Glen Laster, an associate professor of sociology and psychology at Point Loma Nazarene University, unexpectedly passed away on Sept. 10. As students and faculty mourn the loss of their professor and friend, around 30 students and faculty gathered in Brown Chapel on Sept. 18 to mourn the loss of their professor and friend and share their memories of him.
Tears fell freely as students walked up to the microphone to honor Laster. Friends gave each other hugs and offered words of encouragement. Liturgies were prayed, asking God to be present and gracious in the midst of grief.
“Though our sorrow is shared, we each experience it differently. Teach us to care for one another with patience, compassion and understanding,” Esteban Trujillo, PLNU chaplain, prayed during the service.
One of the students who took the microphone that afternoon was Meg Snyder, a third-year psychology major. She took PSY 1001: Psychology of Personal Development with Laster during her freshman year, and he continued to be a mentor to her even after.
“It doesn’t matter if you knew him for three hours or three years; you were touched,” Snyder said during her speech.
Another student who was impacted by Laster was Emmaline Howell, a first-year nursing major. She was one of the students in Laster’s Psychology of Personal Development class, just days before he passed. Although she had Laster for only three class sessions, Howell said she learned a lot about truth from him.
“In those three classes, he taught me how powerful the truth is and how the only right way to succeed is to be speaking the truth, and to be living out the truth only,” Howell said. “He was a beautiful leader, and he housed the Holy Spirit with so much dignity and love, and he made every person in the room feel loved and known.”
Howell said the remembrance service was “very needed” for her.
“I’m very thankful for it and to hear others’ stories of joys and of how Glen has helped them through hard times, and how much he has made an impact on each person he’s spoken to,” Howell said.
Howell’s class, as well as the rest of Laster’s sections, are being continued by JC Acevedo, an adjunct professor who formerly taught SOC 250: Sociology of the Family at PLNU. The night before the remembrance service, he chose to cancel class so his students could attend.
Acevedo said there were two of Laster’s classes that overlapped with the memorial, so he “gave them the option to take some time to self-care.”
Since Acevedo had to be hired so quickly to continue the class, he said he feels he’s still “playing catch-up” in terms of understanding the course, since it’s unique from psychology classes offered at other universities. As he learns the course and supports students who are facing the loss of Laster, Acevedo hopes to be a valuable resource as they journey into their adult lives.
As classes continue and students resume their lives at PLNU, Laster’s legacy continues to be remembered. While a cause of death has not been officially disclosed by Laster’s family, a formal memorial service will be held on Friday, October 2 at 11 a.m. at the Greater Life Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, California.
If students need support, they can reach out to PLNU’s campus pastors, the Student Care office, or the Counseling Center.
Emily Jones