Christmas Break!

It's been a while since I've posted. My friends keep on telling me that I need to post something new, but I have tried to not post anything unless something significant has happened. I guess I'm going to try to break that habit and try to post more often, and really reveal myself. I wouldn't know that I have so many avid readers out there since no one comments on anything...HINT HINT.
Anyways, I have finished my first semester at Geneva College. It has been a sweet semester and I couldn't have asked for a better start to this new chapter in life. I still look back at it and think that I shouldn't be where I am right now. Being at a different Christian College has been a breathe of fresh air. It has given me perspective in the things that I should look for when seeking my next job at a Christian institution. I definitely loved my time at Covenant, and don't have any regrets. I learned a lot about myself, and gained valuable experiences, but hindsight is 20/20.
I think what has made my transition so easy to Geneva has been the RD's. You guys are great and have made me feel welcome, loved and appreciated. I've told some of you this before but I think I lost confidence in myself socially when I was at Covenant. My life was my job, and I had no social life outside of it. I didn't have peers to confide in and I felt like I was a burden to my peers. I couldn't be myself....it was weird. It's been the total opposite at Geneva and the RD's are the main reason for this change.

Totally switching subjects now. I am at home in South Pas. I love home and I'm proud that I'm from LA. I love that movies are filmed in my town. I love that I get to watch the Lakers on TV. I love my house and my bed. I love being able to sleep in everyday when I'm here. I love my Mom's home cooking, and all the great food here. I could probably write a whole post on different places to eat in LA. I love that I get to come home to sunshine and warm weather no matter what month it is.
(Preface: I can't believe I'm saying this but it's really how I feel.)
It's always bitter sweet though because I don't have too many friends here anymore. I definitely regret not keeping up with High School friends, but that is another post. There is SO MUCH to do here but there is no one to do it with...wow that sounds really depressing. I guess what I'm trying to say is, that I can't wait for the day I can bring my wife( God willing) and show her around. I want to take her to Disneyland and take pictures with Mickey hats. I want to go to the "Price is Right" and try to win "A BRAND NEW CAR!!!" I want to drive her in my mom's convertible with the top down and ride up and down Pacific Coast Highway. I want to take her on top of Mulholland Drive at night and stare at the LA lights.

So what does an RD do? Well, the picture to the left is a brief snapshot of a day in the life. This past Saturday the RD's in the apartments hosted Thanksgiving Dinner for our residents. We had about 150 students show up so thank goodness we made 5 Turkeys. I just want to say thank you to my mom for cooking Thanksgiving dinner all these years. It's no easy task, and carving a turkey is no easy thing either. Those things are hot, greasy, and hot....
Brian(another RD) and I went shopping Friday night and joked around about what it means to work in Student Development. In every job description for Student Development you will always see the following words, "any other tasks or responsibilities given to you by the Dean of Students and/or other supervisors".
This means that you will become good at random things. This list includes but are not limited too;
1. Buying massive amounts of food from Wal-Mart or Sam's Club
2. Trying to guesstimate how many students will show up for an event.
3. Carrying massive amounts of food and drinks into cramp spaces, in severe whether conditions.
4. Going to meetings with a smile...sometimes.
5. Setting up and cleaning up for events.
6. Closing off the month of August for some type of training, Orientation, or welcome week.
7. Grabbing "coffee" to catch up with students, co-workers and friends.

A list of things that I never thought I'd be doing for my last 2 jobs.
1. Cutting wood posts in a shirt and tie with a hacksaw.
2. Dressing up in 80's clothes while rollerskating with students till 3am.
3. Apologizing to Aquarium authorities for near deaths to fish, turtles and other exotic marine creatures.
4. Defrosting 5 turkeys in my bathtub and cutting 10 onions the next morning.
5. Taking multiple trips on a bus or in a van to and from the airport at ungodly hours.
6. Making students do stupid games that I created in college for Rec Classes, for bonding purposes.
7. Convincing people that I am not a student, but a worker at the college....Do I really look that young?
8. Hearing, an improve skit quoted to me EVERYDAY...."I'm Scott Hwang, you don't even know!" is so dead to me, but the students here don't realize it.

