Giving Back to Gordon | Darlene Kuzmak '74

Interview Patricia C. Hanlon
Photo Cyndi McMahon

Darlene (Dinzik) Kuzmak '74 and husband Dan '74 cochair The Partners Scholarship Program at Gordon College. Their encouragement of other alumni and friends to give generously to Partners has enabled thousands of students to receive the financial aid they need to complete their education. Dan is group vice president of finance-construction for the Terex Corporation Inc. The Kuzmaks' daughters, Daryl Anne '03 and Dawn '01 Bosland, are also Gordon alumni.

Darlene, who recently received the Jack Good Community Service Award, currently serves in leadership development as the director of ongoing education for Community Bible Study (CBS), headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In this role she travels throughout the United States working with her team to host leadership conferences for CBS leaders.

STILLPOINT spoke with Darlene in November, when she was in Colorado Springs assisting at CBS Leadership Training for 450 new leaders of Community Bible Study classes. Here are some of her thoughts.

ON LEADERSHIP
In CBS it's actually not considered a promotion to serve the organization at the national level. The men and women serving at the local class level are touching lives every week by modeling Christ and teaching God's Word--they're the real pulse of CBS. I see my current position simply as a call to a role, serving the Lord for however long He wants me there. We're called to lead as servant-shepherd leaders.

GOOD READS
Bill Hybels' Courageous Leadership; Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life; Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God Day by Day; Kenneth Boa's The Perfect Leader. That's a start anyway.

LEISURE
Definitely gardening. There's our jungle of houseplants, of course, and outside we have landscaping projects and perennial gardens. Recently we installed two waterfalls in the backyard. And we spend lots of time with our kids.

THE ESSENTIALS
We're all faced with choices every day. What will our lives look like ultimately? Have we taken on God's agenda and set aside our own? We need to be living a contagious lifestyle, one that attracts others. My passion is seeing lives changed by the Word, and entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ. We're seeing the lives of our neighbors changed as they study the Bible and apply its principles to their lives.

ON GIVING
Early on in our marriage when we didn't have a nickel to spare, we heard the saying "You can never out-give God." That set our hearts on the right track. If you believe that everything you own is God's anyway, it's not so hard to give away 10 percent of your income--and even more.

WHY THE PARTNERS PROGRAM?
Partners is a good fit for us. It seemed so right to give back--we were blessed to leave college without any debt. We also wanted to stay connected to Gordon College. We need to make sure the places that have touched our lives are taken care of while we're alive as well as making provision for them in our wills.

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