Alumni Feature: Video Editor Jordan Orme ’19 is Learning to Use His Platform to Share His Faith

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

When Jordan Orme ’19 created his YouTube channel at the beginning of the pandemic, he had no idea it would grow so quickly. Orme had spent the previous two years editing music videos for major artists such as Justin Bieber and Post Malone, working on documentaries for celebrities including Demi Lovato and Kylie Jenner, and creating commercials for Amazon and Nike. His channel started as a passion project, with Orme hoping to pass along insights he had gleaned from these experiences into video editing advice. When he began breaking down edits on some of his favorite music videos—especially in the K-pop genre— his following boomed. In the four years since launching, Orme’s channel has amassed more than 873,000 subscribers and his videos have garnered more than 111 million views. While the numbers are eye popping, he realized his work was not truly fulfilling. 

“Last year, I was driving home and I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit convict me that I had been living a life of idolatry. I had been so success oriented. I had put money and popularity first, instead of God,” Orme said. “I started crying in my car and knew I needed to repent. I realized that the only thing I’m going to take with me from this life is my relationship with Jesus. It’s the only thing I’m going to have forever, and all of the personal success I had prioritized was just fluff that didn’t really matter. I was on a bad trajectory, so I decided to turn my life around and try to live more like Jesus.”

***

Originally from Hawaii, Orme’s family moved to a small town in Wisconsin when he was in middle school. As a child, Orme developed two strong passions—soccer and art. Unfortunately, his high school in Wisconsin didn’t have a soccer team, so he decided to become a kicker for their football team. Orme was a talented kicker and received a few offers from colleges across the country to play football. Although he didn’t get an athletic scholarship, he felt called to Azusa Pacific University because of the football team, the excellent arts programs, and the proximity to Los Angeles. While he enjoyed playing football at APU, Orme quit the team after just one year to focus on his studies and his passion for art. “God used football as a way to get me to come to APU,” he said. “It was a tough decision to give it up, but I know now it was the right choice.”

Although Orme had never done any filmmaking in high school, he was interested in the craft and decided to study cinematic arts at APU. During his freshman year, Orme quickly discovered many parts of filmmaking didn’t appeal to him through his cinema production class where he had to make three short films by himself. The arduous process of script-writing, filming, and production challenged Orme, but when he got to the cinematic arts lab, everything changed. “I downloaded all the files to my hard drive, put in my headphones, and started editing. I started watching tutorials around 5 p.m. because I didn’t know how to use the editing software,” he said. “I got lost in editing and when I looked up at the clock, it was already 5 a.m. I had accidentally worked through the night because I was having way too much fun making a movie.” After that night, Orme knew he wanted to pursue a career in editing. 

With his calling realized, Orme found a mentor in adjunct professor Mickey Corcoran. Recognizing his talent, Corcoran took Orme under his wing and encouraged him to begin freelance editing. Corcoran connected Orme with professionals in the industry to help him get his foot in the door. “He basically served as a life coach for me, teaching me so many practical things like how to make a budget for all my monthly expenses, what rates I would need to charge for editing, how many freelance jobs I would need to take at those rates and so on,” Orme said. “Thanks to Mickey, I felt confident that I could be a successful freelance editor.”  

Before graduating, Orme served as a film production intern for APU’s Office of University Relations (now the Division of Strategic Communication and Engagement). He helped create many videos featuring stories of APU students and faculty. Through this internship, he also built a connection with Chadwick Trentham who later founded West Productions. Through this connection, Orme landed his first opportunity to edit a commercial for GameWorks. “Chadwick liked the work I did on that commercial, so he kept giving me opportunities,” Orme said. Trentham also connected Orme with Conscious Minds Productions, a studio founded by APU alumni. “They gave me opportunities to edit commercials for Nike and  Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime,” Orme said. “After I shared the edits I had done on those commercials on social media, people started reaching out with projects and it just kind of snowballed.”

With this work under his belt, Orme decided to reach out to Arrad Rahgoshay, a famous director at Riveting Entertainment. Although it took a couple months, Rahgoshay got back to him and asked him to interview. After the interview, Rahgoshay gave Orme a chance to edit a music video. Impressed by his work, Rahgoshay decided to give Orme another project, then another, and soon Orme was frequently editing videos for him. Orme would go to his office, pick up a hard drive with all the video footage and music on it, drive home, and spend the next two days editing music videos for top artists such as Swae Lee and Becky G, then go back to the office and edit it again with Rahgoshay and sometimes the artists themselves. “As an editor, you just try to execute. During my first pass, I make what I think the video should be. Then it becomes a collaborative experience with the director’s cut before going to the artists and the label,” Orme said. “It was a lot of fun working on those videos. But after a while, I got tired of executing other people’s vision for their videos.” Wanting to start sharing his own story instead of telling others’, Orme began saying no to more and more opportunities, despite the high pay. He focused on his YouTube channel and started getting millions of views for his video edit breakdowns. 

While viewers can learn a lot of tips from Orme’s channel, the editing process involves far more than he could convey through his breakdown videos. So he decided to create an online course called The Editing Formula, a video editing masterclass for any software. In the course, Orme demonstrates the step-by-step process of editing a video from start to finish, explains the decision making psychology behind the edits he made in videos, gives advice that he learned from Corcoran and others in the industry, and provides 8k RAW footage and sound effects for people to follow along and put the instruction into practice. “You come out of the course having edited a full commercial and part of a music video,” Orme said. “I call it The Editing Formula because it’s the same one I use and you can use it every time to make great edits.” More than 1,000 people have completed his course and are using it in their art.

Orme found enjoyment imparting his knowledge through the course and through sharing video edit breakdowns on his YouTube channel, yet he longed for something more. It was around this time he was convicted by the Holy Spirit. 

