By Christi Mays
Michele Raines '92 remembers the afternoon she was walking across campus with a heavy heart—she didn’t have the money to pay for another semester at UMHB and was going to have to transfer.
“I was pretty upset about it because I loved being here. I was just beside myself,” Michele said. She came across a friend, Rebeka Retta '90, who immediately knew something was wrong. “No,” Retta told her. “Your story here isn’t ending. We’re going to figure this out.”
With some prayers and helpful advice from Retta, who was an older, more experienced student, some help from financial aid, and working three jobs, Michele was able to stay at UMHB. The next semester, she found herself working alongside Retta at Burt Hall—Retta as the hall’s resident director, and Michele as a resident assistant. Raines looks back now, 30 years later, and says she will never forget that day that her friend’s faith kept her at UMHB.
The two have kept in touch all these years. Retta was at Michele’s bridal shower, and she shared in the joy with Michele and husband, Jay Raines '93, when their children were born. And now, Retta is thrilled that one of their children, Morgan Raines, is working as her resident assistant, just as Michele did 30 years ago.
“I remember calling Retta to tell her that Morgan was thinking about coming to school here,” Michele said. “Retta started praying for her.”
This longtime friendship is just one of hundreds—probably closer to thousands—Retta has kept with her students over the 32 years she has worked as a resident director at UMHB. The first 25 were at Burt Hall, and for the last seven, she has been at College View Apartments.
“It’s hard to imagine how many lives Retta has impacted over the 32 years she’s been here,” Michele said.
One of the most memorable moments for Retta is when one of her RAs came to her worried about her sister, who was expecting a baby.
“During prayer time, she asked me to pray for her sister and her baby,” Retta said. “I prayed for the Lord to do a work in that child’s life, and that one day, this child would come to know the Lord.”
Nineteen years later, the baby she had prayed for came walking in her door. She was a student at UMHB! Not only that, she ended up working as an RA for Retta as well and later became Miss MHB.
Retta remembers avoiding God’s call to become the resident director at Burt. Donna Plank, who served as director of resident life for 34 years, had hinted around for Retta to consider the job, but Retta didn’t bite. She had never even stepped foot inside Burt Hall. One day, she finally took Donna up on her offer and went over to check out the RD apartment.
“It was not a good-looking apartment, especially back then compared to the way it looks now,” Retta said. “It was just a big room, with an old-fashion tub, and you had to go through the bathroom to get to the bedroom. The kitchen was horrific, and when I went to turn on the light, there was no light and only one outlet in the whole room.”
She said no one would ever want a small apartment like that, but the second she walked in and saw it, she was “home.”
“It was like God was saying I was at home,” she said. “I felt at peace. I didn’t know how to vocalize that until later, but I was at peace. That was where I was supposed to be.”
Retta thought she would have the job for a few years and then move on; never in a million years did she think being an RD was her path in life. She had always felt called to work with young people and had worked as a youth minister for years at different churches. After she completed her double major in English and Religion (what is now called Christian Studies), she decided to go to seminary. Near the end of seminary was when she realized she was supposed to stay at UMHB as a resident director.
“I remember sitting in seminary classes and people would ask me what I did, and they would say, ‘Oh, wow! You have a dream job!’ It took a whole semester of me hearing that to realize I really do have the dream job! I get to work with young women and men, helping them in this college journey and through their struggles and helping them believe the Bible is true. I think I’ve always seen it as a ministry, and that’s why I’ve never gotten tired of it.”
Having someone like Retta mentor her daughter, Morgan, makes Michele thankful that Retta is still here after all these years.
“These are foundational years, and I’m so excited to watch Morgan and what God is going to do with her,” Michele said. Having Retta as her daughter’s director makes her feel good because it’s someone she knows, loves, and trusts. “It’s really cool to be able to come back to campus because of Retta. She’s like a connector. You come back here, and you feel like you’re still connected because she still knows you, and she knows your history.”
