Heather Kooiman
Heather Kooiman grew up understanding the importance of learning about other cultures. Her grandparents were missionaries, and her childhood was filled with stories from her father having travelled the world as a missionary kid. So, it was no surprise that after graduating from Biola University she pursued local missions in inner city Los Angeles.
“I had done my undergrad studies at Biola and I was actually teaching school in the inner city of Los Angeles and I had my teaching degree, but I wanted something that dealt with different cultures. So I looked into the [Masters] program at Biola and I found it to be something that would help me out in that area.”
Heather thought that she would earn her masters and continue in inner city missions for the rest of her career. What she didn’t expect is that Biola’s School of Intercultural Studies exposed her to something she was familiar with, but had never considered for herself: global missions.
“I think that one of the most important things that the classes and just the experience at Biola and the program at Intercultural Studies gave to me was the opportunity to learn about different cultures. So many of the classes you got to specialize in different cultures like ‘peoples of Asia’, or different specific classes. And the other thing is that we also did a lot of hands-on things and you go through a lot of different experiences that prepare you for living in a culture that’s not your own.”
Heather’s time in the Intercultural Studies program allowed her to share classes and experiences with diverse students who kept Christ at the center of their learning. The community of believers at Biola offers an encouraging environment to struggle with tough issues surrounding cross-cultural ministry. Students are able to share their and learn from each other’s missions experience, as well as from the expert faculty who have been in the field for many years.
“I really enjoyed my experience during my classes especially with peers because we got to work together, not just in class, but also on projects. I made some really good friends that I still keep in contact with now and I also loved my professors.”
Heather was also able to continue in her passion for teaching while she learning about other cultures at Biola. Because there is such a variety of ways to minister cross-culturally, Biola’s School of Intercultural Studies encourages students to focus on an emphasis that pertains to their personal passion for the mission field.
“What I appreciated about the program was that I got to choose the track I wanted to do for most of my emphasis. And since a lot of the classes that I wanted to do dealt with education I got to specialize in that, since I’m a teacher, and I really appreciated that.” Today, Heather lives in Bucharest, Romania with her husband, Eric, and their two children. They had never been to Romania when God put it in their hearts to seek out opportunities for teaching missionary kids. They prayed for God to place them where the need was great, and Bucharest Christian Academy opened its doors to them.
“I teach high school English at the school and Eric teaches computer, math, and p.e. And, the great thing about the school is that it is very international, there are students from over 11 different countries. And so, even here in Romania we get to use the stuff from Intercultural Studies with our students from all over the globe.”
After living in Romania for nearly three years now, Heather can see that she is there to not only teach English to her students, but to share her heart about Christ as well. Since the school is a Christian school for missionary kids, Heather is able to minister to her students every day, using the skills she gained from Biola to integrate faith and learning in her own classroom.
“We live in a culture that is not our own, so the classes [from Biola] have been really helpful for me learning how to transition in to living in a different culture…The school we teach at has missionary kids, but it also has non-Christians…For me, even through literature that I teach I get to speak about God in all kinds of situations and it’s exciting because the students who are not Christians know that it’s a Christian school but they’re always very interested to hear about our lives and the things that we have to say about Christ.”