As Biola ushers in a new class in the fall, Associated Students and the Student Missionary Union will be also be rolling out several new changes when the new AS and SMU staff members take office. Both student-run organizations will also see restructuring, as new positions are added.
AS will be seeing a restructure within the Social Board to better balance out the workload of the board staff, who organized approximately 16 events this year. The restructure will include the addition of a music and arts coordinator to both split the number of duties and reach a broader audience in terms of musical style, said junior Chris Yim, AS president-elect and current Emerson senator.
“These two positions will make it more efficient and will allow us to meet with the student body,” said Yim, who said he plans to reinforce a professional atmosphere that is still welcoming to students.
AS and SMU to see new positions next year
Additionally, with the departure of International Student Association to International Student Services and multicultural relations to Multi-Ethnic Programs & Development, a diversity liaison position is in the process of being finalized. Yim believes the creation of these positions will improve the efficiency of AS and allow them to meet better with the study body.
SMU will also see three new positions this coming year. According to sophomore Stephen Croft, SMU president-elect and current co-director of prayer, there will be two ministry development coordinators and a position that will work with networking events integration.
“Really, that’s looking at how we as SMU can encourage students towards networking with one another and integrating a missional lifestyle. How do you integrate that with the church, how do you integrate it with your spiritual walk?” Croft said. “So I’m really excited for those positions. [There will be] a lot of training and a lot of vision casting in the fall.”
Networking to be emphasized in the fall
Croft, who hopes to see unity built through the integration of ministry and community, said there will be ministry clubs next year to help students get connected and further involved. Croft said he has already begun working with different ministries.
AS will also help students with networking. Yim said he has been talking with Career Development since January and plans to work with them on a more consistent basis to provide students with internships and jobs after graduation. Yim hopes to institute casual, monthly gatherings for networking opportunities between students and professionals.
“Biola has continued to maintain that students value one another in an intentional, spiritual community,” Croft said.
Croft’s statement reflects one of the main goals of Yim, who will be implementing the practice of intentional prayer in the AS office. This will also include prayer among the staff, as well as a prayer box outside the AS office for students to submit prayer requests, Yim said.
“A main goal of mine is to make sure that AS is moving the campus toward God,” Yim said. “I want to make sure that God’s getting the glory.”
