japan wasn't it, but is there something that you really want to go see? Becky Spurlock: Gosh, it's interesting. You know, I don't know if I I don't I don't know if I keep a bucket list when it comes to travel. I think I'm always just thinking what sounds like the next adventure, what's the next opportunity? We went to Italy last year to celebrate our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. I do think I'd like to go to Bali or or or some place like that. I think because I've had two children graduating from college this year, that's really for anybody that's been through that, it really takes up so much of your your brain spaced and I'm transitioning to now being an empty nester, right, with my my husband who I've been married to for a long time. And so I we've really dedicated our energy and focus to to that, to launching these two kids at these two important inflection points in their life. And there's been a lot going on in my my career, which I've loved too. So I think it's been a year of questions for me, questions of ⁓ what do I want the next phase of my life to look like? What does it look like to transition as a parent? What does it look like to change my schedule? ⁓ what does it look like to take really good care of myself so I can travel and do all the adventurous things I want to do in the next season of life? I'm not sure I've answers ⁓ sorted out yet, but I've really enjoyed asking the questions this year. Efrain: I love that. I was actually just talking to another leader. He said he's taking the next six months off from work to really take care of his health, to figure out where the wind is going to blow him to next, because he's been in the space for the last twenty years. And he's like so a friend told him that. So he's you what, Ephraim? ⁓ I think he's in his sixties now. He says it's time for me to just kind of take that time and figure out where my heart takes me. Sometimes you don't know. Sometimes you really do got to, you know, step step away and figure out what is that next thing. I mean, for you, you said president. So and I love that you said that actually because Becky Spurlock: Makes it so Efrain: something else you mentioned earlier, I forgot what it was, but is ⁓ man, what was the other thing you said? I love that it's in your brain and that you say it out loud. I'm a big you know, speak it into existence and that you've just had this feeling to say, I want to do that, I want to do that, and you do it. Like not many people do that. They think it's impossible, but because it comes to your mind, I know that you live it, you know, and and you just that's how you Becky Spurlock: Yeah, three. Yeah. Yeah. Efrain: probably where the work ethic comes from, right? Doing this for as long as you have as well is because you know it's been planted in your heart. That must mean it's real, right? I just gotta go get there. I can't give up now. Becky Spurlock: You know, it's interesting, I will say, I often think that ⁓ maybe the best one of the best things that happened to me as a first generation college student, somebody who has lived on my own very early, right? I I had a an unusual childhood and started really living on my own when I was in in high school. And I often say, Thank goodness I didn't know what I didn't know. And so I just beboped along. I mean, I just thought I looked around and said, What are you doing? I bet I could do that too. Or I love to read. And so I was like, I'll just read everything I can about this. And and and I never had the sense that I think I was born with a double helping of of of agency, right? I I always felt like I could steer my own ship. ⁓ and then my circumstances really required me to be so grown up and and and and and do things really ahead of my peers. So I had that was hard, but I also had a a great sense that I was capable of figuring things out. And and that I wasn't afraid of risk. I I wasn't afraid. I knew I could work hard. I didn't I thought I used to think you just can't outwork me. You know, you might outsmart me, you might have more resources, you might have more connections, but you can't outwork me. And and and I didn't know. I never thought, well, I'm a poor kid, I can't do that, or I I don't have the support, I can't do that. I I would just go about doing it. And I think While things have really dramatically shifted in my life, right, as a result of all my career choices and the investments I've made, I still wake up every day really feeling like the captain of my ship. And consequently, that is lingering in my body, this idea that I don't know, but I know I can figure it out. Efrain: That's my mindset on everything. It's I'll figure it out. Like I've taken so many leaps of faith and I was like, I'll figure it out. God got me. Because it is, right? Like you you mentioned, I think we we've were able to share our experiences as we were growing up and what that actually looked like. But that that trauma that, you know, I just want to be better than my past. I just want to sometimes they ⁓ what they what do they call it? The tip on your shoulder, ⁓ the grit. Yeah, that's what leads. you to these opportunities as well, Becky, and to be able to travel the world then is because you've never given up and you are just going to figure it out. Right. That's what life is all about. To this day, are you still figuring it out, Becky? Becky Spurlock: I am still figuring it out. And I think, and isn't that fun? You'd said something earlier. And I often say to my family and others, you know, I have a plan and and I obviously have worked, I'm very goal-oriented, that's very clear, and I've worked towards those goals, but I like to leave room for Jesus because I think, you know, I've experienced dreams that are even bigger than the ones that I imagined, right? Because you can't just say, well, I've got a 12-step plan and I'm gonna work it, you know, so tightly that this is the only way this can go. Efrain: Yeah. Becky Spurlock: Thank goodness. Because the dreams that have been dreamed for me are even bigger. And when you leave room and space for those to also bubble up, you know, that's really where the magic happens, right? You have to do your part, you have to do the good work and you have to work hard and you have to be diligent and be committed. And you have to leave room for the ways