Tim Tesmer, Beloved Campus Minister

A person can find just about anything on the lower level of Le Fer Hall – campus life, public safety, mail room and the office of Tim Tesmer, beloved campus minister at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. 

After Tesmer wraps up teaching, it’s common to find him walking down the hall to his office, smiling and waving to every student, each returning his kindness with a like gesture. 

It’s not hard to see that the Campus Ministry Office, and more specifically Tesmer himself, holds a special place in students’ hearts. 

But what makes this 50-something married father of one from Greencastle, Ind., so likable? 

“A part of me wonders if it’s because I’m a pastor? Or is it my personality?” Tesmer guessed. “I’m not old enough to be their grandfather, but I’ve had students tell me that I’m the campus grandpa. I love that!” 

Whatever the reason, he thanks God that he didn’t give in to his initial hesitations about taking the campus minister position at SMWC in the fall semester of 2022. 

“There were two reasons I wasn’t sure about the position. First, I’m a Christian pastor, but I’m not Catholic, and I didn’t want to be a hindrance,” he said. “Then, there’s my age. In 2022, I was 51 years old. I was concerned the students wouldn’t relate to me, but I hadn’t even made it to my office on my first day before a group of RAs came right in and sat down for over an hour. I’ve had students in here every day since.” 

Tesmer later discovered that what made him “famous” with students was his waving to passersby from behind his desk. 

“One day, I heard a student say, ‘That’s the guy who waves to everybody. I didn’t even realize I was doing it,” he said. “Now, the number of students I’ve gotten to know well who I’ve never had as students myself has come from them walking by the office.” 

Tesmer’s days are filled with countless hours of one-on-one pastoral counseling. In August, he had an average of 22 students per day come to his office. The highest volume day– 43 students – was somewhat surprising the Monday before classes started. 

“I love that, of the variety of things students have to do that day, they took the time to come here and say hello,” he said. 

Tesmer’s popularity on campus still surprises him, since this is his first time working in a college-age ministry. He previously helped with elementary school Sunday school and older adult ministry, but it wasn’t until 2017 that he started working with college students as an instructor at Indiana State University. 

In the fall of 2018, Tesmer, who has a master’s degree in both religion and communication, came to SMWC as an adjunct instructor in communication. That spring, he added theology to his teaching load and picked up the Woods Core honors section in the fall of 2020. Not to mention, Tesmer also serves as advisor for Saint Mother Theodore Guerin Scholars and Service 31 and hosts the twice-yearly alternative break trips. 

It’s a busy schedule, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I attend students’ events and take an interest in what and how they’re doing. Because it matters,” Tesmer said. “I react to students in the moment we’re in because I don’t know what may come out of what we think of as small talk.” 

He also helps students turn ideas into concrete action plans. It was Tesmer who senior Josie Gettinger approached first about making cookies for the Sisters of Providence who used to occupy the Corbe House before it transitioned to the College’s administration building. 

That nudge from Tesmer gave Gettinger the confidence to turn her idea for a happy hour with the sisters into a bi-monthly event during the academic year. 

Last year, Gettinger knew she could turn to Tesmer not only for help but also for the support she needed to keep the event going every first and last Monday of the month during the school year. 

“Tim comes to every single happy hour. That’s how you know he cares,” said Gettinger, a Marketing major from Merom, Ind. “He’s just a phenomenal, supportive person for the students. It makes my experience as a student so much better having him in my corner.” 

Gettinger didn’t meet Tesmer in the classroom, though. She met him the same way many students do—with a wave and a hello as she passed by his office her freshman year at SMWC. 

“That year, I ended up volunteering to go on the Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans, and he ended up being a great help and was really a father figure for us,” she said. “Now, I go to Tim if I’m having a rough day or if I just need advice about anything.” 

Tesmer considers everyone who has been in his classes or who visits his office as “his students.” If he ever stops feeling connected to “his students,” Tesmer says he will see it as a sign that it’s time to move on to whatever’s next in his future. 

Before that time comes, though, Tesmer hopes he helps students see their value. 

“I want them to leave me knowing how valuable they are,” he said. “That they’re created in the image of God, regardless of what others may say. I want them to know I’m just one person among, hopefully, many people who care about them.”