OC Bible alumni recognized for scholarship and service in 2021

Isaac Bourbon received an award for his master’s thesis, and Peter Cariaga led the young adults at OC’s Global Reunion.

Oklahoma Christian University’s Bible alumni consistently reflect God’s glory and make the  Division of Bible proud. Two alumni recently embodied the Division’s theme of “Learn His story. Tell His story.” Isaac Bourbon was recognized last year with Abilene Christian University’s best thesis award in the Graduate School of Theology, and Peter Cariaga helped lead OC’s Global Reunion event.

Bourbon graduated from OC in 2018 and is now studying at Vanderbilt University's Divinity School. He received his award in May of 2021 for his thesis titled “Remembering Jacob: The Literary Representation of Memory in the Jacob Narrative.” As Bourbon stated in his abstract, “This thesis seeks to describe the Jacob narrative through the lens of memory. Taking Gen 28:10-22 as a case study, the objective is to place Jacob’s visit to Bethel alongside other ancient referential claims, analyzing it for authentic memories.” 

Cariaga, another Bible graduate and a current adjunct professor at OC, continued his lifelong commitment to telling God’s story. He co-led the teen and young adult section of Global Reunion, which is an annual camp held at OC for Third Culture Kids and their families. The successful program has also contributed to student recruitment and retention at OC. Cariaga assisted OC’s Missionary-in-Residence Kent and Nancy Hartman. During Global Reunion, campers learn tools for coming back to their home country and skills for living cross culturally. More information about this year's camp is available online here.

OC currently represents 39 different countries as shown with the flags displayed in the back of Baugh Auditorium. Global Reunion camp is designed for families who have spent several years of their life overseas doing missionary work and need assistance adapting back into life in America. 

"Even though these people are from all over the world, they relate to each other almost instantly," Hartman said. "We try to give them some tools and let them know they are not alone."

By the end of the week-long camp, the campers learn skills to help them on their journey, while also having the opportunity to make many new friends with similar backgrounds. Learn more from a 2019 Oklahoman Newspaper story about the camp here.