Brett Stroud

Attorney and Law Professor

Anthropology, B.A. '10

... I really felt as though I was part of a community of learners centered around the word of God. I am aware of no other place quite like it, and I remember it with great fondness.

How did your program at Biola prepare you for your career?

The anthropology program helped me develop analytical skills and a broad social perspective that greatly assisted me in my legal education. The friends and mentors who came into my life through the program have been positive influences on me ever since (particularly the inimitable Kevin Pittle, who is a role model for me as a teacher).

What did you appreciate most about your time at Biola?

Biola has a unique combination of a community striving to be faithful to the word of God and also engaged in the task of liberally educating students with the capacity to think critically. Through the Torrey curriculum and the anthropology program, as well as through casual interactions with faculty in other departments, I really felt as though I was part of a community of learners centered around the word of God. I am aware of no other place quite like it, and I remember it with great fondness.

How did Biola equip you to be a more faithful follower of Jesus Christ?

College is a formative time of life, and I matured a great deal during my time at Biola. The faculty were terrific role models for me: serious in their work, joyful in their manner and warmly pious. My fellow students were also part of the education I received. I developed relationships with fellow Christians for the first time as an independent adult, and I have maintained many of those relationships, though not as many as I would like.

On a more important note, that needs no explanation, I met my wonderful wife at Biola, and we encourage one another in faithfulness every day.

What advice would you give to students considering your degree program?

I would encourage prospective students to stretch themselves. It is easy, at a modern university with distribution requirements, to take the easy path. You only cheat yourself by doing so. Take hard, substantive classes like Contemporary Anthropological Theory (Pittle), Economic Anthropology (Greene) and Gospel and Culture. Force yourself to do all the reading and to put time and thought into your papers. You only get four years of leisure to ponder, reflect, and learn before ordinary life rushes in on you. Take full advantage.