APU Alumnus Challenges Football Team to Do the Right Thing

This article was originally published on APU.edu.

When Andre Johnson ’85 addressed Azusa Pacific University’s football team before their homecoming game in October, it brought back memories from his days as a Cougar. As a student, Johnson was a star cornerback, anchoring the defense while legendary running back Christian Okoyoe shredded other teams up on offense. Terry Franson, Johnson’s track coach at the time, reflected, “Andre was one of the finest defensive backs in APU football history. I cannot remember him ever getting beat on a deep pass. He recently spoke to our team on courage—he put his life on the line for others when no one else would.”

Franson, along with current football head coach Victor Santa Cruz, asked Johnson to visit campus and share his testimony in front of more than 100 players. Johnson told the team that life will present moments to each of them when they will need to make a choice. “I asked them, ‘Are you going to play it safe and stand on the outside, or are you going to charge into the situation, despite the danger, and do the right thing?’”

Johnson’s talk focused on one event that changed his life forever. August 8, 1998, was a night just like any other when the alarm began to sound at the California State Prison Los Angeles, located in Lancaster. Johnson, a veteran prison guard at the time, sprinted from his position in the yard to the housing unit where the alarm was triggered. As he arrived, he looked in and saw more than 100 inmates involved in a riot and a female correctional officer standing in the center of it all with no way out. While other guards waited outside the cell block for backup to arrive, Johnson charged in.

“The second I got through the rotunda doors, I was attacked by several inmates. They knocked me to the ground, injured my neck, and bruised my ribs and knee,” he said. Johnson stood up wearily, knowing he was going to have to fight his way out, and grabbed his baton. “A few inmates tried to take my baton, and I knew if they got it, that would be the end,” he said. “I held onto it and struck back.”

Eventually Johnson was able to clear the inmates away. He made his way to the female officer, who had also been attacked and was lying on the ground, incapacitated and unresponsive. Johnson picked her up with the help of an inmate. “By the grace of God, we got her out. She was in the middle of the riot, so I didn’t know if we would make it, but the inmates saw us carrying her and nobody attacked us,” Johnson said. Other officers called for emergency medical help while Johnson rushed back into the mess.

Johnson moved through the housing unit, securing it room by room. He made sure inmates got on the ground, like they were supposed to when the alarm sounded. After backup arrived, the other officers finally joined in, and they finished securing the housing unit together. “It only took 22 minutes to win the housing unit back, but it felt like hours,” he said.

A lot of things went wrong that night. The housing unit gunner, who was in charge of keeping the area secure with nonlethal rounds, failed to pull the trigger. “He had just come out of the academy, which is never supposed to happen. The inmates saw him panic and the riot started snowballing,” Johnson said. A number of officers chose to stay out of the cell block. “They didn’t want to risk getting hurt,” he said.

In the aftermath of the riot, Johnson’s adrenaline began to wear off and he started feeling severe pain in his ribs and neck, prompting a trip to the hospital where doctors determined he had a hairline fracture and a bulging disk in his neck, which eventually required surgery. Soon after the operation, Johnson received an industrial retirement from the prison.

For his heroism, the California Department of Corrections awarded Johnson a Medal of Valor, the highest award given to a California correctional officer. After receiving the honor, Johnson chose not to speak of the experience for the next two decades. “When I first began with the department, I would bring home all of the stories from the prison. It got to be too much for my family, so I stopped talking about my work and kept everything to myself,” he said. “Now, I’m ready to share my story in hopes of encouraging others.”

After Johnson delivered his testimony at APU, several players approached him to ask questions. “They were interested in the story. I’m glad they took something away from it,” he said. “My faith is strong and I will continue to try to do the right thing. I hope they will too.”

Ready to Lead on Campus and Beyond

This article was originally published on APU.edu.

“When I began my college education at APU, I was a huge introvert. It was hard because so many people here are really extroverted. Then I felt a calling. At first, I was scared and didn’t step into it, but once I did, I realized God had a whole new world of leadership waiting for me. I recognized that I could use the gifts God has given me on campus and beyond.”

Stepping out in faith, Renee Hoffman decided to take a chance on several leadership roles at APU. These risks paid off and Hoffman grew as an obedient Christ follower. During her freshman year, she served as an ambassador, taking care of prospective students when they visited. As a sophomore, she became an Alpha leader, guiding freshmen in the beginning of their collegiate journey. Hoffman proceeded to serve as a Discipleship Group leader, helping friends dive deeper into the Bible. Last summer, she co-led an action team in Hungary and the Czech Republic, where she shared the Gospel through skits and flash mobs with people on the street.

