As summer approaches and the sun begins to set on the academic year at Point Loma Nazarene University, the graduating class of 2025 prepares to step into their next chapter. With so many diverse stories coming together, post-graduation can look different for every student stepping out of college life. But their journeys are each interwoven into the fabric of the PLNU community long after their departure.
For many students, attending PLNU is influenced by the pull toward connection and belonging. Kyle Sands, an applied health science major from Livermore, CA, remembers first hearing about PLNU through a friend’s older brother. A family trip to San Diego later sealed the deal.
“I was immediately sold,” Sands said. “Point Loma’s community and education is truly one of a kind.”
Gabriela Molina, a psychology major from Tustin, CA, described a feeling of peace when she first toured PLNU.
“Honestly, it was the ocean,” she said. “When I got out of the car on Preview Day, it just felt like I wanted to call this home.”
Abby Dawson, a history major from San Antonio, TX, was continuing a family legacy. With her parents and siblings having attended PLNU, she said the choice felt natural.
“I wanted to be in a place where I could feel at home while pursuing [Jesus] Christ, an education and friendships,” she said.
Whether through living on campus, research labs, clubs, on-campus jobs, professor relationships or weekend hangouts, seniors say it was the people of PLNU who shaped them the most.
Dawson said that her involvement in Residential Life was one of her most transformative experiences. As a residential assistant in her fourth year, she said she values the safe feeling of home.
“Being able to contribute to others’ experience of home was so sweet,” she said.
Sands spent his time in the biomechanics lab at PLNU’s Balboa campus, as a performance analyst for the PLNU baseball analytics team. Through mentors, professors and the tight department cohort, Sands said he has been able to cultivate his passion for his field of study.
“My kinesiology cohort has always been super supportive of each other, and I am grateful to have become friends with many of the people,” Sands said. “Our kinesiology professors, as well, are some of the best around.”
As a university committed to the Nazarene Wesleyan heritage, PLNU has helped shape many students’ faith journeys over their years.
“My faith has become more secure,” Dawson said. “Being able to ponder and praise God in every aspect of my life, in classes, in nature, in community, has caused me to see that there’s no time or place where God’s presence is not constant, sovereign and worthy of our devotion.”
Molina said she found freedom to explore what her faith journey looks like away from her home.
“I’ve been able to make my faith my own, not just something passed down from my parents,” she said.
She said that hearing from other people and learning how they see God helped her to navigate and ask hard questions.
While Sands is about to graduate, he’s not quite done with PLNU yet. He is preparing for a Love Works mission trip to Brazil that leaves soon after he graduates.
“Being around so many people who walk with God daily really impacted me,” he said. “It’s helped my faith grow naturally.”
As graduation approaches on May 10, they said they look forward to the next phase of life.
After returning from Brazil, Sands plans to find a summer job before beginning his master’s in sports performance and biomechanics at PLNU in the fall.
“I feel confident stepping into this next chapter,” he said. “It already feels like home.”
Molina plans on staying local in San Diego and is exploring marketing roles, with an offer from a tile company already on the table.
Dawson will move out of state, marry her fiancé and start her career in the publishing industry.
“There’s a Kacey Musgraves song that says ‘happy and sad at the same time,’” she said. “That’s exactly how I feel. It’s sweet to be sad about leaving because it means it mattered.”
Dawson encourages students not to rush their time at PLNU.
“Look back often and keep a record of memories,” she said. “Seek the kingdom of God first, and everything else will fall into place.”
