STUDENT STORY
Kaili Perez
PREPARING FOR MINISTRY AT SEU AT INSPIRE CHURCH All the way in Waipahu, Hawaii, students at Inspire Church call Southeastern University “home.” Located on the island of O’ahu, Inspire Christian College is one of Southeastern’s partner sites. Through a partnership with the church, Southeastern provides online programs for students studying ministry, digital media and business. There are currently 10 students enrolled. One of those students is Kaili Perez, who has been attending since 2017 and is pursuing her degree in ministerial leadership. Kaili works full time as the resource media developer at Inspire Church, while also taking a full course load. She is always busy but knows with certainty that she is where God wants her to be. Although Kaili is now confident about her calling, she didn’t always want to pursue
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ministry work. She spent much of her childhood and adolescent life removed from the church. “My mom is a Buddhist, and my dad grew up in a CatholicMormon household…so I found and experienced my faith completely on my own,” said Kaili. “That was one of the hardest parts of growing up.” Kaili pursued an education degree at a different school before she discovered Southeastern, and she hoped to get a job teaching on another island. “I knew God had put it on my heart to shepherd the next generation; I just wasn’t sure how,” said Kaili. When SEU at Inspire Church opened, despite the pressure from her peers and parents to pursue other avenues of work, her calling became clear. “My dad really wanted me to have a backup plan, but I knew that if God had confirmed it,
everything would work out,” said Kaili. “And once I finally had my parents’ blessing, I knew I was choosing the right path.” The transition from a traditional college setting to the Southeastern partner site was not easy for Kaili. Switching from face-to-face courses to online proved to be a new and unexpected challenge. “I had to learn how to balance my studies and work really fast,” she explained. She typically works in the church office Tuesday through Thursday, and then also works on Saturday and Sunday. On her days off she frequents coffee shops around the island and does homework. She has, however, discovered a community with her classmates at Inspire Church. Similar to the habits of many college students, Kaili said, “We tend to join forces during finals and midterms.”