Back from NCMSLC

This past weekend I attended the National Christian Multi-Cultural Student Leadership Conference. I along with 3 other staff members and some 50 plus students made the trip to Eastern University near Philadelphia, PA. As soon as we arrived the students received a lecture from Tony Campolo. Tony spoke on different controversial topics like homosexuality and illegal immigration. His theories on these topics were outside of the box and something you wouldn't think a "Christian" would say. But that was the purpose of Tony's talk, to start conversation and a mentality of approaching things in a different way. Students were exposed to several different speakers and presenters throughout the weekend.

I attended a workshop on racism and was challenged by the speakers theories and philosophies towards it. According to Ernest Crosby, when we get frustrated or angry when we see or experience racism it is because we personally haven't dealt with the pain and sores that we have within ourselves. We have sores and scabs over our hearts, and when we get rubbed in the wrong way the sores and scabs are exposed. We need to come to peace with ourselves and begin the healing process. We also are called to speak up when we see or experience racism. If someone tells a racial joke or when a racial act occurs we need to call them out. We are afraid to offend or to cause trouble but without exposing racism it will always be a part our society. Racism will die if we talk about it openly, and more and more people begin to understand why something is offensive.
I was convicted by Ernest' words, because I often step back or don't say anything when something bothers me racially. I got to put this conviction into action when a student from another college said a racial joke about Japanese people while presenting to the larger group. I pulled her aside and told her that I was offended by the joke. I'm not sure how if she really understood why I pulled her aside but I was happy that I talked to her about it and got my feelings off my chest. Hopefully she will think about what she says in the future.

My favorite part of the weekend overall was that I got to meet several students from Geneva and bond with them. It's amazing how one weekend brings people together. It was great to laugh and joke around with students in a different setting.

Life and Death

I received a call this morning from my Mom. I knew what the call was about once I saw that it was her calling. My uncle finally lost his battle with cancer. After going in and out of remission, the cancer spread through his body and finally took its toll.
I got to speak to my uncle about a month ago on the phone, I kind of thought that it would be the last time I would get to talk to him. He kept on giving me advice and lecturing me on different things. Till the end he was still looking out for me.
When I was a little kid he use to reward me every Sunday for going to church. I would get a pack of baseball cards and a slurpee from 7-11. We would go over to his house and I would make him watch "Spaceballs" over and over again, but he would sit there with me every time. We use to go on hikes together and he would always have his whistles and hand them out in case someone got lost. He LOVED nature and being outside. He loved baseball. Maybe thats where I get my passion for the Red Sox. I remember watching the Kirk Gibson homerun with him in 88. Life was so simple then. Everyone in my family loved everyone and there was no complications.
As I grew up more and started putting things together, I realized that my uncle was at the center of lots of drama on my mothers side of the family. I have been pretty upset with him and placed a lot of blame on him for not being able to get together for holidays, and coming in between siblings, but I realize now that he was just a human and he made some mistakes.

I forgive you Sam-chun and I love you. Thanks for loving me and caring for me.

Picking Up the Pieces as I try to live redemptively

It's amazing how things in one aspect of my life can be going so well and how things in another are so broken. My weekend sums it up in a nutshell. I had a really relaxing day off yesterday which included hanging out with some of the RD's playing some video games, going out to Chipotle for dinner and doing some shopping at the mall.

I called my mom last night and she gave me word that my uncle who has been battling cancer for the last 3 years is finally conceding and will let the disease take its course. Mentally and physically he can't handle any more chemo and he just wants to be now. The cancer has now spread throughout his body and only time will tell how long he will last.
My Dad is thinking about taking a job in Florida which would mean that my mom would try to go back and forth from LA to check up on my our house and my sister who is currently living at home. This necessarily isn't a bad thing but it adds more complications into things. Like, where do I go for Christmas break? and my mom also said, "it would be nice if you could live at home with your sister during your summer off..." (Not my idea of a great summer...and my heart has been set to go back to camp this summer)
The final blow I took this weekend was that I got word that one of my old co-workers from Covenant, Rod passed away last night from a heart attack. Rod was an awesome man of God. He was in charge of facilities services and always had a smile on his face. I would see him working at 7am making sure the campus was ready for Orientation and at 12am cleaning up after a big event. I never say him not working hard. He empowered me and trusted me with decisions I didn't think I had the authority to make. He was so genuine and loved Covenant and loved people at Covenant. I know he is in a better place which softens the blow but he will be missed a lot. RIP Peace Rod. You're the man and I know you're smiling down on us now!

