Hunter Foote  |  Contributing Writer

Annie Tsai, the vice president for alumni, vocation and innovation at Azusa Pacific, is passionate about helping students reach their full potential by finding their callings, connecting with alumni and bringing about new and fresh ideas. Collide sat down with Tsai to discuss some of these ideas, as well as her role in overseeing the Office of Career Services, the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations and the ZuVenturez and Elevate business competitions.

Collide: What is the mission of the Office of Alumni, Vocation and Innovation?

Annie Tsai: The mission is to create an ecosystem that supports students from going from in the classroom into [going] out of APU. … It’s creating a hub of resources that helps the student experience APU holistically.

C: What is the alumni part of that office?

AT: On the alumni side, we are activating different alumni groups, affinity groups, so that they could be more involved with the school.

C: What is the vocation part of that office?

AT: The Career Services Office had major leadership change and a major reorganization, so orientation transitions you in, and this office is going to transition you out to your vocation, whatever that may be.

C: What is the innovation part of that office?

AT: [Members of the board of directors] are going to help create synergy around a lot of the future pieces, which is to have community learning, to have a Center for Social Innovation and Transformational Innovation, so we want to call it the SITE, and then maybe creating an investor community. That whole thing will be under Christ-centered entrepreneurship. What does it mean to be a Christian college and do entrepreneurship? Do it with a mind with redemption and service and stewardship.

C: What is the new business plan competition, Elevate Business Plan, that APU is now a part of?

AT: In the spring, we’re going to have Elevate. APU, along with Telos, we are cosponsoring and hosting the first ever nationwide, faith-based business competition. It’s modeled after March Madness. APU will be the West Coast original host, East Coast will be Princeton [University], Midwest will be Wheaton [College] and South will be Covenant [College]. We’re going to have a one-day business plan competition much like ZuVenturez, except now, it’s at the regional level. The final four winners will go on to compete in Silicon Valley for $50,000. So, you have the potential to win $70,000. APU will give away $20,000 to the regional winner, whoever that is, and it may not be an APU student.

C: Why is vocation important to you?

AT: Vocation comes from the word “vocare,” which means “to call.” As Christians, that is a huge part of our sense of identity. We are called, and there is a caller who calls out to us. Our life experience is one of responding to this call, whether it is a call to be a child of God or a call to be a wife or a call to be a mother or a call to be a specific editor or entrepreneur. Those can be exclusive things or overlapping things, but I think the idea of calling to a Christian, or vocation, is the place where we worship God, where God works on us and works in us and through us to redeem whatever it is he puts our hands to, but he also uses that space to change our character. … I see that as the process of sanctification, if you will, like the process of becoming more like Christ is being activated in the place of our calling.

C: Why is innovation important to you?

AT: I think Christians are called to make all things new. We should kick ass at this. You are now a new creation, all things are new. We are the people who celebrate death and then resurrection, and all things are new, and redemption, and his mercies are new every morning, and you now get to start over every day. … I want us to get in that space.

C: How does this all work together?

AT: So innovation and calling go hand-in-hand because we’re called to be salt and light. … We want to, yes, provide you with a solid, Christ-centered education and so much more, but then you are now part of a bigger community that is invested in success. So, alumni, say: “How do I help you be successful? I’m not in it to make a dollar off of you, I’m in it because we share the call to be excellent in our workplace and you’re part of my community, so I want you to thrive.” There’s this sense of 10 years from now, [students] will be like, “Here are my multiple offices, and here are my networks and companies that I own, and I’ll hire some interns,” because [the student gets] that APU produces these kinds of students. So, I want to create the hub for that, this system that creates this network.