***

After the epiphany in his car, Orme read the Bible and other Christian books and spent time with God in prayer every day. “The idea of gaining the world but losing your soul and picking up your cross daily really became real to me for the first time,” he said. “I felt God telling me that he’d given me skills to make art as worship to Him.” Orme decided to create a second YouTube channel called Jordan Kalé (his middle name) which will focus on how Christ is working in his life, including being a loving partner to his wife Ashley ’22, and how he’s learning to be more like Jesus. Orme includes a link at the bottom of all the videos on his original channel to a page on his website called Why Jesus, which shares his testimony and invites people to begin a relationship with Christ. “I used to define success in very worldly ways, like how much money I was making off my edits and how many views my videos were getting. But if I never edited another video or if nobody watched my original channel anymore, that’s okay,” Orme said. “Now I know that if my life looks like Jesus, if I’m following the word of God, and if I’m sharing my faith with others, that’s the most successful thing I can do.”

Josh Holm ’15: Creating a Positive Impact Through Castles & Queens

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

On a chilly Saturday night in February 2023, Josh Holm, ’15, stood to the side of a runway in Milan, watching models show off apparel he had designed for his label Castles & Queens as cameras flashed and the crowd applauded in one of the four fashion capitals of the world. It was one of the biggest moments of Holm’s life, but just a few years ago, it seemed impossible—a dream that might never come true.

Half Korean and half Caymanian, Holm was born to a single mother in South Korea. His mom, Kim, worked multiple jobs to support them, but their financial situation caused Holm to go in and out of foster care multiple times. Then, when he was five-years-old, their house burned down and his mother was forced to make an extremely difficult decision. Friends told her that Holm’s best chance for a prosperous life was being adopted by an American family. She couldn’t stand the idea of letting her son go, but she also wanted the best life for him, so she sent him to an orphanage. Within a few months, an American couple visited the orphanage. “They weren’t even looking to adopt,” Holm said, “but they came across me and after hearing my story, they felt God calling them to bring me into their family.” He moved with his new parents, Joel and Marie, to a suburb of Chicago. Holm’s parents provided an amazing new life for him, and he had two new sisters, Rachel and Lisa. Holm no longer faced the challenges of wondering where his next meal would come from or getting a quality education. While he did well in school, he truly excelled in athletics. Toward the end of high school, Holm was recruited by Azusa Pacific University’s track and field coaches. His family flew to the West Coast and toured the university.

“When I walked onto campus, I felt there was something special about this place and I needed to come here,” he said.

Although he planned to run track throughout college, Holm stopped after his freshman year. “I felt God telling me, ‘this is it for you.’ It was a hard decision, but it made sense because track was a personal dream, but it wasn’t what I was meant to do,” he said. Holm decided to devote his newfound free time to his studies (he majored in practical theology and minored in leadership and his internship with The Dream Center, a nonprofit dedicated to confronting human trafficking and helping foster children and at-risk youth. For the first few months of his internship, Holm helped with whatever the organization needed, mostly running errands, but one night, after the team saw his dedication, he was brought along on an outreach. “We went into Anaheim, just a couple blocks from Disneyland, and gave out resources to runaway children,” Holm said. “It was devastating seeing the reality of what they face on the streets.” This experience ignited a passion inside Holm. After talking with his APU mentors, Matt Browning and Terry Franson, Holm decided to start a student club called Free the Captives.

The club held events on campus to share information about trafficking and connected students with resources to help fight it. Although it started with just 10 people, by the time Holm graduated, Free the Captives was the second largest club on campus. “We had connections with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, the International Justice Mission, and A21, large nonprofits that gave students tangible ways to help,” Holm said. “I was proud of how authentic the club was. We had kids who genuinely wanted to make a difference.”

Holm competed in APU’s incubator program, ZuVenturez. He and a friend created an idea for a jewelry business and pitched it to a panel of judges, in a format similar to Shark Tank. Although they earned second place with a prize of $5,000, the business failed to take off. After the competition, they pitched their company to real world investors, but were met with rejection. “We had people pick apart our business plan right in front of us,” he said. “It hurt, but I learned from it. Hearing no was super helpful for the future when I started my next business.”

After graduating, Holm made a bold decision to sell his most valuable possession—his car—to buy a plane ticket to visit his biological mother in Korea. He spent two weeks with her for the first time in 16 years.

“It was always on my heart to reconnect with her,” he said. “We spent so long apart, but when we were together, that mom-son connection felt so natural. She means the world to me.”

On his trip to Korea, Holm discovered his love for fashion, inspired by clothing from different cultures, and decided to become a designer. “Fashion appealed to me because it’s a powerful platform, a straight line into culture, impacting industries from entertainment to sports,” he said. When Holm returned to California, he found an internship in downtown Los Angeles. “A designer took me under his wing and taught me what he knew. He couldn’t pay me, but made up for it in the knowledge he imparted,’” Holm said. “Working with him was a lightbulb moment for me because I knew this is what I was called to do.” He learned the technicalities of garment making, the cut-and-sew process, and how to run a business from a production standpoint, all while working multiple jobs on the side to support himself. “I’ve always prided myself on my work ethic. I believe hard work brings opportunity.”

Despite his industriousness, Holm faced financial challenges. He decided to live in a friend’s converted van to save money on rent. “I slept in that van for six months. It wasn’t fun,” he said. “But I was so passionate about where I envisioned myself that even if I was uncomfortable for six months, I was determined to pursue what I was meant to do by any means.”

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Holm faced a new challenge, losing his jobs in retail. Instead of being downtrodden, Holm saw an opportunity after finding out that hospitals across LA were in massive need of personal protective equipment (PPE). He began going from one hospital to another, meeting with purchasing departments to see if he could create PPE for them. “I got lucky one day and met with a vice president of medical supplies for a vast number of Southern California hospitals. He gave me five minutes to make a pitch,” Holm said. “He asked me to come back the next day with a sample.” Holm scrambled and went to The Home Depot to buy materials and the PPE garment he created was met with approval. “I went from a 26-year-old who was just trying to wing it to receiving the biggest purchase order of my life.” Holm hired a team of sewers and worked for the next six months to create more than 100,000 units of PPE, helping protect the hospital workers and people of LA.

