So much can be said about a university by the attitude of its students and faculty—and while a student, recent graduate Danielle Tucker was rarely without a smile on her face. Resident Assistant (RA) of Dixon Hall, Danielle actively involved herself in campus life and in the lives of her fellow students. During her final semester, she discussed her experience with dorm life and with TMU as a whole.
“As an RA, that automatically means I am pretty much involved in all things dorm life—from dorm events to prayer day to sports games, and many other events,” said Danielle. “This is my second year on the job, and I love it!”
Danielle came to Master’s from Puyallup, Washington. After looking online for a Christian school in a warmer climate, she found herself in Southern California to see TMU. She and her mom visited the school together, and Danielle loved the small-campus feel.
“Something that really stood out to me about Master’s was the fact that literally everyone we asked would respond with something along the lines of, ‘I love it here,’ or, ‘Master’s is a special place,’ or, ‘I have made so many amazing friends; I love going here.’ It seemed like everyone that attended TMU loved it,” said Danielle.
After that first visit, Danielle was pretty sure she wanted to attend Master’s, but she prayed, asking God to either shut the door or provide the funds and opportunity to enroll.
“God provided money from scholarships for me to be able to attend, and various other things seemed to fall into place,” said Danielle. “So, I took that as a yes and I have honestly never second guessed it since I moved in!”
Danielle deeply enjoys music, having learned how to play multiple instruments. She sang in the choir of her church here at TMU, and whenever she went back to Washington, she would play the violin in the worship band at her home church.
Danielle was born in and grew up in Australia, moving to America at the age of nine. She now lives with her family in Washington, where her dad is a pastor. Danielle’s family has been an integral part of her life and growth.
“My family is very quick to laugh and smile, which makes life with them so much fun. My parents have really set the tone for us all by being loving, caring, hardworking, gracious, forgiving, curious, honest, and Christ-centered, both at church and at home,” said Danielle. “The father we saw at the pulpit was always the same father we got to see at home, which I think is pivotal. I truly do believe that my family has been one of the Lord’s biggest blessings in my life.”
Growing up in a Christian home, Danielle heard the gospel frequently and made a profession of faith at a very young age, but she didn’t start to truly make her faith her own until her later teenage years.
“I do not know the exact date I was saved, but I would say around the age of fifteen or sixteen I began to seek a personal relationship with the Lord. My family experienced a really hard time around then in which I was forced to ask myself the question, ‘If one of my parents walked out on us right now and claimed that they wanted nothing to do with us or God, do I have enough of a relationship with God that I could say I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He is real and worth living for?’”
“I remember lying awake the night I asked myself that question, just thinking through what all of that meant—what it meant to pursue God, what it meant to give my life to Him and make Him Lord over my life because of what He did for me on the cross, and what it meant to have a personal relationship with Him. I think that was a major turning point for me in which my salvation really started to change the way I thought, what I desired, and how I processed the world around me.”
Danielle described her walk with Christ as a journey full of ups and downs. She has been constantly reminded of her need for Him and her inadequacy before God.
“I want to be a reflection of His love to the world around me. The longer I walk with Him, the more I see my sin and the more I long for the day in which I can be with Him for eternity and fight sin no more,” said Danielle. “However, as I realize those things, the Lord also is so faithful and kind to remind me that He loves me and uses me to accomplish His work despite my failures.”
Although her first semesters were hard due to homesickness, she grew to love TMU, taking on positions of leadership and building lifelong relationships with her professors and fellow students. She majored in Mathematics, and she is now taking graduate classes online in Education. Danielle wants to eventually teach math at the high school level.
> When she reflected on her time at TMU, Danielle was grateful for the unique experience the school offered. “There is an atmosphere at TMU that is unbeatable. Students are strongly encouraged to pursue Christ foremost, and each other out of that . . . TMU does an outstanding job of making students feel welcome, loved, and cared for. Their ultimate priority for their students is to grow them closer to God, which is so special.”>
Growing up in public school, Danielle said she often felt isolated as a Christian. During her years at TMU, she loved getting to know other people her age who are also trying to follow Christ with their whole heart. She was thankful for the privilege to get to know some of the people God is and will be working through all over the world.
“Going to TMU has been completely life changing for me. It has been such a joy to see how proper theology plays out in everyday life, to learn more about how to love people like Christ does, to make friendships that I am convinced will last a lifetime, and ultimately to learn more about my Father. But, just like anything in life, it takes work. Growing closer to God from being at TMU will not just happen. It is a daily decision to have an open heart to what the Lord might teach us, and He can teach us things wherever we are. Being able to attend TMU has been the most shaping and growing experience of my life so far.”
