Being a wife, mother, and grandmother are the best jobs in the world to Alison Bawden. But the best job on campus, she says, is being program manager for the Department of Aerospace Studies at the BYU Marriott School of Business. Having worked for three years for the BYU’s Air Force ROTC, Bawden says seeking opportunities to learn and grow has helped her develop greater confidence in herself.
Bawden earned a general business management degree from Utah Valley University and worked part-time in program management positions while supporting and raising her sons. As her sons got older and her schedule opened up, Bawden began looking for a full-time position that would offer new learning opportunities. When the aerospace studies department called with a job offer to be the program manager for the Air Force ROTC, she says the position felt both exciting and intimidating.
“I felt like I walked into a foreign country and they were speaking this foreign language,” Bawden says. Even though she had business experience, she says her inexperience with air force terms and culture made it hard to understand what others needed and what she should do. Amid the struggle, Bawden decided to take her success into her own hands. “Instead of telling myself I’m never going to get this, I shifted my mindset to ‘What do I need to learn?’”
So Bawden turned to one of the air force officers for help whenever she felt confused. As the officer sat with Bawden and talked through her questions about the military, she says they became close friends. “I learned that I could ask questions and I didn’t need to discredit myself in the process.”
That learning process led Bawden to focus on what she has to offer in the Air Force ROTC, she says. “Accomplishments look different for everybody. It’s taken me a long time, but I can say that I don’t have to measure up to somebody else’s expectations,” she says. “My expectations and the Lord’s expectations are enough.”
One expectation she had for herself was to learn people’s names in the Air Force ROTC, starting with the cadets. She only had two days to learn the names of her first group of cadets before traveling to Italy with them on their annual ROTC staff ride, and since they wore civilian clothing on the trip, she couldn’t rely on their name tapes. However, by the end of the trip, she had successfully learned all 18 cadets’ names. “I’ve tried to do this with every new group of cadets to make sure I get to know the freshmen and make them feel seen and wanted here in our program,” she says.
Although she has been involved with the Air Force ROTC for three years now, Bawden still maintains a “sense of reverence” for what cadets and air force leaders do. “I sit and look at these young people who are committing their lives for my freedoms and are willing to risk it all to defend us as a country and a people; it’s very humbling,” Bawden expresses. “They are making what I consider an ultimate sacrifice and they do it willingly.”
And as she reflects on those sacrifices, Bawden says her role takes on deeper meaning. “It’s powerful when I stop and consider everybody who’s gone before us and dedicated their lives for our freedoms,” Bawden says. “And I get to be a small part in growing our cadets into those leaders.”