The Azusa Pacific Blog » MAS

Students In-Focus: Chanel Fuchigami

Karen Rouggly — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:52:05 +0000

Hello Hello! It’s time to bring you another edition of our Students In-Focus! This week, we’re focusing on Chanel Fuchigami! She’s quite popular in our office, around campus, and has even been on national TV! While you may have seen her just once on Wipeout – we get to see her shining face everyday! Here’s a bit about her:

Chanel Fuchigami

1. What is your name? Chanel Fuchigami

2. What is your major? Applied Health

3. What is your role in the MAS office? SMC for Open Door Soccer League

4. What do you love about your ministry/your job? Being surrounded by great people who I can learn from, share life and laugh with.

Students In-Focus: DianaPamela Armijo

Karen Rouggly — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:43:47 +0000

Hello Hello! It’s the week before Spring Break here at APU so things are winding down around the office. But before everyone leaves to their respective places to a time to rest and relax, I wanted to present to you another Student In-Focus from our office! This week, I am pleased to introduce to you, DianaPamela Armijo – or Diana for short! Here she is, as well as her answers to our questions:

1. What is your name? DianaPamela Herrera Armijo… but Diana for short

2. What is your major? Business Administration

3. What is your role in the MAS office? Student Ministry Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity

Students In-Focus: Claire Heddles

Karen Rouggly — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:13:40 +0000

Here we are again with another Student In-Focus! This week, we’re bringing you the wonderful Claire Heddles. She’s one of the Student Ministry Coordinators for LA 101. Claire has been dedicated to our office for two years, and we’re sad to see her go, but we’re REALLY excited for what she’s got next in her life. Between Claire’s bright smile and ever-changing fashion – she’s sure to make an impact on this world. Check her out:

Claire Heddles

1. What is your name? Claire Heddles

2. What is your major? Major: Sociology Minors: Global Studies and Economics

3. What is your role in the MAS office? LA 101 Student Ministry Coordinator

Students In-Focus: Christine Escoto

Karen Rouggly — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:52:02 +0000

Hey wonderful blog readers! This semester, the MAS office has the pleasure of introducing you to a few of our WONDERFUL students! We’ve got 18 student workers that work in our office in various positions, including Student Ministry Coordinators and Administrative Assistants. We also have about 25 Lead Volunteers who assist our SMC’s on a daily basis in each ministry. We’d love to introduce you to some of these great students that we’ve had the honor of working with the past year or more! We’ve decided to start by highlighting our students who are Seniors this year. We’ve asked them the same set of questions, about them, their ministry , and their time at APU. Below, you’ll find our first ~~victim~~, student to present to you: Christine Escoto!

Cerritos Kidz

Karen Rouggly — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:48:16 +0000

Wow! Can you believe it’s finals week? We can’t here in the MAS office! It’s been a great semester filled with some wonderful ministries! All of our office has been so blessed by the highlights of ministries throughout the semester. It’s been wonderful to see God at work in our student ministry coordinators, our volunteers, our community partners and our cities. Here’s some highlights from another fantastic ministry, Cerritos Kidz. This ministry gives APU students the opportunity to participate in community development through relationships with Azusa’s youth. Volunteers will have an opportunity to tutor local children, lead a wide variety of activities, facilitate an on-site library, conduct language classes with families, and participate in community meals. This program is an excellent way to live out the mission of Christ through relationships with others.

Door of Hope

Karen Rouggly — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:32:48 +0000

Hope everyone is getting ready for a wonderful Thanksgiving! It feels like this semester has just flown by, hasn’t it? It’s been a great journey thus far and one of the highlights here in the MAS office is serving in our ministries! This week – I wanted to highlight for you Door of Hope! At the Door of Hope, located in Pasadena, students will have the opportunity to serve and build relationships with families who are transitioning out of homelessness. Through after-school tutoring, free babysitting, work projects at the facility, and other activities with those living at the Door of Hope, volunteers will be challenged and encouraged in their life, faith, and concepts of love and justice. Here’s a sneak peak into Student Ministry Coordinator Alicia Dill’s daily life at Door of Hope:

