How did you begin working here at Oklahoma Christian?
“This is actually my second time working at OC. My first time, I started in admissions back in late 2002, and worked there for about a year and a half, and about early 2004, and I discovered that I loved working with high school students and college students… My first time working at OC, I left early 2004 and went into corporate sales for about 15 years. Then I came back to OC in June of 2019 and worked in the admissions office for a little while again, and then moved over into my role now.”
Can you tell us what you do as ‘major gifts officer’ to serve the community of Oklahoma Christian?
“My role as ‘major gifts officer’ umbrellas over several different things. I work on the alumni and advancement team, so there’s a very strong alumni relations component to my role. I spend a lot of time connecting with our alumni and developing relationships, plugging them into projects with students, connecting them to what’s going on here at Oklahoma Christian, all the wonderful things. Then I do a lot of community relations work in that I’m out in the community, going to community events and meeting people. Trying to make new friends for Oklahoma Christian, and getting other people that might not be acquainted with what we’re doing here acquainted with OC and spending time developing those relationships. The third thing is really the center of my role, raising funds for OC. That really covers a lot of different areas. Scholarships for you guys, programs like Women Who Lead, renovation and naming opportunities,” said Noblin. “I would say a big part, too, of what I do as a fundraiser is share the OC story and the mission of being a kingdom university. Having conversations like this, as well as with students, to inform them of all the wonderful things that we enjoy on our campus which are funded through generous donors. I get to work with them every day and capture the vision of what they want to have happen here at OC and how they want to invest in you all,” she said.
What is your most meaningful “God moment” story that has occurred during your time at Oklahoma Christian?
“I would say that I have several, and they all focus on relationships with people. The first one being, I work with an incredible, extremely talented group of people on the alumni advancement team, and they do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. If they didn’t do it, things would not go the way things go at Oklahoma Christian, they do a lot of work that doesn’t really ever get any glory. It’s amazing the passion they have for cultivating Oklahoma Christian and continuing to move it forward and investing in you all. And you will probably never have the opportunity to meet them or even know what they do, but they are incredible people. We are a family, and we work really hard and I am so grateful for them. I work for a couple of amazing leaders, Christine Merideth and and Chris Young. They really have a passion for making OC a better place, and I’m so grateful for that. Being in corporate sales, you just don’t get that, and so that is a big part of why I really love coming to work every day. The second part I would say, again, is centered around people. I have been so amazed at all of the people that God has put in my path that I would have never known otherwise that are learning the story of what’s happening here at Oklahoma Christian. People who have begun to pour into involvement and donating and just getting the word out to our community and to people who would have never known what we were doing. It has been super humbling to see who God has put in my path, and I have loved every part of that. And then the third thing would be working with Women Who Lead. It’s been amazing to see how God is transforming the hearts and minds of our young women. It is remarkable, and it’s all anchored in knowing their identity in Christ.”
As a sponsor of the Women Who Lead organization on campus, what is your role?
“I want to brag on Dr. Merritt because Dr. Merritt is amazing, and she started the program in 2016. She felt the Lord was really calling her to create leadership opportunities for our female students, so she started the club in 2016. When I came back in 2019, I started to really feel that God was putting on my heart, wanting to create mentor relationships for our female students with the alumni that I was working with and the women in the community that I was getting to know. There’s such a passion there, and connecting those, because I never experienced having a mentor and I feel like that is a huge difference maker. It would have probably made a big difference in my life and in my professional development. [Dr. Merritt and I] really felt that God was working on us to bring us together for a similar idea, but coming at different angles. We were introduced by a mutual friend, and we just started talking about what we would do if we could put together a program and or a class. And so Dr. Merritt, she’s amazing. She created a class, took it through the academic committee, and we started that class in early 2022. So now we’re in our ninth semester, and that has just been a remarkable experience. Seeing how God is transforming the hearts and minds of our young women to know who He says they are and to know their dignity, value, and worth. That has been such an amazing experience and blessing for me. Ask me about women who lead, and my mind always goes back to working with Dr. Kimberly Merritt, and she’s fantastic. So it’s very much a partnership, and we just really love working together on that.”
What inspired you to be a part of the Women Who Lead organization and how did you get involved?
“In reflection on what I feel like you all and your age group, the time, the place that we’re living in, and the information that’s being thrown at you, and having the opportunity to direct your hearts and minds back to what Scripture really says about our identities. That was not something that was a topic of conversation when I was your age, but it is so needed. When you know who God says you are, and you believe that, and you walk in that, it is a game changer. I see in my own life how I would have benefited from knowing that at your age, and want you all to know that now. We are on a Christian University, so why not talk about it? And why not create opportunities for you all to focus on the hope that comes from knowing God? That’s not just our female students, we have a new men’s mentoring program that is doing the same thing, but for [male students]. I’m grateful to work at a place where we can really focus on God’s intentional design for your lives and your purpose and your dignity, value, and worth.”
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