All of these opportunities encouraged Hoffman to add a leadership minor on top of her psychology major, prompting her to a discovery. “God has called me to spread love and joy, and to not keep my relationship with Jesus Christ private, but to live it out and share it in any way possible on a daily basis,” she said.

After graduating in May 2020, Hoffman plans to pursue a career as a behavioral intervention therapist, working with children with special needs. She is currently assisting a young boy with OCD and ADHD, helping him catch up on his reading abilities. “I love working with kids,” she said. “I want to take those leadership qualities God has given me and use them in my line of work to embody my walk with Christ.”

Regenerating a Passion for Science and Music

This article was originally published on APU.edu

Cristian Aguilar, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry, discovered his passion for biology at a young age. As a child, Aguilar would research organisms and animals, how they functioned, and the environments where they lived. He was taken by the curiosities of sea creatures and marine life, aspiring to one day become a marine biologist. Yet, just a few years later, Aguilar fell in love with another subject – music.

“I come from a very musical family. I followed in my older brother’s footsteps when I started playing saxophone in fifth grade,” Aguilar said. “I played all the way through junior high. Once I got to high school, I joined marching band and began learning different instruments. Twice a year, I would pick up a new instrument. I would usually try to play whatever part the band was missing.”

After high school, Aguilar decided to pursue his first love – science. He attended Cal Poly Pomona for undergrad, getting his degree in biotechnology. Then he went on to grad school at UC Irvine, obtaining his Ph.D. in developmental and cell biology. It was here that Aguilar began his research on regeneration by studying the axolotl, a Mexican salamander.

“The axolotl is pretty much the only adult vertebrate organism that has complete regenerative capabilities. If it loses a limb to injury, no matter how minor or major the injury, it regenerates or replaces whatever tissues have been damaged. It’s remarkable,” Aguilar said. “Humans have very limited regeneration capabilities. If we can understand how the salamander is able to accomplish these tasks at the cellular level, then we can tweak our healing abilities and improve upon them to develop therapies where humans have a better regeneration response.”

If this sounds like a sci-fi movie, there’s good reason behind that. While he was in grad school, Aguilar’s lab worked with Sony Pictures on The Amazing Spider-Man. Aguilar worked with actors Rhys Ifans and Emma Stone to show them how scientists studying regeneration would work in a lab. In the movie, Ifans’ character used regenerative science to grow back an arm, before ultimately turning into a giant lizard. Aguilar’s notes were featured in various scenes in the movie.

While it might not be to the extent of the movie, Aguilar said he thinks scientists will achieve a breakthrough in the next 10 years or so for human regenerative abilities to operate at a higher level, like the axolotl. Aguilar studies the salamander’s ability to form stem cells, and said this research represents a key intersection between his faith and his scientific study.

“As we work on improving human healing, something the Bible definitely instructs us to do in terms of alleviating pain and suffering, there are a lot of ways to do that, including stem cell technology. Stem cells are incredible cells. They have the capacity to become any other cell in the body, but where we get those stem cells can be problematic,” he said. “The axolotl’s cells are unique because they are adult cells that return to their stem cell form naturally. These organisms have been created by God to do this. Studying this particular mechanism is more amenable to my faith."

When he’s not teaching or researching, Aguilar indulges his other lifelong passion – music. As an undergrad, Aguilar volunteered as a marching instructor at his alma mater, Charter Oak High School. After graduate school and a few years of teaching at APU, Aguilar reached out to Charter Oak’s new band director, Joel Lopez ’07.

“After the first year of volunteering, Joel said, ‘You definitely have a knack for this. I want you to be the assistant band director.’ I said ‘Absolutely.’ I’ve been doing that for two years now,” Aguilar said. “The band had fallen on hard times. We helped them grow from a band that didn’t qualify for championships to a band that won silver last year. It’s been really good.”

To stay sharp, Aguilar also performs with APU’s Symphonic Band. Aguilar had to take this semester off due to a lab he teaches during rehearsal time, but he plans to rejoin the band in the spring, where he will play the euphonium.

“After graduating from college, I put my instruments away. It didn’t feel good to lose that part of my life,” he said. “To be in a group and play again, working on my musical expression is amazing; it’s exactly what I needed.”

This is Aguilar’s life. On any given morning, he may be teaching an upper-level biology course to college students, and just hours later, he is working with high school musicians to help them refine their craft. While many parents encourage their children to focus on just one thing, Aguilar recommends that students pursue their passions, no matter how different they may be from one another.