Life as an RD

I always wondered what RD's did during the day, or how they always claimed to be so busy. I now understand. Its difficult to explain but somehow your time just disappears even though you don't work from 9-5 or have set office hours. Although I can't claim that I have been woke up at 2am...yet. I do constantly feel that I am "on call". I never feel like my job is done and I can understand how RD's can get stir crazy.

If you ever wonder what people do in student development they are probably
A. In a meeting
B. On the phone trying to figure out when their next meeting is
or
C. In a meeting

So while trying to build relationships, being a "politician", making sure my building is functioning, and trying to live life. I definitely am enjoying it. There is no other job like it.

Following God's will

Lots of things have happened since my last post. I recently took a job as Resident Director position at Geneva College. About 3 and half weeks ago I received an email about a job opportunity at Geneva. The main benefit would be that I could receive free tuition towards earning my Masters Degree.
At first I ignored the email but for some reason could not keep it out of my mind. I decided to talk it over with my roommate Tim. We spoke for about an hour and by the end of the conversation he had motivated me to at least put my name in the hat. Things quickly progressed and I soon had a phone interview and before I knew what to do I was offered the job.
Leaving Covenant was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make in my life. After much prayer and many conversations with people I trusted, I came to the conclusion that God had opened this window and I needed to take the leap. I notified my supervisors and gave them only a few days notice. They were extremely gracious and were excited for me. I called students that I was close with and told them the news. Again, most if not all took the news graciously and supported me in my decision.
I packed up my belongings, loaded up a UHAUL, and towed my car 12 hours to Beaver Falls, PA. I was warmly welcomed and have hit the ground running. Since my move, I have been through RD training and am about to wrap up RA training. New Student Orientation will begin next week and the classes will begin in about 2 weeks.
Do I miss Covenant? Yes.
Do I feel like I'm suppose to be at Geneva? Yes.
Does God ask us to do crazy things and trust him? YES.

With a Heavy Heart...

We received word yesterday that a student from Covenant passed away after having complications from a stroke. Ben was in Kenya visiting his parents who are missionaries when all of this happened. They decided to MediEvac him to South Africa but during the flight he left us and went home to the Lord.
I didn't know Ben too well but 2 things I will remember about him, was that one he worked hard. He worked for facilities services during the school year and was the person that gave people parking tickets if they were parked illegally. Probably not the easiest job to have and you would think he would be often criticized but amazingly enough, I never heard a student say anything bad about Ben. He was just doing his job and he did it well.
The second thing I will remember about Ben and probably the reason why people never got upset with him was that he was always smiling. He was such a joyful guy and loved life.

It was kind of ironic that I was celebrating my birthday while all of this was happening over the weekend. I often become nostalgic during my birthday and love to think about and look at the path that God has taken me thus far, and wonder what the next few years will be like. In the midst of this I wondered why I have gotten to live 26 years and someone like Ben only got 20(an answer I will never know until God calls me up). It has also been a blessing to feel so loved and appreciated on my birthday. Numerous phone calls, text messages and many, many posts on my facebook wall. Thank you all for the love, really.

It's obviously hard when someone passes away, but what eases the pain in this case is that we know that Ben is in a better place. I can't imagine what his family is going through. The Covenant community is still in shock and wondering why? But as we try to adjust to this sad news we will all grasp on a little tighter to the blessings we have on this earth. I personally will tell my friends and family that I love them more. I also hope that this loss of life will invigorate us to embrace our faith in the Lord.

Why is the world so broken?

I feel like I can't handle anymore bad news. In the past few months I have heard several stories of friends, and family who are going through separations or divorces. I don't understand why this is happening especially all at once. I don't know what else to do but to pray for them.
Throughout my Grad School classes we were constantly talking about the Christian Meta-narrative of Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation. I think the hard part of this cycle is that we are constantly still falling. We must strive for redemption in all that we do, but it is so hard when things around us are crumbling and falling to the world. The world of pride, lust, anger, jealousy;SIN.
I am constantly reminded of a message my youth pastor gave me in Junior High. He talked about pain and how without it we would not be able to feel joy. We wouldn't be grateful for what God has done for us in our lives, if our lives were perfect all the time. It would be like living in a fake "shalom" on earth. How many times can I say that I have forgot about God during the good times? But, I can never say that I never thought about God in the hard times.
I'm also reminded of a discussion I had in a literature class immediately following the 9/11 attacks. We discussed what it really means to tell someone, "God bless you."
On the surface, its something we easily say to people, but to really ask God to bless you, means to bring on much more then joy and happiness but also to bring pain and suffering.