With the money he received, Holm decided to invest in his dream of starting his own fashion company. He launched Castles & Queens in 2021. “Castles & Queens is a contemporary luxury brand that taps into our West Coast DNA. I want people to feel powerful, confident, and capable when they wear our clothes,” he said. “I’m good at spotting trends. I see in visuals and bring them to life.” All of the brand’s clothing is made by hand in LA. In the three years after opening, Holm produced five collections. His designs caught the eyes of people high up in the industry. In the company’s second year, they were invited to New York Fashion Week. Castles & Queens was covered by Vogue and NYLON as one of the top 12 emerging brands. After experiencing success in New York and Milan, Holm landed his first luxury retail account, Wolf & Badger, and was featured in Forbes “30 Under 30: Arts and Style.”

“It’s an awesome journey to see this brand I built get recognition and continue to grow. I want to have a positive impact on the world through Castles & Queens.”

Although he has experienced massive success in the last three years, Holm is still the only full-time employee of Castle & Queens. He hires part-time sewers that produce the clothing in each collection, but Holm comes up with every design and does all the marketing for the brand. In the future, Holm aspires to build a team, to land in more retailers across the world, to open his own storefronts, and to honor his Korean and Caymanian heritage through his designs. He also hopes to represent LA well, since the city hasn’t traditionally been known for luxury apparel, as he competes at the highest level in the fashion capitals of the world. “Our pieces are luxurious, made with extreme attention to detail and high quality fabrics. I recognize that not everyone will want to spend money on them,” he said. “Some of the most positive feedback I’ve received is from people who don’t buy our pieces, but feel like they’re a part of our world. They’re inspired by the brand and identify with our message.”

As Holm grows his company, he stays rooted in his faith. He became a Christian after being adopted and has a close relationship with Christ. “From a young age, God has given me visions of my life, but it’s always a glimpse of what it can be, and never how I’m going to get there,” he said. “As I’ve walked through challenging moments of my life, I trusted God and pushed through. Making it to where I am now shows that God is the realest thing in the world to me.” Holm lives out his faith every day as a leader and entrepreneur. Each decision he makes in his business is based on his values. Although entrepreneurial success drives him, Holm has not forgotten his roots and his passions he discovered while a student at APU. “One of the biggest reasons I hope to be successful is to start a nonprofit one day that helps my community, whether it focuses on human trafficking, helping foster children, or other societal issues,” he said. “As we grow as a brand and create a bigger platform, it provides an opportunity to pour into issues that really matter and spread a powerful message.”

Christina Mansour ’07: Serving Students as an Educational Counselor

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

Christina Mansour (Estafanous,) MAEd ’07, sits at her desk at Buena Park High School (BPHS), helping a sophomore student who has walked in without an appointment and just needs someone to talk to about an issue in class. Mansour patiently provides kindhearted feedback, taking the time out of her busy day to listen to the student’s needs, even though she has another appointment that she now must push back a few minutes. “I love my job. The high schoolers I work with can be very challenging sometimes, but I love them,” she said. “I enjoy having conversations with kids about their futures and what’s going on in their lives. I truly get to know them over the years they’re here.”

Mansour knew she wanted to be a teacher from a young age. She had some influential teachers who made a big impact in her life and realized she wanted to do the same, to help kids learn and grow. After graduating from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in math and a single subject teaching credential, she began teaching math at West Covina High School (WCHS) in 2001. “Math has always come naturally to me. I know most kids don’t feel the same way, so I really tried to make it where you may not love math, but you will love coming to my class, more because of the teacher-student connection,” Mansour said. “I knew if they liked the atmosphere I created for them, they would learn and would get a good grade which they had to earn.” Mansour especially loved playing math games to review before tests with her kids which helped make math fun and not daunting.

Mansour had been teaching for a few years when she observed a counselor working with students in her class. “I thought I would like to do that too, so I talked with her and she told me about APU’s educational counseling program,” she said. Mansour visited campus soon after, met with faculty, and quickly enrolled in the program. “I really loved going to APU. It was so different from my experience at a big state school during undergrad,” she said. “The service and accessibility was phenomenal. I wish I had that during undergrad, but I was very glad to have it for grad school.”

Mansour made many friends in her classes that she’s still in touch with. She enjoyed being in a small cohort where she took classes with the same people and grew closer to them each semester. Mansour loved learning about how to serve students and how to integrate her faith in her job in classes with Michelle Cox, PhD, and Leah Leonard, LMFT.

“I work in a public school, so I can’t always talk about my faith, but if a student brings up their own faith, then of course I’ll discuss it with them,” Mansour said. “I’ve found that middle ground of loving everyone because that’s what Christ calls us to do.”

Although Mansour graduated with her MAEd in Educational Counseling in 2007, she chose to stay in the classroom for another decade because of her love for teaching. However, a couple of years after switching schools from WCHS to BPHS in 2013, she received the opportunity to begin counseling while still teaching, splitting her time in half for both areas. After two years of doing both jobs, a full-time counseling position opened and she left the classroom. As a counselor, Mansour’s day-to-day involves many different responsibilities. “No two days look the same,” she said. “One day I might be doing IEPs (Individual Education Plans) all day. The next day I’ll be doing 504 meetings (plans to meet the needs of students with disabilities), behavioral intervention plans with the counseling team, and presenting in classrooms. And of course I’ll meet with students whenever they request to see me or just come in here to talk because they need help.”

Mansour’s school has a large percentage of first generation students, so she often meets with parents who have questions about how to get their kids into college. She also plans the schedules of the more than 450 students she serves, ensuring they get the right classes to graduate on time. Mansour loves when students decide to go to four-year colleges even though they may have never dreamed that was possible when they began high school.