“It’s important to explore different areas because that’s ultimately what makes us complete as humans. I’m not just a scientist. Even though I love biology more than most, if I only focused on biology, I wouldn’t be happy,” Aguilar said. “I’ve been very fortunate to keep music as one of my art forms along with my scientific study. They inform each other and help to enhance my ability to do both. Music has a lot to do with creativity. It played a big role in me becoming a research scientist and trying to creatively approach scientific problems. My knowledge of science and biology has informed my musical ability too. When I play music, I’m conscious of how I’m manipulating my diaphragm to control my wind output, to make a certain tone, or cause a certain amount of vibrato. It’s a lot of little things like that which maybe most musicians don’t think about, but because of my biology training, I’m constantly integrating my scientific knowledge with my artistic performance.”

APU Launches Zephyr Point Tahoe Study Away Program

This article was originally published on APU.edu.

In January 2020, 12 Azusa Pacific University students will travel to picturesque Lake Tahoe, where they will spend the spring as the inaugural class of APU’s new Zephyr Point study away program. The program focuses on the connection between the humanities and natural sciences, allowing students to explore the interaction between modern society and the environment.

Program director David Williams designed the semester in three phases. In the first, students will go on an introductory back-country trip. “I’d love to see students with zero outdoor experience attend,” Williams said. “If you want to learn how to travel in God’s creation safely and ethically, it’s an amazing place to do that.” Students will explore Lake Tahoe and the surrounding areas to the fullest, while hiking, skiing, mountain-biking, paddle-boarding, kayaking, and swimming.

During the academic portion of the semester, students will take a humanities class on nature, and they can choose their electives from required general education courses. The class selection offered at Zephyr Point makes it possible for students from any major to study there. Special course offerings are designed for kinesiology majors who can benefit from the unique environment for their training.In the final component of the semester, Williams will lead a five-day trip to Yosemite Valley, where students will combine their knowledge from the first two phases to learn in nature.

Williams created the semester with Ryan McKenzie, Zephyr Point director of program ministries. “This is for students looking to break away from the campus experience, to get out of the city and spend a semester at Lake Tahoe, which provides space and time to explore personal depth and growth in who you are in the kingdom of God,” he said. Zephyr Point Conference Center has offered Christians an environment of serenity since 1924.

“Here, the fabric is thin between heaven and earth,” McKenzie said. “At Tahoe, we come face to face with God as He reveals Himself through His creation.”

Cost for the Zephyr Point semester will be the same as a traditional semester at APU. There are no extra charges and scholarships transfer. In addition, unlike most study away programs, students will have employment opportunities during the semester. “Students can work at the conference center in hospitality, foodservice, housekeeping, maintenance, and administration,” McKenzie said. “We host lots of Christian conferences and students will have the opportunity to see behind the scenes what goes into making a religious nonprofit work.”

Over the course of the semester, Zephyr Point students will partner with other APU students in the Sacramento study away program, which focuses on public administration and policy writing. “Lake Tahoe provides the perfect location for students to examine environmental issues quite broadly – historically, philosophically, biologically, theologically. Sacramento provides these students with opportunities to work on policies regarding specific issues like water rights in the West,” Williams said.

After this spring, Williams said the Zephyr Point program aims to expand its size. “We envision having 30-40 students per semester,” he said. “Each semester would consist of 12 APU students, along with students from other schools in the Council of Christian Colleges & Universities.” He envisions the program as a similar size to APU’s former High Sierra program.

Williams worked at High Sierra for 13 years. He said the new program offers students a similar experience in an even more beautiful location. “When you’re at these awe-inspiring sites like Lake Tahoe, it tends to raise your game academically and spiritually because you’re surrounded by something that’s just so awe inspiring every day,” he said. “We’ve been able to harness the reverence that’s inspired by Tahoe and connect it to a living learning community. I know this setting will be powerful and efficacious in the development of students’ lives in mind, body, and spirit.”

In My Darkest Hour, God Showed Up

This article was published on APU.edu.

“When I broke my back, it felt like it might be the end. I was panicking and in so much pain. Lying there on the ground, I began to pray. Suddenly, I felt the Lord’s presence cover my body. It was the first time I truly felt Him. I heard Him say, ‘I’ve got this.’ My pain didn’t go away, but I could handle it. From that moment on, I’ve had a deep knowing in the core of my being that He has a plan and a purpose for me.”

When she was 13 years old, Taylor Fiddyment dedicated her life to Christ at an altar call at a Christian rock concert called Joshua Fest. Four years later, at 17, she faced the biggest challenge of her life while riding ATVs with friends in Lemmon Valley, Nevada. “I had ridden ATVs many times, but this was just a freak accident,” she said. “I was going around the edge of a bowl, but I wasn’t going fast enough and my momentum didn’t carry me around. I jumped off but the quad rolled over and landed on my shoulders, crushing me.” Fiddyment was rescued and brought to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a spinal cord injury and told she would never be able to move or feel her legs again.