So in a sense, God is revealing his blessings around me.

Around the World (US) in a few weeks

So I finally have a free moment and some internet access to write a post. For the past 2 weeks I have been traveling all over the country. I started out in Charlottesville, Virginia for my old roomates wedding. It was an awesome time and again my Christian worlds collided. At this wedding I saw friends from Covenant, friends from Summer's Best, and friends from the Trinity Fellows Program.

I then drove to Chicago/ Indiana for a couple of days. I got to tour the city with a friend Liz and went to my first Cubs game. I got to see old camp friends and experience one of the most historic ball parks in the country. I also ended up on ESPN which I had no idea I was on until my friend tagged photos of me on Facebook.

After Chicago I drove down to West Lafayette, IN where my friends Jon and Lauren from the Fellows program got married. It was so awesome to see all of my fellows classmates except for one who could not make it. It was also great to see my old mentor and fellows director. There is something about being able to have face to face conversations with old friends compared to talking on the phone. It was such a blessing to see everyone and be lifted up through words of encouragement and wisdom. God knew what he was doing when he created fellowship. I expressed how special my fellows class was; to my director Dennis and my old mentor Greg and said "it's hard to be away from all of these guys and know that we might not get another chance to have a group of friends like this ever in our lifetime. It's almost like we tasted a little piece of heaven." God blessed our group so much and all of us still remain very close. They are some of the first people I call when I need prayer or am feeling down. Thank you God for my Fellows Friends!

After the wedding I headed to Cincinnati, OH for a Reds game. I got to see Ken Griffey Jr. play for the first time live. He was a child hood hero and it was definitely a dream come true to see him play. Unfortunately he did not hit #600 while I was there but it was still a fun time.

I then went to Cedarville for ACSD which is a conference held for Christians in Higher Education/Student Development. It was good to see my co-workers after a week of traveling. I went to various workshops and got to see old friends from camp who were now working in Higher Education. My old Dean of Students Barry Loy is the President of ACSD so it always feels like I am back at Gordon whenever I go to this conference because it brings me back to the days of the Leadership Retreat/Conferences in NH.

I then drove to Summer's Best 2 Weeks for a couple of days to help out during orientation. This was again another blessing as I got to see old friends and meet new people. Camp has grown so much and it was awesome to see how God was working at the Quemahoning. Camp will always hold a special place in my heart because of all the great memories, spiritual and mental growth I experienced and of course the life long friendships I made there.

I am currently at Geneva College starting my Masters program in Higher Education. I am in class 8 hours a day and have a week and a half to go for this first year. It has been really challenging but also really great. I am learning so much and meeting so many great people. The Higher Ed department does a great job of having fun activities at night and breaks throughout the day that you almost forget that you're earning a degree. Ok not really, but it has been fun despite the fact that I am in class all day long.

This trip has made me realized how blessed I am. I am blessed from my previous experiences and the relationships that God has allowed me to have. I am blessed to have a job that I love. I am blessed to be healthy and have the resources to take such a long road trip. I am blessed with awesome parents who have supported me through thick and thin.

God's little surprises

That's little Jackson Beach. He's the son of my friends Andrew and Sarah. He was just one of the little bright moments I had this past weekend. I traveled to Memphis this past weekend to see Andrew and Sarah and their son Jackson. The reasons were sevenfold for visiting.
1. I lost a bet and owed Andrew a rack of ribs because UCLA lost to Memphis in the Final Four.
2. I wanted to meet Jackson.
3. I wanted to catch up with Andrew and Sarah it has been ages since I have seen them.

It's so amazing how all my different experiences intertwine and somehow all of my different Christian circles collided in Memphis this weekend.
I was there to visit and Andrew's sister and fiance Charles were in town as well. It turned out they were there for a wedding for someone in their Fellows class so I got to see a bunch of old friends.

I'll try to explain the tangled web...

I went to college with Andrew and we also worked at camp together at Summer's Best 2 Weeks. He met Sarah there and eventually they got married. I then did the Fellows program in Charlottesville, Virginia, which Andrew's sister Katie and now fiance Charles did as well. My friend Cambria from college also did the Fellows program with Katie and Charles. Cambria now lives in New Orleans with Mary who also did the fellows program. Mary also worked at camp for a year.

