I know what you’re probably thinking – what’s a business professor doing writing about a “calling?” After all, when most people think about a calling, they base it on their own impression. In fact, many think of a calling as a strong inclination for religious service. My Catholic upbringing helped me understand a vocation in religious service or being called into service for God. When callings were mentioned, I always had the same reaction: “I know I don’t feel God is asking me to be a priest, so I guess I’m off the hook.” I learned later in life God calls us to do many things if we listen. We can even be called into a certain occupation.

So here is my account: I am one of eight children that grew up in a family business in a neighboring community of New Orleans. My father was the first college graduate in his family, and he made it mandatory for all of his children, too. Somehow he and my mother saved enough to afford college for all eight children. Some were excellent students. I was a struggler. However, all eight received undergraduate degrees, and four went further and received postgraduate degrees.

After graduating from Louisiana State University, I sensed no real calling yet, so I joined my older brother in the family business. After a year, though, I sensed something was missing in my life. I wish I could say this is when the calling occurred, but it’s not. God might have been calling, but I wasn’t really listening.

Another brother enrolled in the Master’s of Business Administration program at LSU, and I thought if he could make it through, I could as well. Even though I wasn’t a good undergraduate student, and my grade point average wasn’t great either, I tested well enough on the Graduate Management Admission Test for conditional acceptance.

I was still undecided about a career path and generally apathetic. After a summer internship in internal auditing with Westinghouse in Baltimore, I realized I couldn’t even stomach it in the short term. Prior to graduation, I accepted a job with First National Bank of Commerce in New Orleans. However, a smart career choice does not equate to a calling.

It was then that I discerned a calling. Now, don’t take a job with a bank because you think it’s the pathway to discerning your call from God via wire transfers between banks. The job itself was an indirect factor. In fact, my discontentment with that job left me more open to hearing a call, but my future wife was also another powerful factor. Knowing how discontented I was, she asked what my dreams were. I must admit, they were usually about boats, cars, watches – material possessions – but I hadn’t thought about dreams for myself. What would I do if I could do anything? I told my wife I wanted a Ph.D. and to teach at the collegiate level and make a difference in students’ lives. I felt compelled to deliver a higher quality of education than I experienced.

I left the banking world for the Small Business Development Center at the University of New Orleans with no regrets. After two years I applied to six Ph.D. programs and received invitations from three. I accepted Georgia State University’s.

The path was not always smooth. Indoctrination occurs, sometimes indirectly, and you find yourself singing the same song as your mentors. The song was always about publishing premiere research, and spending time developing your teaching meant time away from meaningful research. I am very grateful for the research skills and abilities I picked up, but I fought to stay focused on my calling.

My journey led me to an Ohio university that placed equal emphasis on research and teaching, and I found that model allowed me to fulfill my call. My connections in the academic field led me back home to Loyola. I relocated in July 2005, and I have felt a strong sense of purpose in continuing to answer the call that still rings very clearly for me even today. But I know I must remain open for other calls.

Here’s the moral of my story: I know God’s calls are not always easy to hear and can be hard to understand. Full understanding is impossible, so don’t look for it. But open yourself up to God’s call, and if you don’t hear anything immediately, don’t worry. He will continue to call until you answer.

Brett Matherne is an assistant

professor in the College of Business.