After six months of rehabilitation, Fiddyment returned home. “People look at me and think I should be sad, or less motivated than I am because I'm in a wheelchair. I just don’t see it like that,” she said. As a student at Azusa Pacific University, Fiddyment takes a highly active role, including participating in Mexico Outreach, which she has done eight times in the past two years. “Serving in Mexico has been a profound experience. I love going out there with my team and helping in any way I can,” she said. “It’s an incredible chance to see how God moves and spend time with the APU community.”

After graduating from APU, Fiddyment plans to combine her love of service with her international business degree. “My dream job is to work with a team that travels the world and consults nonprofit organizations on how to use their resources efficiently,” she said. “I’m excited for whatever the future holds. Jesus has given me joy and a sense of adventure that makes my life fun. He is the reason I’m able to do all I do.”

Game Changer Tyler Endres ’10 Shapes Esports Culture

This article was originally published on APU.edu.

A long line of people wraps around an antiquated brick building in a nondescript area of downtown Santa Ana. The crowd anxiously awaits entrance, hoping to secure a front row seat to all the action. Inside, the atmosphere is electrifying and the spirit of competition palpable. Amid the cheers of hundreds of fans gathered around large computer screens, gamers of all levels battle it out. This is the burgeoning world of esports, and in just four years, Tyler Endres ’10, has capitalized on this international phenomenon by building a successful brand with his business Esports Arena expanding its reach and influence across the nation.

The early imaginings for Esports Arena began with Endres and his roommate Paul Ward ’10 while they were students at Azusa Pacific University. “During my freshman year, we loved playing Halo II. Everybody at APU played it back then. We would leave our dorm room in Trinity Hall open so people could come and play with us,” Endres said. “Soon, our RD asked us if we could host a Halo II tournament. We borrowed Xboxes and TV’s and had 16 four-person teams. It was awesome and we ended up winning.” Endres and Ward hosted the same tournament the following year. Unfortunately, their reputation preceded them. “We were too good and nobody wanted to play with us,” he said.

While he wasn’t quite at the professional gamer level, Endres was much better than the average player. He envisioned a place where he could compete with other players at a similar skill level so they could keep improving. “That’s how we came up with this idea of opening a facility where people can come out and play competitively every night of the week,” he said.

After Endres graduated, a job in restaurant equipment sales provided a means to an end. He saved up for three years before launching Esports Arena in Santa Ana. “We were really lucky to find this building. The owner loved the concept so much that he paid for all the renovations, which were quite extensive. We couldn’t have afforded them without him, so that was a Godsend,” he said. Renovations took more than two years to complete. By the time the arena opened in September 2015, Endres was down to his last penny. “I paid my rent check and if we didn’t open then, I couldn’t have paid rent the next month,” he said. “Then we opened and received some investments that relieved the financial burden.”

In the following months, a number of large gaming corporations rented out Esports Arena. Business was booming, but it was not what Endres had envisioned when he started the company. “We had so much success doing these events that we only chased events for a while. We had to ask ourselves what do we stand for, what message do we wish to communicate,” Endres said. “Our core product now is gaming for everybody. We want to develop a grassroots gaming community where people can compete at any level.”

It is this sense of community that inspires Endres. “When I look back to my time at APU, that’s what helped me the most. APU enables students to find community and feel like they belong,” he said. “Our community was gaming. I started this company because we had so many good friendships that came about through gaming and our love for it.”

Keep Reading: Careers in the Games Industry Have Moved Beyond Entertainment

The rapid success of Esports Arena spurred opportunities for business growth, including opening facilities inside the Luxor® Casino in Las Vegas and in Oakland, California.

Part of the new business model is a partnership with the largest retailer in the world, Walmart. The company came to Endres in early 2018 with the idea of putting mini Esports Arenas inside their stores. “Walmart owns a 30 percent market share in video game consoles, but the market is declining because you can just download most games at home. They were losing a huge chunk of the market and saw us as a potential solution,” he said. So far, Esports Arena is in five Walmarts across the country. Endres said the company plans to expand into many more stores in the coming months. “This allows Esports Arena to create its own ecosystem of esports with competitive players from around the country,” Endres said. “That's what I've always wanted to build.”

In addition, Esports Arena launched a series of gaming computers called OverPowered, available at Walmart. “They’re phenomenal machines. The equipment inside is really high quality and they’re available for a great price,” he said. “Knowing my brand is in the household of gamers across America is a really cool feeling.”

