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Hello, my name is Liz Chen and I'm from the San Francisco bay area. My husband, Jolly and I dropped off our oldest, Solomon, on the Men of Honor (MOH) floor in Horton back in 2015. He enjoyed his time at Biola, made lifelong friends and grew spiritually. When we said goodbye to him, we knew that Biola would come alongside him and be there for him. After graduating in 2018 with a degree in Political Science, Solomon is currently in the Washington DC area working in Congress as part of the House committee on education and labor. Now in 2022, we will be sending our youngest, Elijah to Hope Hall. He is ready for his next season of life and we couldn’t be happier that he chose Biola. We are now empty-nesters and look forward to seeing how God will grow us in our next season. I’m excited to be a part of the Biola Parent Council and look forward to partnering with the other council members and Biola staff to bring God glory through his work here at Biola and beyond.

We’re Anthony and Arica and we’re both Bay Area natives. We have three wonderful children and our oldest, Amaya, is entering her second year at Biola. Biola has felt like home since we first visited in 2019. We loved the intimate feel of the campus and the peace we both experienced while visiting. Amaya entered Biola with an undeclared major but towards the end of her freshman year decided on a communications major. She settled right in, making friends and building relationships with other students and professors. She has a great group of friends that did so many things together; from attending a local church, to trips to downtown Disney. We’ve seen her grow and mature personally as well as spiritually. She also did well academically, making the Dean’s list both semesters of her freshman year. We are so thankful that God has led Amaya and our family to Biola. It was very clear from the beginning that this was God’s plan. Amaya applied for several schools, in and out of the area. She received her first acceptance letter from Biola along with an academic scholarship. This was a confirmation and answer to our prayers.

Please feel free to contact us (aaaclement@sbcglobal.net) if you’d like to chat about our experience which includes the full range of emotions or if you’d just like to pray about where God is leading your student.

We are Ron and Karen Firstbrook, and our daughter Emily will graduate from Biola with an Elementary Education degree in the Spring of 2023. Biola was an unexpected, yet easy decision for our family! Emily was pursuing a public college experience when we visited Biola on a whim and we all fell in love with what we saw, heard and experienced at Biola! Not every second of Emily's Biola experience has been easy, but all of it has produced great spiritual growth and personal maturity in Emily. Her first semester at school was a rocky start, but Emily and our family are committed to Biola and we are so grateful she is there! From professors who pray individually for students and reach out in times of trial, to Residence Life faculty to custodial staff, Emily has been cared for, challenged and prayed over consistently!

Emily has had the opportunity to work in the Library, was a Resident Advisor in the Blackstone dormitory and will next be the Community Coordinator for SEID. We love that Emily has excellent educational opportunities as well as phenomenal work and leadership opportunities at Biola!

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions! We love to share our experience as Biola parents and would love to serve you in any way we can. Email us at 3firstgirls@gmail.com (Karen) or rfirstbrook@yahoo.com (Ron).

Cindy and I are the proud parents of Lindsey Gilbert, a Psychology major and a member of the Class of 2023, and Cameron Gilbert who graduated from Biola in 2014 with Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology.

As parents it has been a wonderful experience to watch Lindsey blossom from being the shy, quiet introvert she has always been to the outgoing, spontaneous, and free spirit she has grown into during her first year at Biola. Cindy and I are convinced that the personal strides Lindsey has made is due to the extraordinary love and acceptance she has received from the devoted professors, supportive staff and the amazing students of Biola.

We love our Biola family and Cindy and I are available to assist you in any way we can. God bless you all.

My name is Heydi Grajeda and I feel very blessed that my daughter is a Biolan. My husband and I always dreamed that Grace and her siblings would be able to go to university. When it was time for Grace to choose where she was going to go to university we prayed to our Heavenly Father that he would lead her to a place where she can grow and mature in her faith. On April 3, 2019, Grace received her acceptance letter from Biola in the mail. That day we received the best news of our life. Grace immediately committed to Biola after receiving her acceptance letter and my husband and I were overjoyed. We had the privilege of visiting Biola’s campus in the summer of 2019 and from the minute I stepped foot onto campus I could feel the Holy Spirit’s presence. That day God confirmed to me that Biola was the place He wanted Grace to be and that the Lord had answered our prayers. Grace is now a junior at Biola and is majoring in Journalism and Integrated Media with a minor in both art and biblical studies. We have seen God’s goodness through her professors and classmates. Grace has been a part of New Student Orientation since the end of her freshman year. It was such a wonderful experience to see how much love radiated off of the New Student Orientation team and how Grace has flourished since she started working for NSO. Seeing Grace grow and mature reminds me of Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” The Lord has taught us to let Him work in her life and that we have nothing to worry about because He has everything under control. If you ever feel the need to pray or would just like to chat you can contact me at hgrajeda24@gmail.com.

We are Fred and Lisa Hawley from Everett, WA. Our daughter Marin is a freshman Pre-Nursing student at Biola (anticipated ‘25 grad), and our son Landon is a Biola graduate (’20), with a degree in Communications. Our entire family loves Biola, and we are so grateful that Biola has held firmly to teaching Biblical truth and equipping our kids to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ! Our son spent a fabulous four years at Biola, growing tremendously in his walk with the Lord, developing a great community of Jesus-loving friends, building strong relationships with his professors, gaining excellent learning and preparation for his future career, and having an absolute blast! That’s not to say there were no struggles along the way, but we don’t think we could have asked for much more in his college experience, and we are excited to watch our daughter’s own personal journey, during her years at Biola.

