Sharon (Ramsey, ’84) Hansen has held a leadership position for 19 out of the 20 years she has worked with Southwest Airlines. She currently works as a change and learning facilitator for Southwest in Phoenix, Ariz. She trains new hires and current employees on policies and procedures, company initiatives and new programs. She has taught several leadership courses for the airline, such as Leadership 101 and Freedom LUV. The training for new hires counts toward college credit, so Hansen is considered an adjunct professor at Rio Salado Community College in Arizona. Hansen was previously a customer service supervisor and a bilingual team leader in customer support and services. She speaks English and Spanish fluently and leads emergency training in both languages. One of her favorite memories on the job is the time she inspected a suitcase containing a live bobcat. Hansen is a mother of three and enjoys photography, writing and traveling. Before working for Southwest Airlines, Hansen held a variety of jobs, which included being a switchboard operator at Biola University, a marketing services manager at Encyclopedia Britannica and an advertising and account representative at The Daily Record. She said she has used knowledge from her communications classes at Biola in her career, and student ministries prepared her to reach out to her community. “We are the hands and feet in a world of hurting people, and we are commanded to love others … that is the way we can impact the world the most,” Hansen said.

Matt Wilson (’01) knows what it takes to be successful in the entertainment industry. Since graduating from Biola with a major in radio, television and film, he has written scripts for major networks and debuted his first graphic novel at Comic-Con in 2010. In 2004, he wrote the Krypto the Superdog episode “My Pet Boy” for the Cartoon Network, which aired a year later. He also wrote the Brandy and Mr. Whiskers episode “Where Everybody Knows Your Shame” for Disney Channel in 2005. Wilson has held positions at Lionsgate and Handprint Entertainment, but he said his best industry day job was working as a production assistant for Disney Feature Animation. During that time, he worked in various departments on films such as Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons and Bolt. Wilson also wrote lines for movie posters, which were used for Not Easily Broken, Taking Woodstock, Surfwise and Good Time Max. His graphic novel, Scrooge and Santa (scroogeandsanta.com), was illustrated by alumnus Josh Kenfield (’03) and became available in comic book stores this November. More recently, he is working on producing test movies for Amazon Studios. His first test movie, The Umpire, won Best Test Movie last May. (You can watch his film at http://studios.amazon.com/movies/7325.) “Being caught up in a well-told story is a unique feeling,” Wilson said. “It's hard work to make something that leaves the audience satisfied, but that is always my goal. I want to give others that feeling great storytellers and filmmakers have given me.” His current project is creating a test movie for his screenplay Speak to Me in Poetry. Outside of film, Wilson has traveled to Kenya four times on mission trips and serves as a deacon at his church in Hollywood.

Jerianne Forbis’ (’05, M.A. ’11) heart for Africa stretches beyond the occasional summer mission trip. In January 2012, she will travel to Tanzania to help establish the first English medium primary school in the area for orphans with Hope of the Nations. She previously went on a mission trip to Tanzania in June 2010 with Project Hope, and it was there she heard about Hope of the Nations and their dream of establishing a primary school that would prepare Swahili-speaking orphans to enter English-speaking secondary schools. In August 2010, she informed the organization of her desire to fulfill the role of administrator at the new school. Forbis will be in charge of hiring and mentoring teachers for the school. She will also align curriculum to meet set standards for each grade. They currently have one kindergarten class with 20 students and one first grade class with 25 students. Each class will have one newly certified teacher and two uncertified teacher’s aides. The hope is to expand the school by adding one new grade each school year until they reach seventh grade. When school is out of session, she will travel into the bush of Tanzania to share the gospel. While at Biola, Forbis completed part of her student teaching in Johannesburg, South Africa. Currently, she is finishing the academic year as a third-grade teacher at Heights Christian School in La Mirada, Calif., before starting her two-year commitment with Hope of the Nations. For more information about the school, visit hopeofthenationstz.org.

Daniel Dyk (’76) was featured in Villa Park City Magazine in February for his missions work in Ensenada, Mexico, through Agua Viva Ministries (AVM). Currently serving as president of the ministry’s board of directors, Dyk has been involved with AVM since 1985. “Agua Viva is a multifaceted ministry, uniquely combining American and Mexican resources in the beautiful country of Mexico,” he said. The ministry runs a Christian summer camp that attracts 5,000 campers per year and also trains 30 to 50 students per year in its on-site seminary, the Missionary Training Institute. It is a three-year program that began 25 years ago. AVM’s facilities cover 170 acres and are able to house 300 people in the camp area and 100 in the seminary. Dyk visits the ministry one to two times a year with various groups of people, including his Sunday school class and friends who are interested in the ministry. Dyk also travels to Mexico twice a year for board meetings and makes additional trips with potential ministry partners. AVM keeps a running list of about 100 projects to match the needs of local Mexican churches. While working on projects, the ministry partners with these churches to establish long-term relationships in the community. Aside from AVM, Dyk has a career in information technology and enjoys photography. He is married to his wife, Kim (’76), and has three children and two grandchildren. They live in Orange County, Calif. For more information about AVM or how to become involved, visit aguaviva.com or facebook.com/AVMinistries.