Written by Kathryn Ross
Brian Kam ‘10 has known he wanted to teach math since he was in middle school. Understanding that a strong teacher needed a strong education, Kam chose APU for his undergraduate work, saying, “I was [also] interested in music and studying the Bible. I knew that I could get a good math education and be able to study other things I was passionate about [at APU].”
He went on to earn a Masters of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania and has since earned prestigious awards such as Teacher of the Year and an Achievement Award in 2013 and 2019 respectively.
Kam’s choice of APU certainly paid off as his education helped position him for many opportunities and successes, the first of which being his time with Teach for America. “My career started with Teach for America in Camden, New Jersey,” says Kam. “I chose to work with TFA because of my education and time at APU. As a student, I had many classes that were grounded in service-learning and these experiences led me to want a career that was devoted to service.”
After his time with Teach for America, Kam took a job with Google as a Computer Science Teaching Fellow, confident that his background and training with Azusa Pacific were more than enough to ensure he was a good fit for the role.
“There were many aspects of the [APU Math] program such as tutoring, having to take computer science coursework, and being able to do research as an undergraduate that [provided me with] the foundational skills to do the job,” says Kam. His role at Google required savvy leadership skills, attention to detail, and talent in the mathematics field, all of which Kam developed while at APU.
In time, however, Kam found that he missed being in the classroom.
“Working at Google was really fun, but it didn’t have the service component I knew I wanted in my career,” Kam notes. What many would consider a dream job had something missing, and Kam took this to heart. “I would often think about the Biblical studies and theology courses I took while at APU,” he says. “When I was thinking about leaving Google, I had many people tell me I was crazy. In those moments, I would come back to Philippians 3 and how I should ‘consider all things loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.’ I didn’t feel like I was advancing the kingdom at Google, so I felt unsettled my entire time there. I always found myself coming back to what I learned in those courses: that we should be serving ‘the widow, orphan, oppressed, and the alien.’”
In the end, it was the time, experience, and Christ-centered education Kam received at APU that influenced his final decision: “I went back to the classroom with STRIVE Prep,” he says, “and have seen a combination of service and leadership...in this environment.”
Though everyone’s journey, career goals, and ideals are sure to be different, Kam offers a last bit of overarching advice for future and current students: “Get really involved in one aspect of APU student life…volunteer and work in different places around the LA area that are in need on a regular basis to see where you might want to impact society when you graduate…and get to know professors and employers and make life-long friends who can give you advice [beyond APU] and help you on life’s journey.”