in which life will surprise you. And and I think as I'm entering into the last, you know, phase of my career, you You could get sort of jaded like I've done this, I understand, here's what that's gonna look like. That's sad to me. I don't want to be like that. I want to still be delighted and find joy and find exciting connections I couldn't dream of. And and I believe that that's still coming for me on the path, even after 30 years in this career. Efrain: ⁓ yeah, you think you had a plan until God's plan reveals itself. You're like, ⁓ wow. I was thinking even I was thinking too small. We think we think big until that God's plan shows up. You're like, I've never would have imagined this. So ⁓ yeah, for sure. There's definitely so much. I actually wanna kinda go back. You mentioned that your your son is now in the space of graduating. Will he be also attending college? Becky Spurlock: He sure will. My daughter just graduated in May from college and my son is headed off to college. Efrain: So, what does that look like for you being in that seat, but probably having to do college tours and seeing things from the outside perspective? Are you seeing anything new or anything like that? Becky Spurlock: I sure am. Boy, it's been really I often I we have orientation here over the summer and I talk to parents and I always say nothing's been more humbling than doing this professionally for a living and then doing it with one of your children and seeing it a hundred percent through their eyes or through your parent eyes. And ⁓ you know, I've I've had a lot of lessons. What I a lot of inspiration I found at other campuses where I thought they did something well or where I thought, ⁓ this seems really Efrain: Yeah. Becky Spurlock: not well done and then are we doing that? I I remember calling my team from one of the tours and saying, we're not doing that, right? Can somebody double check this is we're not this is not how this is set up on our campus. Because it was it was something I thought really didn't was not in service to the people. And so absolutely I think it is a great quality check on what you think you know and what you think you're doing and then and then how you really experience it when it comes to your own beloveds. Efrain: Yeah, I can only imagine that sometimes you're showing that consistent, okay, this is my job, kind of almost comfortable at times, but then you go see someone else do something, you're like, as you mentioned, before I even start to say anything, is this what we're doing or not? Because I have a lot of things to say if this is the case, but also a lot of things to really learn from as well, because sometimes you need to be on the outside to really see things. What are the things that you that maybe you l loved and learned and you're really ready to implement maybe at your school? Becky Spurlock: Yeah. You know, I I saw some really great presentations that really incorporated clear understanding and connection of academic opportunities with career development and student experiences. So yes, this is this is the academic program and the real richness that you're gonna get, but also here's all the ways we're gonna develop you through internships or student leadership experiences. And I saw one college in particular stuck out to me as really just doing a phenomenal job at the integration of that in the del and then the delivery of that information to both students and their families. And I took a lot of inspiration from that particular campus visit. ⁓ You know, I think I've probably taken more moments of thinking, ⁓ this is harder than it has to be. you know, this is harder than it has to be. ⁓ and I often have the experience where I look at something and I think, I'm not sure if I know exactly what this ⁓ what I what this means. And this is what I do professionally for a living. So if I'm questioning it, what does that mean for families who might be less experienced than I am? And so again, it's really helped us continue. We've we're already on this journey at UTPB, but we really continue to think about Efrain: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Becky Spurlock: real accessibility and affordability and and and what does it mean like to make those real commitments in tangible ways, not just lip service, not just these are our values, we already have that, right? But what are the actual tangible things that you can do? So are we producing letters in English and Spanish? Are we really considering our language? And is it filled with jargon? As it often Sometimes has to be. Sometimes it's it's it's where required to be, but how could we improve that? How can we simplify? How can we involve this year? We added some really new parent communications that I'm very proud of, particularly all around the financial commitments to really help families feel like they understand how we can get to a simpler number to help people understand how what is it gonna cost? ⁓ and how can I break that down and understand that the same way I would understand buying a car or Efrain: Yeah, yeah. Becky Spurlock: My monthly bills. And if you've ever looked at a higher education bill, they're more complicated than that. And for good reasons. There's some regulatory reasons, and there's some systems re I mean, there are lots of reasons why it's more complicated. And what can we do better? How can we really change? If you're really committed to saying we want to make a college degree accessible and affordable to people, particularly who've historically not chosen that path, you cannot do things the way they've always been done. Efrain: No. That is true. I think sometimes you don't have to reinvent it, but you just have to tweak it, right? And just make it that much better. as we start to wrap up, I love t that we're in leadership positions and I know you're pouring into people and you have your your things that you may tell people, you know, to motivate them and we'll definitely want to hear one of those. But what is that thing that maybe someone said to you, whether it's five years ago, ten years ago, that still resonates that you just still kind of live by that saying? Becky Spurlock: But I think sometimes you have to Yeah. You know, I was thinking the other day about my one of my major advisors in my doctoral program, Stan Carpenter. And ⁓ took me a