Azusa Food Banks

Karen Rouggly — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:44:35 +0000

This week’s focus is on the APU partnership with Azusa Food Banks! This article follows a day in the life of Cory’s Kitchen and Foothill Community Church! Take a peek inside:

“Canyon Christian Fellowship Church ministers to over 200 families each month in need of food through the food bank provided by Cory’s Kitchen, a food distribution ministry. Every Monday three groups of students work alongside this food bank for 2 hours. The first group arrives at 2pm and helps unload all of the food delivered in trucks to the site. They begin the distribution of groceries into paper bags; they set up chairs where the community members will sit while waiting for their number to be called after registering to receive food. A second group of Azusa Pacific University students arrives at 5:00pm. They help with the final tasks of preparation before the community members arrive at 6pm to start the distribution process. Such tasks may be taking eggs, milk, and frozen goods out of freezers and refrigerator and bagging them. They also organize and package any extra donations from local stores, such as flowers or perishable foods from Fresh and Easy. At 6pm Maria, the pastors wife and coordinator of Cory’s Kitchen, greets all of the community members present. She begins with leading a devotional and closing with a prayer. Those that help at Cory’s Kitchen are aware that some people come not only in hope of receiving groceries, but are also seeking compassion and comfort that can always be found in the Lord our Savior. After the prayer and devotional, the community members move through each station in the food bank. There is a student volunteer is at each point in the distribution site. They help with various tasks including: distributing the bread, desserts, and flowers (if any) to each community member, placing different bags of food into a big container, and carrying the items to the customer. The last group of students arrive at 7pm and finish helping in the distribution process, which ends at 8pm. Then they help with the clean up process which involves wiping down countertops, folding chairs and tables and putting them away. Before leaving, all of the volunteers from the church and APU students get together in a circle and Maria presents words of appreciation. She also presents some of the highlights of the night, such as having a hairstylist give free haircuts to men, who have been refused service at barbershops because their hair was unwashed or due to their odor. Finally we close in prayer and offer all the work of the day to God, something that is always heartwarming.

LA 101

Karen Rouggly — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:10:05 +0000

: LA 101

A couple of weeks ago – our office hosted our first LA 101 educational experience of the semester! This trip is always a highlight for APU students who enjoy learning more about our neighboring metropolis. Hear about how this trip went:

Imagine a city. In fact, imagine a sprawling metropolis; street lights, sirens, walls garnished with graffiti, monumental religious buildings and the busy ethos of urban life. A diverse array of foods, creative and progressive organizations, and stratified inequalities give Los Angeles its distinct character. These realities are a glimpse of what LA 101 explores.

This past weekend, 5 students joined us for 4-days to better understand life in this city. Staying in Koreatown, we spent our days examining food justice issues, the daily manifestation of the judicial system on LA’s streets, economic and housing inequality, and the role art plays in expressing and building cultural identity.

Open Door Soccer League

Karen Rouggly — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:36:17 +0000

Soccer…little kids…Saturday mornings…what could be better? For Chanel Fuchigami, our Student Ministry Coordinator for Open Door Soccer League, and her tutors – not much! Open Door Soccer League (ODSL) is a an incredible avenue for promoting cross-cultural relationships and reciprocal learning between the youth of Azusa and APU students through the game of soccer. The children also learn important life lessons in teamwork through mentorship and coaching. Students also have an opportunity to take children to L.A. Galaxy games through the Kicks for Kids program. A growing partnership with the Church of the Open Door and APU allows students to participate in coaching kids throughout the year.

Our Neighborhood Homework House

Karen Rouggly — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:21:25 +0000

Part of what we do in the Office of Ministry and Service is to mobilize students to serve in the local community. We offer 13 different ways for students to become directly connected to Azusa and Los Angeles through our office and each ministry as a Student Coordinator that works as a liason between MAS and the community partner to support them and students on campus. I’ve asked each Student Ministry Coordinator to write about their ministry sometime throughout the year to give us a picture of what each ministry is like.

This week – Tatiana Balcazar wants to share about her experience at Our Neighborhood Homework House. Tatiana is a Senior this year and majoring in International Business. She has been working at the Neighborhood Homework House as a volunteer for two years and is excited to be coordinating the ministry on campus this year. Some of her tutors have had a life-changing experience working at the Homework House and here’s one: