Liberty alumna serves her home country of Liberia as assistant to National Defense Minister

As Liberty University alumna Emmanuel-la Tarr (’21) pursued her bachelor’s degree in government: politics & policy, she also chased her dream of serving her homeland. Now, at 26 years old, Tarr is the assistant to the Minister of National Defense for the Republic of Liberia, Brig. Gen. (Rtd.) Geraldine Janet George, the country’s senior-most military leader.

Tarr’s ascension from the child of two Liberian Gospel Ministers to serving her country was marked by a quality Christian education, hard work, dedication, and complete reliance on God.

“Liberty was the most important period of my life,” she said. “This version of me was born at Liberty. It’s not just a school. … It’s what the school is about, what I learned there, how my passions grew there, how I developed as an adolescent into an adult, and the family that I built there that I still have today.”

At Liberty, Tarr became immersed in the Christian atmosphere on campus, attending regular Convocations, gleaning from government professors, and finding a “home away from home” at Liberty’s International Student Center.

In her degree program, Tarr said she learned how government works, including policy concepts and how different departments work together with executives to serve their citizens. This education, she said, prepared her for a successful career in three distinct positions within the Liberian government. She began in the logistics department, where she served for one year, before moving to the Armed Forces headquarters in Monrovia. She was later recruited as the assistant to the Minister of National Defense, where she oversees Hon. George’s daily operations by coordinating and managing her schedule and supervising her entire security detail.

“After studying (at Liberty), now I’m in a position where I’m doing military (tasks) and getting a good feel for what I studied,” said Tarr, who later earned a master’s degree in international relations from a private university in Liberia. “I’ve valued education … in high school, college, and past college. I didn’t know I would work for the government, but I knew for sure that I must go back to Liberia.”

Tarr credits many of her government professors for her development, including Dr. Gai Ferdon, Dr. Mary Prentice, Dr. Edna Udobong, and Professor Aaron Van Allen.

She is also grateful for a special bond with an American family who treated her like one of their own. Tarr was 17 years old when she met Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Bob Dees in 2016 at a chaplaincy conference in Liberia. At the time, Dees was serving as the associate vice president for Military Outreach at Liberty and director of the university’s Institute for Military Resilience. He is now the founder and president of the National Center for Healthy Veterans, a trauma recovery center in nearby Altavista. Dees was the 2024 recipient of Liberty’s George Rogers Champion of Freedom Award.

Tarr said Dees and his wife, Kathleen, who she affectionately calls “D-Dad” and “G-Mom,” played a key role in shaping her into the person she is today.

“They basically became my parents when I moved to the U.S. in 2017,” Tarr said. “They took a teenager and showed me the ropes at Liberty. … God uses elements and vessels to make sure those things get done. If the Dees family did not open up their hearts to be the vessels of God in my life, I wouldn’t have experienced anything.”

Tarr spent summer breaks at the Dees’ house in Texas, where she learned how to swim, play chess, and even ride a bicycle.

“As (Tarr) went through Liberty, her faith and her ability to communicate with people grew,” Bob Dees said. “It was incredibly meaningful, and it was wonderful to team with Liberty University to help invest in this young, unpolished girl from Africa who’s now the assistant to the Secretary of Defense. It’s pretty amazing. … She was about the age of some of our older grandchildren, so she just fit right into our family in that regard.”

Tarr said she is deeply grateful for her time in the United States, her education at the world’s premier Christian university, and the many people who helped make her journey possible. Yet despite those meaningful experiences, she said her ultimate goal was always to return home and serve Liberia.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Tarr added. “And I’m looking forward to what God is going to use me for. Every day, I want someone to look at me and be like, ‘I see God working in this person’s life, and I want to have that kind of relationship.’ I’m looking forward to how God is going to use me and how He is using me every moment to fulfill His purposes on earth.”