Brandon Chai came in thinking that Biola wasn鈥檛 the place for him. He was a Korean guy who loved hip hop and nice shoes in a dorm of guys who shared none of those things. He could tell he didn鈥檛 really fit.

Often he would feel . 鈥淥ne time someone asked me who my favorite rappers were,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 listed them off鈥 and the first thing the person said was 鈥榃ow, none of them are Korean!鈥欌

He felt like he was being put in a box. In high school much of the Korean crowd considered him 鈥渨hitewashed鈥. On the other hand, white friends considered him Korean.

Brandon was stuck in the middle of two cultures; he didn鈥檛 even fully identify with any particular group.

鈥淎nyone who knows me knows I鈥檓 so hip hop,鈥 he says. Hip hop is his culture. His background.

He joined the Biola Rap Club, but once again, that identity didn鈥檛 help him out. It still didn鈥檛 feel like Biola embraced hip hop culture as a whole.

鈥淭he first two years at Biola were formative for me,鈥 he says. 鈥淕od really humbled me.鈥

Then, he performed for Punk N鈥 Pie. He ended up rapping his own song in front of hundreds of people. Dr. Barry Corey came up to him afterwards and told Brandon that he had never heard rap performed the way he had done it.

Brandon鈥檚 hip hop is biblically influenced. It鈥檚 raw, real and honest. Because of his conversation with Dr. Corey, he began to realize people were more than he thought.

Brandon says he easily could have become bitter towards Biola. However, his heart slowly shifted from frustration to openness.

Brandon says he鈥檚 always been in the middle felt somewhat misunderstood. So instead of thinking of Biola鈥檚 culture as an enemy, he decided to treat Biola as more of a friend.

鈥淭here are some genuinely good people here,鈥 he says. 鈥淪ometimes they just aren鈥檛 aware of what鈥檚 out there.鈥 Brandon actively chooses not to hold anything against anyone. He says that people get out of Biola what they put into it.

Deciding to give Biola a chance opened up doors for him. He learned a lot from Dr. Kimber in his Biblical Interpretation class. Realizing he could approach reading scripture in a deeper way was important in his development.

Ultimately, Brandon decided he wasn鈥檛 going to act as if he was owed anything. His philosophy is that Biola isn鈥檛 perfect, but it also isn鈥檛 evil. His graciousness and perseverance have actually opened doors for him whereas bitterness would have hindered him.

Looking for more ways to connect? Biola has a number of opportunities to get involved.