Our APU
Meet Our Community
APU is a place of deep faith where our students experience belonging and transformation guided by accomplished and caring faculty who strive to ensure they graduate ready to shine Christ's light in the world as disciples and scholars.
Discover stories of students finding belonging, faculty and staff encouraging transformation, and alumni impacting the world for Christ.
Cultivating Transformation
APU’s faculty and staff create environments where students experience holistic transformation through rigorous academics, mentorship, and care for their whole person. It inspires compassionate leadership, and students put God First to serve the world with faith and empathy.
Meet Our Faculty and Staff
Lydia Garcia-Usry, DNP ’19, RN, PHN
For Dr. Garcia-Usry, making a difference means cultivating nursing students who impact and, ultimately, transform the local community through service that extends beyond the hospital with a focus on whole-person care.
Jill Brennan-Lincoln, MA
Brennan-Lincoln’s favorite part of being a professor is the one-on-one time she gets with students, which she uses to help them become exceptional at their craft so they can make an impact for Christ.
Dave Blomquist, MA
Blomquist loves being a coach, and comes alongside his players to help them discover their passions and giftings and how those things are pointing them to God’s mission for their lives.
Ta’Tyana Leonard, MDiv
Leonard takes great joy in helping students discover all of who they are—including their spiritual, emotional, and creative facets—so they learn to see themselves the way God sees them.
Curtis Isozaki ’14, MA ’18, CF-LSP
Curtis loves coming alongside students as a mentor and a friend in his role as director of strategic initiatives and enrollment in the Honors College. His intentional approach to spending time with students—from the admissions process to commencement and beyond—shows that he cares for and believes in them.
Kevin Sheng-Lin Huang, PhD, and Louise Ko Huang, PhD
Kevin and Louise Huang feel privileged to journey alongside students as they grow in their faith and their knowledge of the sciences at APU. Their mentorship extends beyond the classroom, as they invite students over for home-cooked meals at Café Huang to connect about what God is doing in their lives.
Cultivating Belonging
Whether it’s a spontaneous conversation taking place on Cougar Walk, a team of lab students working together in Segerstrom Science Center, or a community celebration at the baptismal pond, belonging is a central aspect of the APU student experience. This Christ-centered community supports students as they seek answers to life’s most important questions and grow in their faith so that they can serve others and impact the world for Christ.
Meet Our Students
Clifford Young III ’23
Clifford, APU's Student Government Association president, is pursuing kinesiology and honors humanities with a minor in psychology while also working on campus. Wherever he finds himself, he strives to lead with grace and compassion.
Tiffany Nakla ’22
Tiffany double-majored in honors humanities and biochemistry and is studying to become a doctor whose empathy and compassion are hallmarks of her medical practice.
Charlie Max Reynolds ’25
Charlie, a Christian ministry major and honors humanities minor, feels his APU experience has reframed the way he understands how to glorify God across all areas of life—the big moments and the small.
Jada Tarvin Abu-Bekr ’22
Jada draws upon her social work degree, life experience, and relationship with Christ as she seeks to promote restorative justice in families and communities.
James Lee, MA ’23
James feels a deep calling to give back and help others in his community grow and heal, so he's studying to be a licensed marriage and family therapist.
Tessie Scavone ’21, MAEd ’23
Tessie has experienced growth as a teacher, athlete, and follower of Christ during her time at APU. As the captain of the swimming and diving team, she desires that her teammates know how invaluable they are to the team and to God.
Denney Premkumar ’23
Denney emphasizes that music education is not about the self, but about service to others. As president of Men’s Chorale, he follows Christ’s example, encouraging compassion and community through action.
Karla Consuelo Alejandro Meza ’22, MS ’23
Karla uses her psychology degree and experiences from the leadership roles she held on campus to follow God's call and lead in ways that help amplify the voices of others.
Cultivating Impact
Meet Our Alumni
Annie MacAulay ’11
Annie MacAulay ’11 founded Mountain and Sea Adventures (MSA), which provides educational science camps that benefit hundreds of students every year.
Juli (McGowan ’01) Boit
Juli (McGowan ’01) Boit recognizes the key to caring for the sick and dying goes beyond treatment and medicine to loving and caring for the whole person.
Darnell Abraham ’09
APU alumnus Darnell Abraham ’09 stars in Hamilton and uses the gift of his influence to build bridges in the entertainment industry.
Rene Colon ’14, MDiv ’16
Rene Colon ’14, MDiv ’16, is formally trained in pastoral leadership, but his role in ministry is anything but conventional. With a gift for understanding and connecting with others, Rene helps people meet Christ wherever they happen to be—in a church pew, through a film, or amid times of great loss.
Tiffany (Porter ’06) Moore
Tiffany (Porter ’06) Moore sees miracles in action every day in the lives of more than 400 South and East Los Angeles students who attend KIPP Scholar Academy, the college-preparatory school she founded and leads.
Gabriel Martin ’17
Alpha leader. Resident advisor. Biology major. Nine-time Mexico Outreach participant. Gabriel Martin ’17 learned and served in each of these roles during his time at Azusa Pacific. A full-tuition Trustees’ Scholarship made all of it possible.
Kim Lu Lawe, Ed.D. ’16
Hope, perseverance, and the power of shared vision. A leader in secondary education, Kim Lu Lawe, Ed.D. ’16, applies this mindset every day as director of the Eastvale STEM Academy in Riverside County, California.
Matt Klingler, DPT ’16
Azusa Pacific University alumnus Matt Klingler, DPT ’16, is applying his expertise as a movement science specialist to help people prevent injury and improve their fitness and function, thanks to the lessons he learned during his time in APU's Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
Stephen Vogt ’07
Continuing an outstanding season with the Oakland A’s, former Azusa Pacific standout Stephen Vogt was selected for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star team as a reserve catcher for the American League.