Claudia Huffine

Name: Claudia Huffine
Position: Director of Student Transitions.
Education: Biola, History/Secondary Ed; Azusa Pacific, M.Ed., Student Development.
At Biola since: Including undergraduate, since 2000. Working fulltime since 2006.
Your StrengthsFinder top five? Relator, Positivity, Belief, Includer, Developer.

1. What do you do in your job? I plan and oversee fall and spring orientation.  I hire, train, mentor, and support our two student orientation directors that hire and train 60+ orientation leaders.  I oversee the BiolaLIVE! student director. And I am in the process of putting together a senior transitions program.

2. The five (or so) most influential books you've read:
Mere Christianity- Lewis;
The Hiding Place- TenBoom;
anything by Tolstoy;
Catcher in the Rye -Salinger;
To Kill a Mockingbird- Lee;
Knowledge of the Holy- Tozer;
Amusing Ourselves to Death- Postman.

3. An influential person in your life/hero/best example of love? My maternal grandma; I want to be her when I grow up.   

4. A guilty pleasure: Jewelry, massages.

5. Your testimony (in 200 words or less): My parents were baby Christians when I was born.  Thankfully they had that beautiful new believers' zeal; it rubbed off on me.  At the age of 5 I came to know the Lord.  I grew in my faith through elementary school and middle school under the example and guidance of my godly parents.  My sophomore year in high school was the defining year; I made a stand on my own to live for Christ.  Thanks to my parents loving example of Christ I have been walking with Jesus.  There have been some major struggles and challenges, but God has been faithful and continues to be faithful even when I am not.  Every day I am so thankful that the Lord gave me the gift of my parents to set such an incredible example of godly people.  So much of who I am is because of their constant love, exhortation, and correction in my life.

6. If God put you completely in charge of creating Heaven, what would it be like? To be honest I would not want that responsibility.  But the only thing I could think of is to take all the most beautiful places I can think of like Iceland, Ireland, Fiji, Tahiti and put them all together and some other places and maybe that is a bit of Heaven.  

7. What movie/TV/book have you seen in the last year that you wish all your friends could see? [or] A book you would insist your children read? I saw this Scottish movie the other day, Dear Frankie, about a mom who writes letters to her son pretending to be his dad.  Frankie grew up without his dad.  I cried through the whole thing.  Everyone must watch the TV show Lost, it's so good.  My children have to read The Hiding Place.

8. If you could relive any part of your life, what part would it be, and why? My childhood, it was so much fun.  My parents were always taking us to random places and making us skip school just to take fun trips.  We were always having such a blast.  My brother, Dan, and I made up our own games all the time.  Those were the golden years.  

9. What is the most difficult choice you've ever had to make? I decided to switch grad programs/schools in the middle of my first semester. What made it difficult?  It was something I was not planning on doing; it completely altered my career path. What factors helped you make that choice? My parents, good friends, lots of prayer, and awesome professors at the new school that I switched to.

10. What is the most risky thing you want to try doing? Having kids some day. What is keeping you from doing it? No rush.

11. What are five things you are most thankful for in your life right now? My husband, my parents, my brother, my students I work with, and my friends.

12. In difficult times, who would you most want praying for you? My husband.

13. What was the greatest peer pressure you felt as a teen/college student? I felt like I had to please everyone.  

14. Do you think it is possible to live with no regrets? It might be. Any mistake can be such a learning experience if you can take things away from it.

15. What is your definition of success? Success is knowing you are in your Father's will and being obedient to what he's called you to do today. Do you consider yourself to be successful? When I am obedient I feel successful, and in God's eyes I am!

16. How much is your self-worth and identity determined by your job and your success at it? My self-worth and identity is not found in my job.  I want to succeed in my job because it affects so many students when I do my best.

17. What are the most important things you look for when choosing a church? Solid Bible teaching straight from God's Word, and humility in the pastor.

18. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? WOW, a lot.  One of the most beautiful things was seeing Half Dome at Yosemite brilliantly changing colors throughout the day as the sun hit it at different angles.  

19. In what areas of your life is it most difficult to trust God? I often feel the need that I need to "save" people or provide people with what they need and I often forget to give these concerns to God and trust him that he will provide what they need.  

20. What does contentment mean to you? Contentment is being at peace with what the Lord has given you and where he has placed you. How close are you to that, now? All in one day, I can be super close to that and then super far from that.