“My favorite part of my job is watching kids grow from the time they enter as freshmen to their senior year,” she said. “You see them mature physically, growing from scrawny kids into young adults, and socially transform from someone who may struggle socially as a 9th grader to a flourishing 12th grader who is ready to take on the world. Watching them cross the graduation stage is incredibly rewarding.”

Mansour runs an intern program for students studying to become educational counselors. Over the past four years, she has had at least four interns from APU each year. Students in the MAEd program must complete 800 hours with a counselor at two different levels. “I love working with APU interns. They’re so great and are very well prepared,” Mansour said. “APU students bring the love of Christianity. They love the kids like they’re their own and they come to serve. That’s very important to me.” Mansour’s interns participate in the same meetings, practice one-on-one counseling with a caseload of students, and help run the school’s wellness center.

The wellness center is Mansour’s top achievement. She pleaded for one for years, and when the school got a grant in 2021, her prayers were answered. BPHS became the first school in the district to have one. The wellness center provides a place where students can come to reset themselves when they feel emotionally heightened or overwhelmed before going to or returning to class. Students can meet with interns, counselors, the school’s mental health specialist, a licensed therapist and contracted partner organizations who conduct restorative circles, meditation, and substance abuse intervention. The school also facilitates several workshops and small groups in the center each semester.

“The wellness center has changed the way we do our jobs and freed us up to do so many things and offer different services for the kids,” Mansour said. “It has literally saved students’ lives.”

Mansour loves being an educational counselor because it allows her to live out her calling, serving kids and meeting their needs to make sure they are taken care of and able to graduate and move on to the next phase of life. “Counseling directly relates to my faith because Christ called us to serve others. I’m living my faith out every day,” she said. Outside of work, Mansour loves spending time with her husband, Bassem, and her two sons, David (11-years-old) and Andrew (9-years-old). “I love my boys. We are very big about doing everything as a family. It’s really nice to come home to my family after long days of serving the kids at school.”

Equipping Difference Makers in Art History and Art Education

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

For students interested in a graduate degree in Art History or Art Education from a Christian institution, there is no better option than Azusa Pacific University. APU’s graduate art programs top the national rankings of many sources including Forbes, Best Colleges, Intelligent, and Grad School Center. APU’s programs offer students rigorous coursework taught by experienced experts, flexible schedules including fully asynchronous or low-residency classes, and multiple entry points each semester, all while preparing students to become difference makers in the art world after graduation.

Faith Informed Instruction

When APU launched the Master of Art in Modern and Contemporary Art History program in 2012, it became one of the only Christian institutions in the country to offer such a graduate degree. The same was true when APU started the Master of Art in Art Education in 2017.

“Other Christian schools had undergraduate art programs, but didn’t offer graduate art programs,” said Bill Catling, MFA, chair of the Department of Art and interim chair of the Department of Design. “We saw the benefit of equipping graduate students with a Christian art education so they could make a difference as educators and leaders.”

APU’s art history program focuses specifically on modern (1830s to 1960s) and contemporary art (1970s to the present). “It’s interesting that while Christianity is such an essential part of medieval and renaissance art, most schools don’t offer any courses on art and religion in modern and contemporary art, or even allow their students to explore the subject,” said Angela George, PhD, program director of the MA in Modern and Contemporary Art. “We don’t shy away from talking about the intersections between Christianity in art.” While faith components are integrated into every course in APU’s art programs, specific courses offer a deeper focus on the relationship between religion and art. Catling believes the exploration of this connection is essential in creating a well rounded art historian and educator. “Whether someone is a person of faith or not, they’re bringing invisible ideas into the making,” he said. “This really allows us to explore what you see and what’s behind what you see.”

Flexible Schedule and Multiple Entry Points

APU’s Art History program is fully online and asynchronous. This offers students tremendous flexibility in completing their education outside of work hours. “About half of our students are teachers who are looking to advance in their careers,” George said. “Our online format allows them to continue working full-time while completing their coursework on their own schedule.” APU’s Art History program is one of only two in the country to offer a fully online format. The program is 36-units, meaning students can complete it in as little as 18 months, although most take 2-3 years to finish it. “We’ve had a lot of art teachers who have had the program mostly or fully paid for by their school districts.”

Art Education is a low-residency program—meaning the vast majority of courses are offered online while students are required to complete two one-week in-person residency courses as part of the 30-unit program. The access and flexibility caters to a diverse population, including international students who visit the Azusa campus each summer for their residencies. “All of the students love the communal aspects of the residency,” Catling said. “We share meals and do activities together. For many art teachers at the high school, middle school, and elementary level, they’re just consumed by the workload. It’s so intense that they don’t get to make art anymore, so when they come for the summer it’s refreshing for them to get to create artwork. They have a whole week to make art in our caring community and it revitalizes them.”

Both APU’s Art History and Art Education programs offer students five entry-points: two in the spring semester, one in the summer, and two in the fall semester.

“I don’t know of any other institutions that offer five entry-points each year for their master’s arts programs,” George said. “We’re groundbreaking in that respect, and it’s challenging, but we want to offer students that flexibility.”

Learn Essential Skills

APU’s programs equip students with skills necessary to succeed in their chosen career. “We give outstanding art historical training, current critical methods, visual analysis, close reading of texts, and communication and research skills,” George said. All art history students conduct extensive original research using primary sources that they write papers on and present to their classes. Students in the program have had their research published in prestigious industry publications, including MDPI’s Arts Journal, the Coalition of Master’s Scholars on Material Culture, and Visual Inquiry. Art History students must take a foreign language which aids in research of global art. In addition, they learn to read the art itself as a text. “Formal analysis is also like learning a foreign language,” George said. “Analyzing and discussing art is a skill that students in all of our disciplines learn to articulate clearly, translating the visual into the verbal.”

In Art Education, students research various movements of art, how the movements have changed over the centuries, how to break down artwork structurally down to its elements, and principles so they can teach their students in turn how to replicate it.

“In art education, you teach people how to see, observe, and identify the different parts of what you’re seeing, and how to teach it,” Catling said.