Biola has so much to offer! Our son’s years at Biola included playing almost every intramural sport available, being part of Biola’s Rich Kids Comedy improv club, competing in Biola’s Mock Rock, volunteering on a Missions Conference team, working various on-campus jobs (Student Ambassador, Intramural Sports Coordinator, TA for a professor), living in the dorms without a car the first two years, then off-campus with a car, finding a local church home and getting involved on their worship team, and starting out as an undeclared major before deciding on Communications. Both our kids received excellent academic scholarships from Biola. We’ve also walked with our daughter through preparation for the Biola Nursing program, with some of its prerequisites. Hopefully these experiences our family has had at Biola, can help us answer questions or concerns you may have, and we’d love to talk with you anytime, to share information, offer support and encouragement, or pray for you! Please feel free to reach out to us at fredandlisa@frontier.com.

We are Ted and Penny Malley, parents of four great kids, living in Arroyo Grande, CA. Our oldest, Katie (Spring ‘22) is majoring in Public Relations with a minor in Art. She has participated as a chapel intern with Spiritual Development, helping run the mid-week After Dark chapel. We were thrilled when she told us that out of all of the great colleges she’d been accepted to, she had chosen Biola! Penny graduated from Biola with her teaching credential in 1994, so we knew what a rich education and strong spiritual foundation this school provides. Our son Tyler (‘25) is an Engineering major, excited to participate in the fantastic Engineering program where he spends three years at Biola and two years at USC, expecting to graduate with two degrees. We’d love to see their younger siblings attend one day, too! Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions, we’d love to talk with you! E-mail us at pennyemalley@gmail.com and tedmalley@gmail.com.

We have been grateful for Biola University since we stepped on campus in 2015. In the Fall of 2022, we had the privilege of sending our fourth child, Rebekah (2026), to begin her education at Biola. We have grown in our appreciation of Biola each year, as each of our four children have chosen to attend Biola. Andrew graduated in 2019 with a degree in Biblical and Theological Studies and is working at a church and school in Kirkland, WA. Sarah played on the tennis team, completed Torrey Honors and graduated with a degree in Human Biology in 2021. She is now attending OHSU in Portland, OR, studying to become a Nurse Practitioner. Claire is our senior, thriving in accounting, expecting to graduate in 2023, and plans to continue with a graduate degree in advanced accounting (2024). Rebekah, our youngest, is looking forward to paving her own academic experience at Biola. She is excited to invest in a variety of activities, studies, leadership and this community.

Over the past seven years, the two of us have been deeply impressed with the constant focus on Jesus, and a Christian worldview emphasized in the classroom and campus life. We welcome and value connecting with others, and should you have questions, we would love to chat, connect, pray, eat and/or grab coffee. You may reach us at david@motantivy.com or susan@motantivy.com.

We are Dan and Bernice Ramirez and live in La Mirada about 5 minutes from Biola. Biola is a wonderful place to send your children for an education. Our son Danny is going to be a junior this coming fall. He is a Bible/Theological Studies major and is involved in the scuba diving club and Alpha Bible Study club. He has developed strong friendships with other students from Biola and just loves being on campus even when he doesn't have school. If he isn't home we know he is at Biola or out for coffee with a friend from Biola. We love these ties of his.

The professors at Biola are so caring and pour Godly wisdom and advice into the students. They have helped Danny during difficult times. We are so grateful to them. The campus is also safe and very well taken care of. My husband and I enjoy spending time on campus walking around the track, getting lunch at the caf or getting coffee at Common Grounds. We love Biola and hope to see Daniel's younger siblings attend there as well. Biola gives you a top-notch education in a safe, Godly environment.

We would be happy to assist your student in any way we can since we are local. We would love to pray with you and/or your student for direction and peace. We are here if you need us. Your student is welcome to come over anytime! And you're welcome to call us for advice.

We are Jon and Laura Sizelove and are currently living in the bay area. We are so delighted that our oldest son Mark decided to attend Biola. Mark will graduate in 2025 with a double major in biblical studies and philosophy, a part of Talbot’s Accelerated Master's Program hoping to be able to finish in 2026 with his M.A., and he is also part of the Torrey Honors College. In addition to his academics, Mark throws the discus and hammer for Biola’s track team. Mark lives in Hart Hall on the floor they lovingly call Haven. The friendships he has made with his floor mates have truly made “Haven” a home away from home. This group of young men attend a local church, celebrate birthdays, play intramural sports, explore Southern California and pray and support each other like brothers carrying each other through both the good and difficult times. This has been everything a parent could pray for in a residence hall environment. The Torrey Honors College has also been life-changing for Mark. The relationships he’s been able to develop with his cohort and mentors have been deeper than we could have ever imagined and they have been able to push Mark spiritually, academically, and personally to become a wonderful maturing Godly young man.

Mark’s younger sister is in high school and has her heart set on joining Biola’s cinema and media arts program, and it would not be surprising if their youngest brother, who is only in middle school, someday becomes an Eagle as well.

In our family we bleed Biola red! Biola is part of Mark’s DNA, since we met as students and Mark was born while we were working at Biola. Jon graduated from Biola in 1995, and went on to graduate from Talbot in 2001 & 2005. He’s currently a student again, working on a Doctorate of Ministry at Talbot. Laura graduated from Biola in 1996 and also graduated from Talbot in 2001. In addition to his parents, 4 of Mark’s aunts and uncles have attended Biola as well and his grandfather even served on the Parent Council.

Biola has had an immeasurable impact on our lives and we are so honored to serve as part of Biola’s Parent Council. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Email us at laura.sizelove@gmail.com (Laura) or jon.sizelove@biola.edu (Jon).