Leila Beltran toyed with the idea of running for SA religious vice president but was motivated to run due to her love of student leadership. She looked at all the SA positions and found religious VP the role she had the most aptitude for since she loves being personal with students. After much prayer, she decided to take the leap and run. 

How do you plan to continue PUC’s mission of prioritizing spiritual life on campus? 

My goal is to create THE community. Whenever people back home ask me how I’m doing at college, I always say that it is my place to be. I want to create that feeling for others. I understand that PUC is not everyone’s place to be, but if I can do that for one person, I’ll have succeeded. That looks like visiting dorms, meeting with students one-on-one, and creating experiences for students to explore what it looks like to be a part of a spiritual community that cares for them.

How will you support students with their spiritual journey? 

The biggest way will be to make myself available. I don’t plan on being invisible. I want to be vocal about being there for students whenever they need me. That can look like conversations, meetings, and even outings reinforcing what they are learning and experiencing on campus.

What worship opportunities are available to students? 

There are so many opportunities for students to worship on campus! Each dorm puts on a worship program open to all students, and each floor has a program just for its residents. Outside the dorms, our campus ministry team works really hard to make worship available. Whether through Bible studies, small groups, or campus-wide vespers. Even the athletics program has athletics worship geared towards our athletes to get more people in on the action. No matter what kind of person you are, there is a space for you.

What spiritual life activities or services do you want to emphasize on campus?

I want to emphasize Week of Worship as something huge on campus. As much as I am all about the small, personal ways we can be connected, having us all under one roof worshiping God together sounds so awesome, and I want more people to get caught up in the excitement of it.

How can faculty and staff support you and your team? 

Please keep us in your prayers. Also, I know from experience that “it takes everyone.” That phrase is something my church says, meaning the community requires more than one or even five SA officers to create it. If we ask for help, whether sponsoring an event or even asking you to show up, think about it! 

What are you looking forward to accomplishing with your SA team? 

I’m looking forward to seeing our effect on campus! I will know we have done a good job when we are a team known across campus for who we are and what we do.