“If I am where Jesus wants me to be, I am never completely alone. He has me in the palm of his hand and he surrounds me. Understanding this fully changed so much.”
Beca Silva (27) is a third year Kinesiology student currently pursuing a career as a surgeon. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Beca has made a home for herself here in San Diego.
Beca was initially drawn to PLNU because of a person from home who had attended the university a few years back. The student posted “Day in the Life of a PLNU Student” videos on Youtube that caught Beca’s eye, and the scenery certainly stuck out. The views and the Christian community at PLNU immediately drew Beca in.
“I saw her videos and the view and I couldn’t believe this was a place people could just go,” Beca said.
One of the most memorable aspects for Beca so far at PLNU has been her time spent with the Worship Arts team. Beca has had the opportunity to serve as the Worship Arts intern this past year and to lead worship in Chapel for the past three years. She said that the first time she ever led worship during Chapel was one of her biggest highlights of her time at Loma.
Beca described how working with the Worship Arts intern team was inspiring because they were able to share their faith stories with each other and create a safe environment for others to be vulnerable. Recently, Beca has also had the opportunity to share her faith journey with the student body through Time Out chapel.
“I got to share about my story and my faith,” Beca said. “The comments [I got] back of how people were touched by it and impacted by it, that part was really rewarding.”
Beca has served as a resident assistant on campus for the past two years, serving in Hendricks Hall during the 2024-25 school year and in New Nease for the current school year. She described how being an RA and helping girls that are younger than her has been an overwhelmingly positive experience during her time at PLNU.
Even though it has been a great experience for Beca, she also talked about how she would not be able to be in this role without her faith. She said that because she often helps others with their own hardships, she leans on her faith in Jesus to help her through her own challenges.
“If you aren’t grounded in Jesus yourself, it can be hard to help others with their hardships,” Beca stated. “We’re all going through something and having that background helps me tell others, ‘I know Jesus has got you.’”
Going to college so far from home, Beca talked about the occasional fear that comes from being in a new place. There was a large period of time for Beca where she felt like she had so much to learn about life in America and expressed that she still sometimes feels this way.
She described the loneliness she felt being so far away from her parents and how she has had to become independent in ways that she never thought she would have to. Even so, there is a beauty for Beca in starting over and building connections with people that are vastly different from herself.
“If I am where Jesus wants me to be, I am never completely alone,” Beca said. “He has me in the palm of his hand and he surrounds me. Understanding this fully changed so much.”
Beca has been able to build community in a place thousands of miles away from home and has been able to flourish at PLNU.
Currently pursuing a career as a cardiothoracic surgeon, Beca has always been fascinated with medicine and the structure of the human body. The way that God created human bodies and her fascination with human biology reminds Beca of God’s creativity and intentionality. She feels called to help others in this way and thinks that being able to help others is one of the most meaningful ways to serve God.
Amidst the rigorous academic schedule of a Kinesiology major, Beca has had to find a way to balance forming meaningful connections with others and being successful in her academics as well. She said that the biggest challenge for her is knowing that she cannot do everything and be everywhere at once.
“There’s a lot of things with friends where I’ve had to say ‘no’ because I have an exam the next day. Or sometimes I decide to prioritize friends even if I know I have the exam the next day. It’s all about choices.”
Even through important academic studies, Beca has remained true to herself and has taken advantage of what Loma has to offer. Loma does not last forever, and Beca wants to be able to maintain the communities that she has been able to build over the last three years. She said that sometimes she is okay with choosing community over school.
In addition to the Worship Arts team, Residential Life, and her school, Beca also works as an assistant for the Center for Pastoral Leadership. She also helps lead a group called “Hungry House” which is a Bible study that meets every other Thursday morning for a sunrise worship service. On top of all of that, she leads worship for the Kamp Love worship team.
“I try to reach out and involve myself in as much as I can,” Beca said.
Beca described how she has found extensive care and support from her professors in the Kinesiology department. She talked about one specific time when she was unsure if she was going to be able to continue at PLNU, and her academic advisor, Brandon Sawyer, Ph.D., took the time to pray with her over what she was experiencing.
“I just realized like, ‘Woah, these people are here to pray with me and not just help with school.’ That was only my first semester and I could only imagine what the rest of my time would be like.”
Beca said she specifically remembered the time leading up to her Time Out Chapel when her professors would walk up to her and go out of their way to encourage her for her upcoming sermon. She described how she is always surprised by the care and compassion that PLNU professors dedicate to their students and the way they show their heart for Jesus.
As she begins to enter her world as a future doctor, Beca has begun to think about how she will continue to integrate her faith into her everyday life, especially because the world of medicine is not necessarily a religious sector. Despite this, Beca hopes to be able to show the light of Jesus through her actions and the way that she treats people every single day. Showing others the love of Christ has always been Beca’s ultimate goal.
“There are a lot of times when people just watch the way you live, and even if I can’t preach the Gospel as openly, I can still show others through showing my joy through hardships,” Beca expressed. “Even though I also face hardships and uncertainty and all of those things, I still have the joy of the Lord in my heart.”
