XASS: Tell us about yourself. What are you studying? Where are you from?
Josue: My name is Josue. I’m a rising junior, expected to graduate in June 2027. I’m originally from Inglewood, California, and I’m studying computer science.
XASS: Did you always want to do computer science, or is that something you got caught up in at Stanford?
Josue: I knew I always wanted to do engineering. I was that kid who liked solving problems—math, physics, that sort of thing. I took a couple of coding classes, so I knew I liked coding. I originally came in wanting to do mechanical engineering, but after a summer program at Stanford and getting a small snippet of 106A, I realized computer science was what I wanted to do. I like coding and the problem-solving aspect that comes with CS.
XASS: Okay, so that’s your academic life. What are you into besides that? What are your hobbies or passions?
Josue: A lot of my free time is sports. In high school, I played a lot, and I still try to stay active at Stanford. I play soccer with another person in Chi Alpha—his name’s Alejandro—and through Chi Alpha I got to know him better. That helped me find a group on campus I could play soccer with. I also play a lot of basketball. Outside of that, normal college stuff: hanging out with friends in the dining hall, going to eat, trying new foods. And, in the spiritual aspect, one of my biggest hobbies is music. I’ve been serving in ministry since I was 12 at my local church at home. I have a passion for serving the Lord in that way—I feel like I was called to it from a young age—and I try to continue that at Stanford, whether it’s on the Chi Alpha worship team or at the church I attend here.
XASS: That leads into the next question. How were you raised, spiritually? What kind of church were you raised in?
Josue: I grew up in a church that would fall under the Spirit-filled category. It’s kind of more non-denominational—somewhere in between—and definitely more on the conservative side. It was a predominantly Hispanic church; services were in Spanish. I grew up with very lively worship—some people would call it loud. When people told me about the churches they were born into, I’d tell them mine was the complete opposite: worship felt like a concert because everyone was so into it. The preaching was hard for me to understand at first because my Spanish was still developing, but now I think our pastor shares really good life lessons mixed with the Word. The sermons are very impactful.
XASS: And how did you find Chi Alpha?
Josue: Through Instagram. I was looking for ways to continue seeking God while I was in college, so I did a quick search—“Christian groups at Stanford”—and Chi Alpha was one of the first to come up. I checked the Instagram, and the main thing I was looking for was something that felt like home. I saw a worship snippet with a song they sing at my church, and it felt like reassurance from God to check it out. During NSO, one of my RAs, Ashley (she just graduated), also mentioned Chi Alpha, so that was a second confirmation. Eventually I went to reFARMation, and everything you preached that day aligned with what I believe and the doctrine I was taught growing up. I knew it was my place on campus for spiritual life.
XASS: Awesome. And how has Stanford been for you spiritually overall? Positive, neutral, or negative?
Josue: I think it’s been neutral. There have been positive times and also negative ones. You get really busy—it takes away time. There’s still time in the day, but you get distracted with day-to-day things like doing p-sets, and the little free time you have you might spend just relaxing in bed watching Instagram Reels, for example.
But then there’s also the positive aspect, where there are times when you encounter problems and there’s no one else you can really turn to besides God. In that aspect, I feel like my faith has been growing and continues to grow. But overall, I’d still say it’s been neutral—and hopefully by the time I graduate I can change my answer to more positive.
XASS: Do you have a favorite Bible verse or passage?
Josue: I do. My answer varies depending on the season I’m in, but right now I’d say Joshua 1:9—partly because of my name; I was named Josue, which in English is Joshua. As a kid, that was one of the first verses I tried to memorize because I thought, “This is my person from the Bible.” But after understanding the verse more, I feel like you can apply it to so many areas of life. It reminds you that God is always there for you and we have nothing to fear because He goes before us.
XASS: Two closing questions. What advice would you give an incoming freshman who wants to grow in their faith?
Josue: I’d say—this is something I’m still applying—seek God first, and everything else will fall into place. If you truly put God first, the other mundane, day-to-day stuff will happen as it needs to. There have been times when I’ve been working on a p-set for hours trying to finish a problem or find a bug in my code. I’ll put time aside and get really busy on a weekend going to church, and then I have less time for homework—but that shorter span ends up being more productive than the whole week I had before. That was advice given to me, and it’s good advice.
XASS: Seek first the kingdom, and the things you need will be added to you.
Josue: Exactly.
XASS: And the final is a classic question that began with the student who created the spotlight years ago. He always ended by asking: Josue, are you in a relationship?
Josue: Yes, I am. First with Jesus—and second, my girlfriend is currently attending UC Davis.
XASS: Josue, thank you very much for your time!
