Faces of DePauw

Still Learning

When an opportunity arose to advance in his career within General Motors, Tyson Becker ’04 knew it was the right move. Others might have been dissuaded by the job’s location half-way around the globe, but for Becker, that was one of the main selling points.

“Our family has the mentality that change doesn’t mean bad,” he explains. “Since I started at GM, the possibility of an international opportunity has always been on my mind.”

He and his wife Kady Clevenger Becker ’04 now live with their three children in Shanghai, the most populated city in China. It’s a move that has given Tyson the chance to grow professionally – he now serves GM as Vice President, China Software and Services – but perhaps more importantly, it has provided an adventure that aligns with the Beckers’ values as a family.

“Our mindset is that we’re never satisfied with what we know and what we’re doing,” says Kady, a communications major and Alpha Phi president at DePauw. “We’re always asking: What can be next? What can we still learn?”

That insatiable curiosity has been a driving force for both of them since college. “Coming from a small town in Indiana, DePauw was a catalyst for me to break through the barrier of appreciating an entirely new world and new beliefs I hadn’t been exposed to,” Kady recalls.

Tyson agrees, pointing to their respective study-abroad semesters – his in Italy and Kady’s in England – that had a particularly significant impact. “It was a formative experience for both of us to be outside our comfort zones. Seeing how much you grow in an environment like that stuck with us. We came back as changed people.” It was such a positive experience that they both went abroad again during their engagement, studying Spanish in Guatemala.

Not only have these experiences made the Beckers at home in cross-cultural settings, but they have also given Tyson the tools to excel professionally in those settings as a leader. The key, he says, is openness. “You have to be curious up front. What are the pain points? The problems? The hierarchy? What works here? What doesn’t? There’s a lot of observation, a lot of trial and error, and definitely a lot of listening.”

There’s a lot of uncertainty, too – something Tyson’s background as an English Writing major has equipped him to face. “The multi-faceted approach at DePauw made me very comfortable with ambiguity. Even more than that, it made me realize that ambiguity can be a path to growth.”

As that growth continues, the value of a versatile education becomes increasingly apparent. Kady, who has a master’s degree in teaching and worked stateside as an educator, summarizes it well. “DePauw isn’t teaching you any one thing. It’s teaching you how to learn for the rest of your life. I’ve carried that into every classroom I’ve taught in, and we’re now passing it on to our own kids as well.”