Graduate Ready to Impact the Industry

Whether students are seeking to become art curators or historians, advance in their teaching careers, or get ready to pursue a doctoral degree, APU’s Art History and Art Education programs prepare them to become difference makers ready to impact the industry. Graduates from APU’s programs have gone on to serve in a variety positions at renowned institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. Alumni have also been accepted into prestigious PhD programs at McMaster University, the University of Florida, and Graduate Theological Union, among other prestigious institutions.

Both APU’s Art History and Art Education program have alumni across the country teaching art from elementary to collegiate levels. “We’re a group of professionals trying to change the next generation,” Catling said. “Our program has had a powerful ripple effect and we’re excited to continue to see the impact of our alumni.”

Learn more about APU’s Art Education and Art History programs and apply today.

Student Spotlight: Tyler Jones ’24 Strives to Be a Light

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

Tyler Jones ’24 aims to be a light in the lives of others. A senior communication management major with a psychology minor, Jones felt called to Azusa Pacific University after learning about what the school stood for as a God First institution, which matched his values. He was thrilled to find out he had received a multi-ethnic leadership (MEL) scholarship on top of his academic award and financial aid. “The scholarships lined up perfectly,” Jones said. “They made it possible for me to come to APU and I’m grateful.”

As part of the MEL program, Jones serves as a leader who encourages diversity and inclusion on campus. Members of the program meet monthly to discuss the campus climate and how campus can be inclusive. “We have tough conversations that encourage us to get out of our comfort zones,” he said. “We have a very diverse student body at APU. The MEL meetings provide a special place where students of all backgrounds can talk about our lives and develop strong relationships with each other.”

Through the MEL program, Jones chose to serve in the Office of Campus Life’s Alpha program, serving as an Alpha leader as a sophomore and an Alpha coordinator as a junior. “I quickly fell in love with it. Nothing is more rewarding than serving as a mentor for new students and walking alongside them as they start their college journey,” he said. One of Jones’ favorite Alpha leader memories is when he and his roommate, Jesse Watson, invited both of their alpha groups to their campus apartment for an ice cream sundae party. “It sounds simple, but just getting to know the new students and sharing laughs over ice cream was special.” Jones highly recommends students apply for the Alpha program to build leadership skills and develop meaningful relationships.

“Most of my best friends at APU came from the Alpha program. It’s been a huge part of my journey at APU.”

In his work as a leader in the Alpha and MEL programs, Jones uses much of what he learns in his major courses. Two of his favorite classes, leadership communication and organizational and professional communication, have equipped him with the skills needed to communicate effectively and lead teams successfully. He is especially appreciative of his mentor, Courtney W. Davis, PhD, associate professor. “Dr. Davis’ classes require a lot of critical thinking. She pushes you to go beyond the surface level,” Jones said. “She has challenged me and helped me grow. Her mentorship has been an essential part of my education at APU.”

After graduation, Jones aspires to become a firefighter. He feels that the leadership and communication skills he’s developed at APU will benefit him tremendously as a firefighter when he leads teams on rescue missions. Jones was inspired by his uncle, who served as a battalion chief of a fire department. He described one of their conversations that helped him realize his calling.

“It really stuck with me, being able to help others and be there for them, protect them, be their light on their darkest day, that’s definitely something I wish to pursue,” he said.

Being the light for others stems from Jones’ faith. “My faith is what inspires me, what makes me who I am, and how I base my actions,” he said. Growing up, Jones was taught to always treat others with grace, respect, and love because you never know what they’ve experienced or what they're currently going through. “I believe that God has called me to be the light in others lives and I try to answer that call every day.”

Student Spotlight: J.J. Navarette Encourages Belonging

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

J.J. Navarette ’24 loves helping students find belonging at Azusa Pacific University. As a transfer student, Navarette struggled at first to find her place and her people at APU, but that all changed during her second semester on campus. “I knew college was supposed to be about creating meaningful experiences and forming lasting friendships. I wanted that,” she said. “When I joined the Alpha program last fall, I found what I was looking for. I found my purpose.”

Navarette served as an Alpha leader, mentoring a group of transfer students as they started their APU journeys. Some days this would look like doing homework together on Cougar Walk or in the Duke Commons, while other days included going to basketball games and transfer events together. “The people in my Alpha group are my really good friends now,” she said. “Being a part of the Alpha program has truly made APU feel like home.” Navarette now serves as an Alpha coordinator, helping train Alpha leaders as they mentor their groups as she did.

One of Navarette’s favorite parts about being an Alpha leader is getting opportunities to serve. Prior to the start of the school year, she went with dozens of other students in the program to serve in downtown Los Angeles for a week. Each day, they would serve homeless individuals at The Dream Center and Union Rescue Mission. “Helping people at homeless shelters really touched my heart,” she said. “It made me realize how much I take for granted everyday, from having meals to eat to having a roof over my head.” Navarette enjoyed interacting with those she served, connecting with them and learning their stories. She aimed to bring a smile to their faces each day.

“That experience helped me understand how we all come from the same God and we need to treat everyone with kindness, to love our neighbors as the Bible instructs. It made me want to find more opportunities to give back and serve.”

Navarette’s journey to APU was a bit circuitous. After graduating from South Hills High School in West Covina, she wasn’t sure what career she wanted to pursue. She decided to start her collegiate journey at Citrus College, but transferred after one year. “I wasn’t as on top of my studies as I should have been. It was hard to feel motivated because I hadn’t found what I wanted to study yet,” she said. Navarette transferred to Mt. San Antonio College and discovered her desire to pursue a career in healthcare. She completed nearly all of her general education requirements at Mt. SAC before deciding to apply to APU. “I was a bit nervous. I didn’t know if I would get accepted, but I had a transfer admin who walked me step by step through the process and waived my application fee,” she said. “He even called me before the acceptance letter and email arrived because he wanted to congratulate me personally. I loved that intentionality.”

