A place for authenticity Adjunct Professor of Business Angela Pascarella returns to the institution that stirred her passions, giving students a new perspective. By Hannah Hunhoff | Design by Spencer Vang
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Angela Pascarella sat through a Bethel University nursing orientation program in 2011 as a freshman with dreams of pursuing a career as a nurse midwife. New realizations transpired when she learned about the program’s high rigor and the possibility of a number of students being cut from the program during her sophomore year. For the first time in Pascarella’s life, she heard a voice telling her that she “wasn’t good enough for this.” This led to an “identity phase” in which she switched her major from psychology to elementary education. Pascarella conducted a greater self-analysis of her personality and “who God called her to be'' in her Introduction to Creative Arts class. She recalls taking the StrengthsFinder assessment alongside some nursing majors in her class cohort and found that while they ranked high on the empathy and service scale, her results displayed that she was an “achiever and a natural leader.” Pascarella soon found another common thread amid her skills and trail of majors: a passion for “human centeredness and connection.” These revelations, along with a heart for people and business, prompted her to major in business with an emphasis in human resources and led her to the door of Associate Professor of Business Joyce LeMay’s office, who affirmed Pascarella’s decision. “Bethel fostered a really awesome environment for me to be myself and not be ashamed of struggling,” Pascarella said. “It provided an open space, whether it would be in class or other outlets, to just be my authentic self.” Her natural leadership tendencies were significantly shaped during her childhood in Winneconne, Wisconsin, where she grew up as an only child. When Pascarella was around three years old in 1996, her father – a successful entrepreneur, leader and businessman – passed away from a heart attack. In the next five years of her childhood, Pascarella said that she went through a season of hardship. This led Pascarella to grow in responsibility and maturity.
“I had to step into a lot of different roles and it took away from me being able to be a child. It also gave me a great sense of perspective that I am capable of a lot of different things beyond what I could have ever imagined,” Pascarella said. “In the midst of that, the Lord has just been so gracious.” Pascarella recognizes that these years of hardship were the pathway that eventually led her to a relationship with Jesus. Soon after, Pascarella and her mom moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2003 and attended Plymouth Congregational Church. During their first church visit, the youth pastor approached Pascarella and invited her to attend the youth group program. Every Wednesday and Sunday, Pascarella attended youth group, where she fostered a strong foundation of both faith and leadership. “I got to practice my leadership skills by being a youth leader in high school and make amazing friendships and come to know the Lord really personally,” Pascarella said. “I had no shame in publicly declaring God's goodness in my life.” Pascarella often gets Facebook memories notifications about posts from over a decade ago, which she said serves as a sweet reminder that God’s word never fails and is “living and breathing in the situations [she is] in right now.” Pascarella’s four years at Bethel strengthened her faith through seeking mentorship from former pastor Laurel Bunker, pursuing therapy and attending chapel services. In the business department she ignited her passion for human resources in business classes and through relationships with a number of business professors. “Through our discussions, it was evident that she was a great match with the human resource management emphasis because she values people and understands the commitment of engaging with employees so that God will bring out the best of each person in the workplace,” LeMay said. When Pascarella was a senior in 2015, she told former
