Bailey Steele Is on a Path to Find His Next Mission

Bailey Steele enrolled at Pepperdine University looking for more. A veteran of the US Navy, he harnessed six years of military service to inspire his sense of purpose, but upon stepping away from the high seas, he encountered an unexpected question: what’s the next mission? Steele’s quest to confront this new challenge and discover an answer led him to Seaver College, where, as a junior majoring in political science and economics, he has been encouraged to keep seeking God’s call for his life.

"This journey is difficult, but I know that I’ve been called," he explains. "I've been given this opportunity, and I don't want to squander it. It's not about me. It's about the people that I am going to help in the future by becoming the best that I can be. And I'm starting to believe that that can happen for me."

Following in the footsteps of his father, Steele enlisted in the United States Navy after high school. In the armed forces, he aimed to serve his nation, determine a career path, and embark upon adventure. As a radar technician aboard a Navy destroyer, he was deployed twice to help defend the cause of freedom. In the Persian Gulf, Steele helped protect free trade by guaranteeing the safety of US cargo ships filtering in and out of the Arabian Sea. In South America, he and his shipmates provided radar coverage for a presidential visit to the region. Steele’s military career was proceeding according to plan until he endured a traumatic brain injury aboard the ship.

"That changed a lot for me,” he says. “It made my job very difficult, and I realized that it was time for me to go."

Coming to terms with this new reality was not easy. A dedicated and passionate sailor, Steele did not want to leave his post, but the unexpected injury and its side effects left him no choice. To Steele, leaving the Navy felt like a leap of deep faith.

According to Steele, adjusting to life as a civilian was a "non-linear process." While searching for what was next, he took community college classes online and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to military friends. On the West Coast, he became an advocate for his fellow brothers and sisters in arms by joining the Student Veterans of America and the American Legion. Immersed in this community, Steele was introduced to Pepperdine by fellow veteran Eric Leshinsky, a retired United States Air Force colonel and the director of student veteran affairs at the University.

"Pepperdine found me," he says. "The institution took me in at a time when I needed it. Now I’m going to my dream school—a place that aligns with my values and my aspirations."

At Seaver College, Steele has found a nurturing community of students and faculty members determined to help him discern the next path. His nerves about being an unconventional undergraduate subsided when he recognized that his professors wanted to see him succeed. Through classes and countless office hours sessions in the Social Science Division, he has come to realize his passion: identifying and solving problems. More than that, Pepperdine has helped him unlock a new sense of self-confidence—one that allows him to take action on this potential calling.

"God keeps directing me and nudging me in the right direction," says Steele. "Now, I know that I have a purpose. And I know that at Pepperdine, I'm going to be able to figure out exactly what that is."