Beda Dodge will soon be leaving Bethel

Beda Dodge, director of end-user services at Bethel College, will soon be leaving her position. Dodge, who has worked in Bethel’s IT center (otherwise known as “the computer lab”) for six years, plans to marry her army chaplin fiancé, Timothy Griffis, and move to Georgia after the end of this school year. “It will be bittersweet,” said Dodge, “I have a lot of friends here. But, I’ve always wanted to be married.” In preparation for her departure, Dodge is training her colleague, James Hogue, as well as student workers on the administration side of the job. She said that she is not sure whether Bethel plans to hire someone to replace her. Dodge recalled her own student career at Bethel with fondness. While finishing a liberal studies degree in 2000, a Senior Experience class gave her advice she will never forget. According to Dodge, her favorite professor, Chad Meister, taught the class with wisdom and treated the students as friends. “We learned to go with our core values and beliefs, rather than what the world tells you. The book told us that, but Chad implemented it to us. (He taught us that) you need to rely on God.” Relying on God is exactly what Dodge plans to do in this new chapter of her life. In five years, she hopes to be working in a new position dealing with technology. Ultimately, however, she only has one goal. “I want to be happily married and serving God,” she said.