Caring for university students' needs is a key part of helping them succeed academically. And making sure that the services provided to La Sierra University students stay relevant to a changing student population is Yami Bazan's new mission—and ministry.

Bazan joined LSU's administrative team as vice president for Student Life in July 2007 after serving nearly eight years as associate youth director in the Southeastern California Conference.

"Students typically spend four to six hours per day in a classroom setting. Student life interacts with them the rest of the time," says Bazan. "For students to be most successful at their academics, they need their mental, physical and spiritual health to be at the top level. That's the gift of Student Life."

Bazan has begun building partnerships between academic areas and student life's 11 departments and services.

Engaging student leadership is a second critical part of Bazan's objective. "I sit with students in the cafeteria, and go to the events, listening to them. I believe we serve God by how we serve our students. It's an accountability thing," she says.

"One of my goals is to eventually help every first-year student arriving at La Sierra to discover their strengths, and then design programs and classes that help them develop those strengths during their four years here," Bazan says.

Providing growth opportunities for the Student Life professional team is Bazan's third area of focus. "Our people deserve the education necessary to better do what they are responsible for."

She also wants to develop a multicultural philosophy of student development. "La Sierra's diversity is a tremendous source of strength," Bazan says. "But as our demographics change, we need to understand the differences in the students. As an Adventist university, we need to create models of what healthy relationships look like for our students. Through Student Life, our deans can talk about that in the dormitories, Pastor Sam can preach about it, our health services and counseling people can offer students the support they need in crisis moments."

Bazan's new position is a homecoming for her, as well. She attended the elementary school and academy before earning a bachelor's degree in 1993 and a master's from La Sierra's School of Education in 2001. She and her husband, Daniel, met and married while LSU students in 1991. Their son, Danny, is a third-grader at La Sierra Elementary.

"As a student, La Sierra taught me that it was okay to think," she remembers. "La Sierra University encouraged me to ask questions I'd never asked before. This university has created a community that says that it's important to know the questions people ask. We aren't about putting our heads in the sand. We embrace the fact we're different. I love the way we ask questions.

"I never really left La Sierra," Bazan continues. During her career as a teacher in the SECC, Bazan organized events for academy students, which she held on the LSU campus. She also had LSU students join her for presentations at various school weeks of prayer, where they would share their journey with God.

"When I was at the conference office, I used La Sierra constantly. When I visited churches, I would teach workshops trying to get students interested in Christian higher education and La Sierra University," she adds." It seems like everything I've done has led me right back to here."