Navarette continued to experience intentional support from APU faculty and staff. In her Christian Life, Faith, Faith, and Ministry course, professor Paul Shrier, PhD, shared his testimony with the class at the beginning of the semester and said he is a big believer in second chances. For the first time in her collegiate experience, Navarette felt comfortable having one-on-one conversations with a professor. “Professor Shrier set the pace for me in my biblical studies classes,” Navarette said. “I learned a lot from him and applied it to my life.” In her kinesiology major, Navarette said professor Sue Hebel, EdD, ATC, made an impact. Navarette had been going through a tough time and Hebel noticed she looked a bit down in class.

“She took the time to check in with me, asking how she could pray for me and help me. That was significant. It meant a lot to see how she cared about me.”

Navarette has one more year left in her kinesiology program. She hopes to continue her education at APU by completing a graduate program in nursing. “I want to help others and I feel like God has called me to be a nurse,” she said. “My dream is to become a nurse practitioner and open my own faith-based practice.”

Navarette’s faith is key to her identity. She grew up in a Christian household and went to church every week with her grandparents. At APU, she has continued to grow in her faith. “Going to chapel three times a week was an adjustment at first, but I’ve really enjoyed it. It helps me keep my faith a priority and I feel closer to God,” Navarette said. “And my theology and biblical studies classes have helped me understand the Bible better. My relationship with God continues to grow every day.”

Equipping Nurses to Make a Difference in the Middle East

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

Azusa Pacific University’s nationally ranked School of Nursing (SON) is making an impact across the world. The SON has trained nursing students in Asia and Europe for decades, yet this year marked the first time APU has offered a nurse leadership program in the Middle East. The SON partnered with Health Outreach to the Middle East (HOME), a Christian, interdenominational organization that brings physical, psychological, and spiritual healing to poor and suffering people through 18 Christian clinics, hospitals, and medical projects in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Sudan, with plans to expand to the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Bahrain. APU’s first cohort of seven of HOME’s nurse leaders recently finished their program, earning a certificate in Nursing Leadership, which will enable them to advance effective health care and be a force for positive change.

This partnership with HOME was implemented by Aja Tulleners Lesh, PhD, RN, professor; David Dorman, PhD, administrator for international resources; Elaine Goehner, PhD, RNC, CPHQ, director for continuing education; and Amy Girguis, MSN, adjunct professor. According to Lesh, Christian nurses in the Middle East face massive challenges in getting an advanced education beyond their baccalaureate.

“We partnered with HOME to offer these Christian nurses a pathway to advance their education and leadership effectiveness,” Dorman said. “As bachelor-trained nurses, they were ready for further challenges to lead the way to effect change at both the hospital and governmental policy level.”

The first cohort of this partnership began in fall 2022 and finished the program in July 2023 after completing four courses in nursing leadership. Each class met online once a week, after the nurses had finished their 12-hour shifts for the day. “Their work ethic was incredible, to come in after a full day of work and actively participate… They knew how valuable it was to form a network of support with each other and their APU instructors,” Lesh said.

Before earning their certificate, each student put together a “change project,” designed to propose solutions to issues they noticed in their hospital. “Their change projects were remarkable,” Lesh said. “At the hospital in Dubai where the nurses were based, the chief nursing officer embraced the program and supported these students. She worked with them as they presented their projects, implementing them in some cases before the program was completed.”

One change project introduced a practice that has existed in the U.S. for decades, but had yet to make its way to Middle Eastern healthcare. This practice was placing newborn babies skin-to-skin against their mothers and fathers in an embrace. According to Lesh, this contact does wonders for the connection between babies and their parents. “Our nursing student took this project on, and before the year was out, her hospital allowed her to put it into practice,” Dorman said. “It was the first hospital in Dubai to do so.”

Lesh said the SON plans to continue their partnership with HOME with further regular cohorts so more Christian nurses can be trained to rise in leadership positions in their hospitals.

“It’s important for us from a mission perspective. Here we are witnesses for Christ and encouraging others,” she said. “We are giving them skills to make a bigger impact, not only with their care of patients, but in the healthcare system. Difference makers create change.”

Micayla Brewster ’17: From Broadway to Digital Nomading and Back

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

For some, social media is simply a platform to share the food they eat or the concerts they attend, while for others, it’s a way to connect with old friends and maintain relationships with family far away. For Micayla Brewster ’17, social media is so much more, a passion that blossomed into a one-of-a-kind career. Just six years after graduating from Azusa Pacific University, Brewster has lived in more than 25 locations across the world as a self-proclaimed digital nomad and she recently launched her own company, The Social Team.

Brewster’s journey into a career in social media began at APU. A communication management major with a minor in public relations, Brewster knew she wanted to go into a communications profession, but didn’t know what that would look like. It was only when she took an introductory public relations class with Allison Oster, ’01, MA ’05, that she began to envision a career in social media. “I spent so much time and energy on social media already, but I had always heard it talked about negatively,” Brewster said. “Allison’s class was the first time I heard social media being talked about in a positive way, as it being a tool to communicate and connect with audiences, sharing important information while also having fun in expressing a brand.” Invigorated, Brewster wrote out a description for her dream job, with a list of things she’d like to do in a perfect world, and showed it to Oster after class one day. “She told me my job description was literally that of an account manager. I couldn’t believe that it actually existed. I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.”

With a career path in mind, Brewster began getting experience by serving as a social media intern for APU’s bookstore (now the Campus Store), Dining Services, and at New Beginnings Community Church in Silicon Valley. She went on to win APU’s Battle of the Interviews during her senior year, after blowing away the judges with her “breathless excitement” for the hypothetical position (a social media account manager for Netflix). In the past, Brewster had tried to tame her enthusiasm and zeal, but it served her well in that moment and the years to follow.

“My passion and how much time and energy I dedicate toward this thing I love so much is one of my greatest skill sets,” she said. “I’m grateful for that experience because it allowed me to refine my interview skills while receiving critical feedback.”

