1

RodCateisahappyman.IfyouevergettoworkalongsideRodatSideWalk,it

doesn’ttakelongbeforeyourealizethathe’slivedalifeofmeaningfulaccomplishments.

Hemaybequietonthesurface,butbeneaththepublicmodestyliesanintriguing

personality.He’salearnedacademicwhoalsocaresdeeplyaboutpeople.Inshort,Rodisa

raregeminaworldfullofextremists,andapricelesstreasureforSideWalk.

Rodstudiedpharmacyasanundergrad.Aftergraduatinghefoundajobinthefield

whichledtoa10-yearcareerasafull-timepharmacist.Becausehe’ssuchadedicated

familyman,Rodworkednights,weekends,andevenholidaysinordertocomfortably

provideforafamilyoffour.

Butheeventuallytiredofthepharmaceuticalindustryandlongedforaprofession

thatwasalittlemorerewarding.SoRodreturnedtoschoolatTexasTechUniversityto

pursueaMaster’sinMarriageandFamilyCounseling.Enjoyinghisstudiesimmensely,he

wentontocompleteaPh.D.inHumanDevelopmentandFamilyStudies.

2

AfterfinishinghisPh.D.,Rodexploredtheworldofadministration.Beginningasthe

DepartmentChair,heeventuallyservedsometimeastheAssociateDeanforResearch.His

administrativepositionsgavehimanopportunitytotroubleshootproblems,assess

workloads,andoverseethecoursesofferedeachsemester.Healsohelpedsecuregrants

andmanagethedepartment’sbudget.

DespiteRod’shigh-responsibilityadministrativeduties,heseemstohaveaspecial

reverenceforteaching.Asaprofessor,Rodtaughtcoursesaboutromanticinterpersonal

relationships.Hisfocuswasonintimateconnections–whatpsychologistscall“affective

bonds.”Hewasespeciallyinterestedinhowrelationshipsformandinhowtheycometobe

romantic.

Oneofhismorememorableresearcheffortsinvolvedinterviewingover50different

couplesabouthowtheyoriginallygottogether.Rodanalyzedthestatisticallikelihoodof

thecouplesmarryingeachother.Whathefoundwasthreecommonpathwaystomarriage:

1)thequickcourtship(whenacouplehitsitoffimmediatelyanddecidestogetserious

abouttherelationship);2)thesteady&linearprogression(whenarelationshipbecomes

increasinglymoreseriousasthecoupleslowlygetstoknoweachother);and3)themodel

thatstartslow,staysunsure,andthensuddenlyspikes(whenarelationshipstruggleswith

differencesinageorparentalsupport).

Althoughacareerinacademiacanhaveacertainstigmatoit,thepublicperception

ofpipe-smokingprofessorsattiredintweedsuitsis–Iassureyou--abitoutdated.Andyet

tothisdaythere’sstillasensethatourcampusesarefilledwitharmchairtheoristsall

hopelesslydisconnectedfromreality.Rod’slife,however,clearlydemonstratesthatbook-

smartsneednotdisqualifyonefromengagingthehumanrace.

Afteranacademiccareerlastingnearly30yearsthough,Rodwasreadyfor

retirement.HelefttheUniversityofArizona,andmovedtoOlympia,Washington,tobe

closertoanotherimportantpassioninhislife:hisfivegrandchildren.Familyhasalways

beenimportanttohim.BecauseRodgrewupasanonlychild,he’salwaysdeeplycherished

thefamilythathe’srearedandraisedonhisown.

PeopleasdrivenandaccomplishedasRoddon’toftensettleeasilyintoretirement.

SouponarrivinginOlympia,Rodimmediatelydevelopedotherprojects.Withthehelpof

someofhisformergradstudents,Rodwroteatextbooksurveyinghisprofessorialstudies.

3

Hisbook,“TheDevelopmentalCourseofRomanticRelationships,”waspublishedin2013

andisstillinprinttoday.