Still with me? It's still not over. On Sunday I went to church with Andrew at First Evangelical where he works as the Junior High Youth Pastor. I was getting introduced to the head pastor and I was explaining what I was doing when someone overheard me say Covenant College. It just so happens that my Vice President who served on Senate this year Christian, goes to First Evan and his mother recognized me and came up to me.

So in less then 72 hours I had met people from or somehow related to Gordon College, Summer's Best 2 Week, the Trinity Fellows Program, and Covenant College.


Ok, I'm done for now. I'm leaving on Friday for my road trip and I don't know if I will be studious enough to write on the road...we'll see.

Congrats Class of 2008

As my second academic year comes to a close at Covenant, I can't help but reflect back. It's been a really good 2 years, that has gone very quickly. I remember moving from Charlottesville from a great townhouse with awesome friends and leaving a community that I felt so a part of. I jumped right into Orientation Team training and felt very welcomed by the students and staff.
This past Friday, I got to pray for the Seniors at their banquet. I was given a chance to thank many of the Seniors for letting me be a part of their lives, through working with them on Senate, Orientation, playing intramural sports with them and also serving on two great mission trips.
I feel like every year it gets harder and harder to say "goodbye" to the graduating class. Last year was such a whirlwind year and really a short 9 months(sometimes it wasn't short at all) before I saw the Class of 2007 walk across the stage as they received their diplomas. I have gotten 2 great years with this years class and honestly I felt like a proud father or maybe more like a proud older brother seeing his little brother/sister graduate. I have had so many great experiences with a lot of these guys that its hard not to feel attached to them in some sense.
Isn't it kind of odd that a college administrator is really close with students? Isn't it suppose to be the opposite? Aren't administrators suppose to be "Debbie downers" or the people that "bust the party"? Thankfully for me, my job doesn't require me to be a disciplinarian, most of the time anyways. Has it been a cakewalk these past 2 years? No, definitely not. I have definitely had moments where I have felt like a disappointed father, a grieving friend, and frustrated beyond all comprehension. But all in all I don't think I am thankful enough for my job. There are definitely moments when I think to myself "wow, I'm getting paid for this".
So with all of that being said, Class of 2008 you have been great and I will miss you. God bless you and good luck with what God has in store for you.

Intrigued by others, motivated by who knows what?

I caught myself constantly reading my friends blogs and their different experiences in foreign countries on semester abroad programs, mission trips and internships or just blogging and using it as a journal. It got me thinking, what a concept? A journal that is posted online so others can view it. An opportunity to be vulnerable with things that you are struggling with and also recognize people and experiences that are helping you through everyday life. I then proceeded to think about my main concern with blogging and how it was kind of a quick fix...meaning instead of calling a friend to see how they were doing, I could just click on their blog and see what was happening.
We have so many of these "quick fixes" in our society now. I grew up using AIM(Instant Messenger) and I still do. I am constantly on Facebook to keep tabs on old high school friends, college friends, camp friends, and the current students that I work with. Instead of a call I am constantly just texting because its "easier" or its more comfortable to text someone that "I can't make it out to dinner tonight...sorry". The other night I was in a nostalgic mood, so for the first time in a long time I journaled and pulled out my old picture box and looked at pictures from high school, college, camp and the Fellows program. I then was trying to think of why I hadn't looked at these pictures in so long? I realized that I didn't need to look at these pictures and reminisce on things because I could just go to Facebook and look at pictures that I was "tagged" in. If I started blogging wouldn't I just be adding to all of this new tech generation that is dependent on electronic gadgets, the world wide web and electronic servers?
Maybe I am or maybe I am just "adapting to society". So here it is folks my first blog post. We'll see how regularly I will post, but I figured, why not try just for a little bit. Here are some upcoming things I think I might talk about...

-Graduation for the Covenant College Class of 2008

-The annual Scott Hwang summer wedding tour 2008. I will only be able to make it to 2 of the 4 which happen to line up one weekend after the next starting on May 25.

-First visit to Wrigley Field

-ACSD Conference (Associated Christians in Student Development)

-Going back to SB2W (camp) to help out for a few days

-Starting Grad School at Geneva College Summer Institute in Higher Education