long time to finish a PhD. I worked full time the whole time. I had two children. I mean, I just took me nine years. And when I was at the very end of it, I I tried to quit. And I just felt overwhelmed and exhausted and had a newborn and and and my advisor I called him to sort of workshop like I think I'm gonna quit. And he said, You're asking me for permission and I'm not gonna give it to you. And he said, You can't see it, but you're so close. Now keep in mind at this point I'd already done the literature review and I'd already done collected the data. I mean, he was right. I was really close to finishing, but sometimes it's that last it's the last mile, right? And and and he said, You're so close, and I can't tell you all the ways this is gonna change your life, but it is gonna change your life. And of course he was right, and I got together. found some additional support and help and about six months later was able to finish. I was that close. And of course he's right. It has changed my life in innumerable ways. And ⁓ I was just thinking about him the other day. I'm gonna go visit him. I haven't seen him in a little bit. And and and it was such a powerful moment, you know, that I think too, I I think at the time if I had quit everybody would have said yes, of course. Look, she's a mom, she's a new mom, she's taking care of these kids, she's you know working full time. Everybody would have understood. But he was like, I'm not letting you off the hook. Like, stop if you want, but no permissions coming from me. Let's talk about what it looks like to finish and change your life. Efrain: Yeah. Those are good people. I always say a person could really change a life, a moment or or story. And and there's those people that just say, Hey, you're so close. But you are right. There's people that may not that would easily tell you just just stop. Just give up. Like if you know, but you Yeah. You need those good people that say, No, you're so you're there, you know, 'cause a lot of the times, Becky, I can only imagine that we feel like we're in this dark tunnel and we just can't see the light. Right? And when someone says no Becky Spurlock: We understand. It's a lot. Yes. That's brilliant. Efrain: keep going the light is coming, you're like, ⁓ okay and you just keep going and you realize, man, God is so good. Going back to you know, bringing back God is so good because if I would have quit I've never seen the day of light. You know, I would never seen the the finish line. ⁓ and what are what are some of the things you're telling others now as you're pouring into them as a leader? Becky Spurlock: Yeah. Well, I'll tell you one thing I tell all students at orientation every year is I say, don't suffer in silence. That I think your your job as a student is that things are gonna go wrong. And when they do, your job is to tell somebody. And I think increasingly we live in a world where people want to know the answer to the question before they ask it. You know, they Google the answer before they go to the doctor, right? They they really we've lived in a place where where increasingly people are uncomfortable with. Efrain: Yeah. Becky Spurlock: Uncertainty, right? Or this idea. So we need to know. So people will say, Well, I didn't tell anybody because I didn't think there was anything you could do about it. I didn't think the college could help me with that. And I said, That's not your responsibility, is not what we're going to do. Your responsibility is to tell somebody, hey, this isn't going right. I need help. And then let us see what we can do. I said, students are so often surprised by how many resources we have to help them and how much we can do to really keep them on the path. And to your point, I think if you're in a hole or you're in a dark place, sometimes it can be so hard to feel like, and we we look around and we go, I don't know if anybody can help me, so I just keep it to myself. No, you know, tell somebody, reach out. And we tell them too here at UTBB, there's no wrong front door to help. So you don't have to even tell the right person. Just tell somebody, tell a coach, tell a faculty member, tell somebody in housing, tell the ladies that work in the cafeteria. And it's our job to get that information to the right person to help you, okay? ⁓ but just tell somebody. Efrain: Close mouth never get fed so many times by just saying something that I wanted to do and next thing you know I end up in somebody else's office. You are a hundred percent right, Becky. Just tell somebody because you just never know who can really help. ⁓ Becky, as we started to wind this down, where can people what's the website? What's your LinkedIn? Are you guys on social? So they want to see what the school is about and what you guys doing. Becky Spurlock: Yeah, of course. Well, we're easy to find at we're utpb.edu and and ⁓ we're at UTPB ⁓ on our socials and you should check us out. We're really a gem of a university here in in the Permian Basin, which is really the epicenter of oil and gas industry and what we're doing to produce energy for ⁓ Texas and the United States and North America and the world. And and we're a scrappy small institution that is producing Big results. And I think what we're doing every day is really unique. And I think if you look at our socials in particular, you'll see a lot of our personality and the success stories about what we're doing out here on UTVB. And I think it'd be hard not to find inspiration if you took a look there. I'm easy to find on the internet. ⁓ I'm all over the internet ⁓ and easy to find on on LinkedIn, Dr. Becky Sperlock. Efrain: Dr. Becky, I appreciate you so much. We I didn't say that the whole time, but Dr. Becky sounds good actually. ⁓ We appreciate your time here. Guys, if you guys are still watching, these are the conversations that we have with leaders just like yourself ⁓ that are really making a difference, that are chasing the passion and purpose. So continue to share the word because we're not in this alone. The more that we continue to have these conversations, the more that students, the more that leaders continue to be educated around what is actually happening on a day-to-day around the world. My name is Ephrain. This is Becky. We'll catch you on the next one. Later. Becky Spurlock: ⁓ okay. Thanks. Bye. Efrain: Yeah.