On the morning of Jan. 3, phones of Biola students and alumni alike started buzzing and lighting up with notifications. President Barry Corey had just gone viral for doing something that he is well-known for on his school’s campus—taking a selfie.

Outside the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, paparazzi video cameras caught Justin Bieber spontaneously serenading Corey on the night of Jan. 2. The pop star proceeded to reach out his hand to Biola’s president, and Corey took Bieber’s hand and pulled him and eventually Bieber’s wife Hailey in for a selfie. The video of this encounter originated on TMZ and went viral on various platforms such as the Cut, Elle and Christianity Today

“It is amazing to think of what is happening with people taking videos and photos without my even realizing it! I thought with my lost selfie that the event was just going to be a story to my kids,” Corey told the Chimes in an email. “You can’t imagine how surprised I was the next morning at work someone showed me the TMZ video, and my text messages started lighting up. People I’ve known for years are now calling me ‘some random guy.’”  

While those who follow Corey’s social media and encounter him on campus may be aware of his face-cropping selfie skills, nationally known bloggers such as Ella Ceron from the Cut marveled at the photo-taking, claiming Corey is “an influencer in the making.”

Many students also found out about Corey’s encounter with Bieber through OVERHEARD@Biola on Facebook, where they speculated as to whether it was really him.

“At first, I didn’t believe it was him,” said junior sociology major Elisia Sanchez. “And then, I watched the video that TMZ had, and they showed the guy taking a selfie, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s DBC, because DBC takes a selfie wherever he goes.”

Students soon confirmed the truth, and Biola itself followed suit with a post from its official Twitter account. Students and alumni began posting memes and jokes about the encounter.

Justin Bieber will headline Biola’s annual Torrey Conference with the theme Sexual Healing: God’s Grace for Restoration from Guilt and Shame pic.twitter.com/LIp0gmMyOh

— Biola Facts (@BiolaFax) January 3, 2019

OVERHEARD users also added hashtags such as #thatsmypresident, and one even wrote a fake Chimes article jokingly claiming that Bieber caused Corey to “stumble.” Biola alumni have posted updates following the story and showing pride for their alma mater.

“It made me feel like, ‘Oh that’s the Biola culture.’ Like DBC was being authentic and so it made me feel proud that I was led by someone who’s so authentic and friendly,” said alumna Janda Chassé.

Corey stressed the importance of being kind to strangers and sends an invitation to Bieber to visit the campus.

“When someone reaches out, you reach back. It’s the kind thing to do,” Corey said in the email. “We need more of this in our world these days, people reaching out to strangers and strangers reaching back. I would have liked to tell Justin Bieber that I have a Canadian passport, that I am at a faith-based college and that he needs to come and visit Biola. As he reached out to me, I would like to reach out to him. Maybe he would like to come and visit our Center for Marriage and Relationships, which I think would be good for all newlyweds.”