During her time at APU, Brewster made a pivotal discovery of a company called the Skimm. Up to that point, she had mostly tuned out the news because it felt overwhelming. “I absolutely loved the Skimm because they distilled all this information in a way that kept me interested and informed,” she said. Brewster applied to their ambassador program and campaigned for the company on APU’s campus, hosting tables on Cougar Walk. “In hindsight, my enthusiasm may have been a bit much,” she laughed. “There’s a photo of me going to chapel wearing a Skimm sweatshirt with my Skimm tote bag and holding my phone with a Skimm case. I just really wanted to work for them.”

Brewster’s efforts paid off as she won the “Skimmbassador” competition, having gotten more people on her campus to sign up than anyone else at other colleges. One of the prizes for the competition was a letter of recommendation from the CEO of the Skimm. “I said that’s perfect, I’ll just give it right back to you. I’d like to work for you,” Brewster said. She moved to New York City for the Skimm internship in the summer of 2016. However, she found out the internship was only part-time and started looking for another job to work on her off days.

Brewster had seen a Broadway show called Something Rotten and decided to reach out to them to see if they needed a social media intern. “On a kick, I decided to modify the message I had sent to Something Rotten and sent it to my dream show that I knew I had no chance of hearing back from—Hamilton,” she said. “The next morning, I got a response from my future and now former boss at Marathon Digital, who runs social media for Hamilton, asking to schedule an interview with me.” Brewster got the job and began interning for Marathon at the same time as the Skimm. After the summer, she began working contractually for Marathon during her senior year at APU, before moving to New York to work for the company full-time. “It was the greatest experience. It catapulted my career and made me realize fandom marketing, specifically within Broadway, is where I wanted to head.”

Brewster loved her time working on social media for Hamilton. She ran the production’s Snapchat during their popular “Ham4Ham” performances, coordinated content shoots with the cast, and helped with numerous campaigns. The highlight of her young career came when she was assigned to write a tweet for the launch of the Hamilton app, which had to be approved by the show’s famous creator, Lin Manuel Miranda. “I spent hours studying his Twitter and composing a two-sentence tweet in his voice,” she said. “He responded back saying it was a “devastatingly accurate impression” of him and was good to post. That was one of the most exciting moments of my life.”

While Brewster loved her job, she, like many around the country, faced a pivotal moment in 2020 when the pandemic hit and Broadway shut down. She did a lot of self-reflection and decided to let go of her dream job at Marathon to pursue another dream, living in many different places across the world. “I constantly moved around, spending a month or two in each location before moving on to the next one,” she said. “I did freelance work virtually to support myself as a digital nomad.” Brewster started off in New Orleans, then rented a cabin in Montana with friends, before branching out to other countries. She has since lived in more than 25 cities in Ireland, England, Scotland, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Romania, Croatia, and Mexico.

“I found digital nomading to be incredibly enriching and fulfilling. Plus, I made a lot of good friends across the world that I’m happy to visit when I have the opportunity.”

After two-and-a-half years, Brewster decided to settle down a bit. She was enjoying dinner with her best friend, Chase, in New York City one night when they came up with a life-changing plan. “We talked about all the challenges of social media management for Broadway shows. As much as we both loved it and wanted to continue doing it, it didn’t feel sustainable,” Brewster said. Many of her friends had burned out of the industry and she wanted to avoid the same path. “We decided to start our own company, where we could run social media for Broadway productions in the ways we wanted to, avoiding pitfalls and being more in touch with individual platforms.”

Their company, The Social Team, officially launched in September. Although the company is still in its infant stages, Brewster said they have been in talks with partners on Broadway and are hoping to sign their first major client in the next year. “For now, I’m spending countless hours building a dream content calendar and designing style guides and strategy documents for clients,” she said. “My number one goal is to have social media feel as enjoyable of a process as possible for everybody involved.”

The Social Team is headquartered in New York, where Brewster maintains a residence. However, she now lives primarily in Sevilla, Spain. While her journey isn’t what she imagined when she moved to APU for college, Brewster is truly living her dream.

Dave Blomquist: Cultivating Transformation on the Field

This article was originally published on APU’s website.

Dave Blomquist, MA, is living out his mission as the head coach of Azusa Pacific University’s men’s soccer team. Although his teams have had many triumphant seasons, including going undefeated during regular season play and being ranked No. 1 in all of NCAA Division II in 2019, Blomquist doesn’t measure success through traditional metrics. “I have no idea how many wins I have in my coaching career. As much as I love when our team wins, that’s not nearly as important to me,” he said. “Tell me how many players I’ve coached because that’s the number of opportunities I’ve had to help a young man grow, develop, and be transformed.”

Transformation is central to what Blomquist aims to achieve in his coaching. This happens in a number of ways. While he wants to help his players develop their soccer skills on the field, it’s the growth that occurs off the field that matters most. Most of Blomquist’s players will become professionals in a different field than the soccer pitch, so he advises them to focus on building integrity and character. “There’s a saying that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” he said. “There’s some truth to that, but I would add a third part: Most importantly, it’s who you are. I think that is going to give them the greatest success in whatever they do.”

Building athletes of character is rooted in Blomquist’s faith. He draws parallels between soccer and faith on a daily basis with his players. “There are so many lessons we can learn through the sport that we read about in the Bible,” he said. One of Blomquist’s favorite memories is watching a player who didn’t know God at all when he started at APU give his life to Christ before he graduated. His faith journey began on the soccer field and is now guiding his life.

“I really try to talk to the guys about the perspective we need to have about soccer and about life and eternity,” Blomquist said. “We all think soccer is really important, or else we wouldn’t devote so much time to it. But if we step back, we can see how soccer is such a small part of your life when you’re talking about vocation, family, and eternity.”