AndthatbringsustoSideWalk.Justwhatisthishighly-accomplishedretireedoing

withalittlenonprofitorganizationlikeSideWalk?Well,evenasauniversityprofessor,Rod

alwayswantedtoworkwithpeopledirectlyratherthanobjectifythelearningprocess

throughrotelearningmethods.Soasaspiritually-inclinedDemocrat,whenRodheard

aboutSideWalk,hispersonalconvictionswerepiqued.Simplyput,hefeltthatsupportinga

causededicatedtoendinghomelesswas“thehumanethingtodo.”InRod’smind,it’sour

moralimperativetoprovideforthosewhohaveunmetneedsinourcommunity.

ForRod,homelessnessisreallyasocialjusticeissue.Furthermore,hepointsout

thathomelessnessisinmanywaysaproblemuniquetotheU.S.Statistically-speaking,

thereisasmallerhomelesspopulationinEuropeancountries.Alargeportionofour

society,hefeels,believethatpeopledeservetheirhomelessnessbecausetheU.S.offers

equalopportunitytoeveryonetosucceedinlife.Butthisidealismisnotgroundedin

practicalreality.Yes,wecanalltheoreticallydoanythingwewanttointhiscountry,but

ouropportunitiesarenot–realisticallyspeaking--allequal.

Justincasethisisallsoundingalittleoff-track,Rodisreadywithsomeclarification

forthefaintofheart:endinghomelessnessisn’taboutabolishingcapitalism.Sowecanall

takeaseat.Endinghomelessnessissimplyaboutmakingsmalladjustmentsforthe

inequitiesinoursystem.InRod’swords,socialjusticeshouldpromotethe“fairtreatment

ofpeoplefromallwalksoflife.”AsRodsays,thisisespeciallyimportantbecausemanyof

ushavecomeclosetohomelessnessatsomepointinourlife.Itbehoovesusall,therefore,

tohavesomecompassionforthosewhoaredown-and-out.

AsastabilityadvocateforSideWalk,Rodbuildsrapportwithhisclientsfromthe

beginningtotheendoftheprocess.ThisroleallowsRodachancetodedicatehimself

equallytothecauseandtotheperson.Thissubtledistinctioniscrucialtonotebecause

advocatesaren’touttoendhomelessnessforthesakeofprinciplealone;theyservethe

fleshandbloodneedsoftheirclientsface-to-face.

AfterSideWalk’sclientsarescreenedtoseeifthey’reeligibleforassistance,they’re

thenassignedanadvocatewhoassiststhemthroughouttheprocessoffindingaplaceto

live.Butanadvocatedoesn’tdotheworkfortheirclients.Anadvocate’sjobistoinform

4

theirclientsaboutresourcesthatareavailableinthecommunitywhileempoweringthem

totakethenextstepontheirown.Anadvocateisequalpartseducatorandmotivator.

Goodintentions,however,arerarelywithoutgoodchallenges.ByRod’sown

admittance,evenadvocatessometimesstrugglewithstereotypesregardingtheclientele.

Indeed,evenRod’swholesomeheartoccasionallyquestionsthecausesofhomelessnessor

howhisclientsshouldlook,sound,oractlike.Whathe’sfoundthoughisthatthe

proverbialtruthremains:it’sneversafetogeneralize.

Sowhiletheever-honestandalwaysselflessRodCatemaybeoffofpayroll,he’snot

yetretiredfromthehumanrace.Fromthepharmacycountertoptotheprofessorial

lectern,fromthedean’sdesktoSideWalk’sbustlinglivingroom,RodCate’scareerhas

consistentlyfocusedonhumanconnections.Althoughhemaynothaveabackgroundin

theology,RodferventlybelievesthatGodisnotanisolationist.Forhim,Godiswhatgoes

onbetweenpeople:thehiddensparkthatnourishesallourrelationships.Tothatend,

SideWalkallowshimtoconnectdeeplywiththecommunitywhilecultivatingthatspark

betweenusall.UltimatelyRod’scareerremindsusthatsuccessisn’tdependentuponhow

muchwemake,butonhowmuchwedoforotherpeople.Withanattitudelikethatit’s

easytoseewhyRodCateissuchapricelesstreasureforbothSideWalkandour

community.