Even with the growth of his brand, on most days, Endres can still be found at the place where his success began, the original facility in Santa Ana. “We keep busy around here. We partner with a lot of professional gamers and influencers like Ninja, Dr. Disrespect, and even Cobi Jones.” The facility has a live broadcast center where thousands of people stream the esports action. During big events, Endres said everyone is running around chaotically, but they all love it. “It's an absolute blast. I hope I get to do this for the rest of my life.”

After just four years, Endres’ company has expanded across the country and he now employs 72 people. “I need to constantly remind myself what it’s all for. With all the changes, it’s tough to keep it in perspective,” he said. “I work for everybody who works for me. I’m only able to do what I do because of all these people God has brought into my life. It's definitely not all me. I thank God for that.”

Churches Experience Growth Among Multiethnic Congregations

This article was originally published on apu.edu.

It’s Sunday morning and the Monrovia High School auditorium fills up rapidly. Hundreds of people find their seats as the worship service begins. Traditional gospel music fills the air, followed by a contemporary Hillsong tune. With one glance around the room, the musical juxtaposition makes perfect sense. Fellowship Monrovia’s congregation is comprised of people from different cultures, ages, and racial backgrounds. While historically each of these people groups would attend a separate church and sing their own style of music, today, Fellowship is part of a growing national trend of diverse churches.

A recent Christianity Today article featured a new study by researchers at Baylor University, which found that one in five American Christians now belongs to a multiethnic church. According to the findings, the number of these churches tripled between 1998 and 2012. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches experienced the biggest increase.

Surrounded by the multicultural landscape that makes up Southern California, Fellowship Monrovia is led by senior pastor Albert Tate, who also serves as an Azusa Pacific University board member. Mark Chase, head of life groups for Fellowship, works alongside Tate, and said the pastoral staff believes it is crucial for the church to reflect the surrounding communities it serves.

“Fellowship is leading the way,” said Chase. “We are truly a multiethnic, intergenerational church and we make sure that our worship and preaching styles are relevant to our members.” Chase believes this intentionality reminds church goers of the imago dei. “Whenever you see yourself, your culture, represented on stage or in the congregation, it helps you connect with God. You feel like ‘I too am created in the image of God.’ That's a central doctrine of Christianity,” he said.

APU campus pastor, Ta'Tyana Leonard agrees. “Being a minority, I've longed to see myself throughout scripture. I zone in on stories like the good Samaritan because I identify with them. As a minority Christian in American culture, I've tried so hard to find my place within the church,” she said. Leonard attends Mission Ebenezer Family Church in Carson. “My husband and I belong to a multiethnic church because we want to invite our friends from all over the world to come to our church and feel welcome. We thought it would be beneficial for our kids to have friends from different backgrounds as well.”

Leonard points to the origins of the church, and how the gentiles and Jews were trying to reconcile. “Before he ascends, Jesus gives the Great Commission, 'Therefore go out and make disciples of all the world,' (Matthew 28:19). The Church is based on different cultures coming together in Christ.” Leonard said that Ephesians chapter two is also imperative for understanding the church’s purpose, including evangelizing and gathering. Ephesians 2:19 says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.”

Chase said this passage created a mandate for racial reconciliation. “Paul talks about how God reconciled the world back to himself through Christ. He tore down the dividing wall and curtain that stood between us. We no longer have race as our primary identifier, our race and ethnicity don’t go away, but as followers of Jesus we have a new primary identifier that has the power to bond us together, Christ.”

APU's campus pastors and the Office of Chapel Programs, offers events throughout the year to facilitate understanding and unity among the university community, including “Uncommon Conversations”. People gather together to talk about difficult topics including those related to race. Leonard said these discussion can mark the beginning of a reconciliation journey, which should continue at church. “If you think about the body of Christ, we have all these parts made up of people from different nations. We need each other.The body cannot function properly without all the parts working together,” she said.

Michael Mata, director of the M.A. in Transformational Urban Leadership program, affirmed that growth among multiethnic churches is a necessity. “This change is vital for churches to be a center of healing, hope, and cultivating a deep relationship with God. Our seminaries need to strive to create a multicultural experience so we can worship together,” he said.

Mata teaches at APU's Los Angeles Regional Site. He lives and attends church in Koreatown, where he serves as part of the pastoral team. His church, Los Angeles First Church of the Nazarene, is a perfect example of the trend. “My church originally started out as an English speaking church. Then we had a Korean language ministry form their own congregation, and then Spanish and Filipino. Slowly, we realized that we should all come together. For special services we gather to worship as one body, a foretaste of heaven to come,” Mata said. “We embrace our differences.”