What were you doing before coming to Andrews University?
I was a youth pastor in San Diego for the last three years. I ended up starting my own youth young adult ministry out there called ‘Elevate.’ It's still going on strong now and it was basically just an opportunity to create community in San Diego. There wasn’t any specific church being represented; it was for all churches. And so it was an opportunity for both youth and young adults to actually come together, we're not just being in our own churches, but we're actually coming together to create community. So that's been my huge thing and I've tried to repeat that over and over again at chapels like this year we're trying to create community in everything that we're doing, and so I carry that with me always.
What made you want to be a Student Chaplain?
I love God and I love people. And being able to create experiences where we can do that, or where I can facilitate that, for people to love God and love people, that’s why I became a student chaplain. Most of the time when we think of church, we think of a program. Well, chapel is a program that we are facilitating, but the goal isn't to just put on a program. The goal is people. Programming is just a vessel through which we can reach people. That’s the end goal.
What’s it like being a Student Chaplain here?
It's interesting, because I feel like it'd be different if I was an undergrad student. I feel like, when you're an undergrad student, especially if you're living on campus, you're invested in the student life; you're here all the time. You get to actually be a part of that community. Right now, I think I'm trying to find a balance between trying to be as invested as I can be on campus, while still having autonomy. It’s different when you're out of college: you've been living your life for however many years, and then coming back into a college setting it's very different and you have to relearn things. People come up to me and tell me they like the energy that is revolving around chapel. And so, to me, hearing that there's a different energy, there's a different feel to it, even if it's just the presence of someone that's different, to me, that's what I ultimately hope for. The CFE team, they're great people. They're doing some amazing things. So I think being a part of this team, getting to know these people, and working with them has been a really good experience.
What makes chapel special at Andrews?
You get what you want out of it. Those who are there simply for the credit, can get something out of it, even if it's something small, like a small one-liner that they can take away; and I think what's special about it is just that you get to choose how you want to experience your chapel. Right now we're brainstorming the different possibilities for the next series that we're doing, because what we're going to do is three weeks of chapel menu, take a break, and then we'll do chapel menu again and provide something different. It’s the fact that there's potential for a different experience in every chapel. That's very different from how we usually do things because usually we just come to a service, we sit down, listen to a message and sing some songs, then dip. Now, it's like, you get to choose what you want to get out of it.
How is chapel different here from your other school?
It’s run by students. At my other school, we didn't have this, we didn't necessarily have a chapel, we had this thing called colloquy — don't ask me what it is, I have no idea what it means. It was very academic. It didn't keep the students in mind. Chapel was something you were forced to go to, and it didn't really do much for people spiritually. It didn't build people up and it was something we dreaded going to, including myself. It was also very much faculty-led and I felt like it was more for the faculty than it was for the students. Something I really appreciate here is how the chapel is very much led by students and it's pretty cool saying that.
What are your goals for changing chapel?
I think, ultimately the goal right now is taking a semester to see how things are and how things are going. Because right now I've been working with Chap Jose, and we've been coordinating things together. And so, the huge proponent of what chapels look like right now is influenced by our meetings and conversations. So I guess the goal ultimately is to create an experience that gives people that relief that they need. This could look like shifting things up with chapel and providing new types of opportunities to meet the needs and wants of the students. The ultimate goal will be to cater to the students, by the students, and for the spiritual, emotional, and academic betterment of the students.
What are your ideas behind the variety of chapel choices?
It would be different if I were already embedded in student life and I knew exactly what the student body needed, but right now, it’s just scoping it out, and seeing exactly what different student experiences are. When it comes to different things for chapel, it’s heavily based on what we get from the students. At the first chapel, we did a poll, so they can share what they felt, and topics they would like to have. So when it comes to what we are doing for the chapel menu this year, it comes with how we can best cater to those needs, and they can basically choose their experience, and what they get out of the chapel that week.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.