For Blomquist, his love for soccer began as a child. Born and raised in Branby, Conn., Blomquist played a number of sports growing up, but as he matured, baseball, basketball, and tennis fell by the wayside and he focused on soccer. After high school, he decided to attend Wheaton College, like many members of his family had previously. Although he wasn’t recruited, he walked on to the soccer team his freshman year. “I loved playing soccer in college. I have so many good memories from those days,” he said. After graduating, Blomquist briefly pursued a professional soccer career, playing for one season with the Chicago Stingers. “It was a cool experience to be a part of that type of environment at the next level, but after one year, I knew it wasn’t for me,” he said. “That’s when I started doing more coaching. That’s what got me up in the morning, what I was really passionate about and enjoyed.”

Coaching had a snowball effect for Blomquist; once he got started, he just wanted to spend more time doing it. Coaching opportunities took him from Chicago to Minneapolis, then to San Diego. He spent several years coaching at the high school level while pursuing his Master’s of Sports Psychology at San Diego State. Then one day he got a call from Phil Wolf, an old friend he had played with at Wheaton and on the Stingers. Wolf was the head coach of APU’s men’s soccer team at the time and needed an assistant coach. “I took some time to pray about it to see if it was the right next step in my life,” Blomquist said. “God told me to take the opportunity at APU. In hindsight, it was 100 percent the right decision. It led me to discover my mission and live it out each day.” Three years later, Wolf left to pursue a NCAA Division I coaching opportunity, and Blomquist took the reins as head coach.

The men’s soccer team has a motto unlike any other team at APU. The motto, takwaba, a Bemba word, stems from a mission trip the team went on to Zambia in 2005. On the trip, the team heard people worshiping, singing “Takwaba Uwaba Nga Yesu” (There’s No One Like Jesus), and saw the happiness the song brought them. “They brought the song back because they believe it enveloped APU soccer in that we want to have joy together in what we do,” Blomquist said.

“We want to have joy when we’re playing on the field, working out at the gym, just hanging out, or whatever we’re doing. Our joy is rooted in being a team and the love of Jesus.”

This togetherness aspect is what makes the team special. Blomquist is intentional about cultivating a strong community. He’ll have the players over to his house for barbecues and cornhole tournaments. They’ll grab meals together and go cheer on other APU sports teams together. “We really invest in each other’s lives outside of soccer. It’s important for guys to be there for each other when things aren’t going well,” he said. “They’re there for each other through the low moments, after tough losses and when guys are going through rough patches off the field. That’s where brotherhood kicks in and those relationships continue down the line long after graduation.”

Blomquist recalled going to a former player’s wedding a few years ago. He didn’t know who else was attending, but he was happy to see more than 20 APU soccer alumni there to celebrate their teammate. “This is the culture we created, guys who not only love playing and hanging out together, but who also want to see each other become better men and develop spiritually,” he said. “That’s transformation. That’s the impact I want to have as a coach.”

La Verne Resident Renee Pozza Named Dean of APU’s Nationally Ranked School of Nursing

This news release was originally published on APU’s website.

Azusa Pacific University Provost Anita Fitzgerald Henck, PhD, named La Verne, CA resident Renee Pozza, PhD, RN, CNS, FNP-BC, FAASLD, dean of the School of Nursing (SON), effective October 1, 2023. Pozza, a nationally recognized researcher, clinician, educator, and leader in nursing education brings more than 25 years of higher education experience to the role with expertise in developing new programs and pathways for nursing professionals at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

“Dr. Pozza is a visionary collaborator and innovative educator deeply committed to her faith which provides her with the core values essential for academic leadership at APU,” Henck said. “Her investment in APU has shaped institutional policies and practices which has positioned the university as a local, national, and global leader in nursing education.”

As SON dean, Pozza oversees day-to-day operations and provides leadership to 14 programs, the Institute of Health Research, and Continuing Education on five campuses (Azusa, Monrovia, San Diego, High Desert, Inland Empire). Pozza will serve internal and external stakeholders, including being a liaison with APU’s clinical partners that support the SON in its mission of educating the next generation of nursing and public health professionals. She will also supervise accreditation efforts on both state and national levels. Pozza will manage relations with alumni across the nation and the world as the SON prepares for its 50th anniversary in 2025.

“To bring my passion for preparing exemplary nurses to this role at my alma mater is exciting,” Pozza said. “I completed three programs of study from APU, taught on our faculty, and served as associate dean for more than two decades. I understand the critical need for competent and compassionate nurses at the bedside, as nurse educators, and as health care leaders and scholars. And I can attest to the impact our nurses are making across the world. I look forward to advancing our forward-thinking, innovative approach that will bring health and wellness to generations of Californians and others around the country and across the globe.”

Pozza’s appointment follows serving as interim dean of the School of Nursing since July 2022. She previously served as senior associate dean of academic initiatives and innovation (2016-22), associate dean of academic affairs (2005-16), associate professor (2000-12), and adjunct faculty (1996-2000). Under her leadership, the SON implemented several new programs and pathways in nursing education (including RN to BSN, Entry Level Master’s, and BSN to DNP), built skills and simulation laboratories, incorporated faith integration and virtual simulation into the curriculum, initiated several academic-practice partnerships, and led teams for successful re-accreditation and re-approval visits with the CCNE and the BRN.

Pozza has served as the director of clinical research at the Liver Center for the Southern California Transplantation Institute Research Foundation since 2003. She maintains an active practice as a hepatology nurse practitioner at the Southern California GI and Liver Centers. Pozza has received numerous industry and academic awards throughout her career including the Author of the Year from The Nurse Practitioner Journal in 2020 and the Uncommon Citizen Award from APU in 2008. In 2015, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases for her research contributions to the field. She is only the second nurse in the U.S. to hold this designation. Pozza completed her PhD in Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco. She holds a Post Master’s Family Nurse Practitioner Certification, Master of Science in Nursing, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from APU.

APU’s nationally ranked School of Nursing prepares nurses to lead the way in health care and provide a deeper level of compassionate care in clinics, hospitals, schools, and beyond. APU’s School of Nursing offers programs for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral nursing degrees available online, on campus, and at our regional campuses across Southern California.