Faith & Work Lunch with Betty Li Simpson ‘15 and Megnot Abebe ‘25
In November, we welcomed TH alumna and current board member Betty Li Simpson ‘15 to share about her vocational journey at our second Faith & Work Lunch of the year. As 4th year Perkins Fellow Megnot Abebe guided the conversation, Betty described her vocational discernment as significantly shaped by God speaking through experiences and others. Throughout the blog, click on the links to hear some highlights from this rich discussion.
Betty began by reflecting on her understanding of the term “vocation.” She discussed how her background growing up in a Chinese immigrant community and church instilled a particular view of professional success as consisting primarily of stable professions like law and medicine. At UVA, she developed a broader concept of vocation through the input of faithful people, such as her Horizons Fellows mentor Helen Jamison (who attended the lunch!). Beyond merely work for pay, she grew to view vocation as the myriad of ways that individuals contribute to their communities. Recently, she spoke of how becoming a mother enriched and expanded her vocation.
While she currently works as a researcher at an educational nonprofit, her path to this position included some unexpected turns, throughout all of which she attested to the Lord’s faithful leading. As an undergraduate, Betty majored in biology and planned to pursue a career in medicine. When she encountered some unexpected obstacles, she identified and explored her developing interest in education. Classes in the education school revealed a fit for her strengths and values in this field, which led her to pursue her Master’s in education. Betty’s story of God’s steady hand in her non-linear vocational path offered an assuring example for students anxious about the pressures of finding the “perfect” job immediately. As she job searched after her Master’s, she described the uncertainty about her career direction as someone in the education field who knew that her strengths and circumstances aligned with a position outside classroom teaching. Through applying widely, she found a position in educational research and discovered that she loved it. She still works and thrives there today! When the Lord led her to educational research, she discovered a field that she never even knew existed. As she recounted this pivotal moment, she emphasized that God speaks through circumstances and encouraged people to consider what experiences in their lives potentially point to a vocational calling.
In a culture that often elevates the monumental over the mundane, such as the emphasis in many Christian circles on stories of God’s calling to overseas missions and/or public ministry, Betty challenged the group to also open their hearts and minds to God’s leading in the less newsworthy moments. Referencing Brother Lawrence, a figure she learned about at Vintage, she described ordinary moments in which she sensed God’s presence and worked with purpose in order to encourage people to not discount any task or situation as an opportunity to glorify God.
In the Q & A session, she thoughtfully offered advice to the students and community members in attendance. Reflecting on her current role, she expressed gratitude for the opportunity to engage in work that directly serves others and aligns with her values. In response to a student’s question about a sense of tension between anticipated work in the for-profit sector and her service-oriented values, Betty encouraged students to tune into their values as a framework for considering a job, company, or organization. However, she also affirmed the importance of even work that sometimes seems less directly connected to those values. In such roles, she encouraged people to seek the opportunities to love others in the workplace and to generously steward and invest their earnings in their communities. We cherished the honor of hearing Betty’s story and continue to ponder the insights she offered.