20 Years in America: A Professor's Reflection

I left 48 this morning and woke up 49.

I changed into my Costco sweats and this brand-new sweater I got on clearance and headed out for a walk in my neighborhood.

I found a high perch to wait for the sun to rise. I penned this during the break of dawn to reflect on the last two decades of my adventure here in the U.S.

Let me take you through the different "climates" of my personal and professional journey in these few short minutes before the sun rises. I'll end with some of my biggest professional takeaways.

Leaving Tropical Singapore for Seasonal Midwest

I left Singapore and arrived here in the U.S. 20 years ago with two huge suitcases and a backpack. After two plane rides and a train ride and 36 hours later, I collapsed on the floor at my sister’s place in California totally exhausted.

I still needed to fly to Missouri and get a car ride to start grad school at University of Missouri-Columbia…why didn't I just stay put in the comfort of my parents’ house in Singapore?! Singapore is safe and stable, just like the tropical weather all year round.

Glad I didn't though... it's been a long journey since I landed in California, spanning several states and eight moves, but we finally live IN California! I came for grad school in the Midwest a single guy, and I'm now a Californian professor married with two kids.

It was an early lesson for me to be true to myself and to put students first even if it cost me.

Lloyd Chia

First Job - Freezing Michigan

In my first job out of grad school, I drove 100 miles to and from my small college in mid-Michigan, because we wanted to live in Ann Arbor for community. The pay was so low, I had to teach overloads out of necessity.

Knowing that there were zero support structures for LGBTQIA students at this college, I decided to be their support faculty. Knowing it might cost me, I still did it anyway. One of my best memories from those years is having those students over to our place for a meal in Ann Arbor... just to let them know we cared.

No surprise then, I was denied promotion the year I applied, but that was the year I was hired by Warner Pacific University. I'm glad I stood by my guns because I wouldn't have been happy there anyway. It was an early lesson for me to be true to myself and to put students first even if it cost me.

Second Job - Rainy Portland

I was hired by Andrea Cook to teach social sciences at WPU. I heard her speak at a Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) conference, and I could tell right away she was the real deal. She had a genuine care for underserved and marginalized students. She wasn't the kind of president who would pay lip service to diversity. I found a social science opening and immediately applied. The rest was history.

Portland brought relief from the Michigan cold... but it was rainy and overcast for much of the year. We traded Lake Michigan cold for Pacific NW gloom. But Portland was beautiful and green all year round. I still get chills thinking about my scenic drives to campus... especially as the sun broke through the clouds. GORGEOUS.

Dr. Cook and my VPAA then, Reginald T.W. Nichols, Ed.D. (still very much my mentor) asked me to lead a "baby" criminal justice program... I've always embraced the unexpected, so I said "YES." At Warner Pacific, I fell in love with restorative justice because it resonated deeply with my faith... more than the "Churchianity" that's just consumerism repackaged.

It was at WPU that my eyes were opened to the resilience of first-generation students. My own college experience was cushy in comparison. I saw the odds they had to overcome just to stay in college and rejoiced when they graduated and even more so when they got jobs. Thinking we were meant to be in Portland for the long haul, we bought a 3000-square-foot house but sold it 8 months later because we felt Fresno was the right (but hard) move for us.

Here and Now - Sweltering Fresno

We made it to California! We moved here two years ago, and we live in a house half the size that we had in Portland, but I wouldn't change a thing because my heart is full. I love my work at ��Ƶֱ��, building our criminal justice major, recently launching a forensics minor and ALWAYS advancing restorative justice.

2025 has been a special year because our girls are 10 and 13… and they've been amazingly adaptable to all the moves we've put them through. They legally became "ChiaChew" during Covid. It’s one of the best things I ever did since they are as much a part of my wife Valerie Chew, as they are of me (down with the patriarchy).

They became something new... and unique (who else's name is ChiaChew?). I hope they never stop being something new, and I hope they "never settle" and seize new opportunities... even if there are uncertainties.

But this was also a deeply challenging year for me and for my family. I was demoralized by AI, and almost lost my fire as an educator. Both our families surrounded us with much love and support when we needed it most. Our two families got together more than in any time before... it was beautiful to see, and it healed me.

I'm better now. I feel more alive than I've been for a while... and my body tingles when I think about all the things I want to do with my life and career, especially around justice system reform and advancing restorative justice.

My eyes well up with tears when I think about all my students from the wintry, rainy and sweltering seasons of my life... and how they are now my peers in making this world more just.

There's so much still to do and I feel like I'm just getting started... retirement is the furthest thing from my mind.

Takeaways and Looking Forward

My top takeaways are:

Be true to yourself... and just be yourself—it pays off in the long run.
Nothing lasts forever - even "tenured" professors get offloaded like a dead weight.
Elevate others. My Australian mentor is still elevating other RJ folks in his mid-70s.
See the possibilities in the unexpected. You never know what opportunities lie ahead.
Be human, don’t be lazy. Do what only you can do and no one else can... not even AI.
Don't despise anyone's small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10) no matter how high up you go.

Alright, the sun is up and it's bright out. I have to get down from my perch and get back home to prepare breakfast for my kids and get them off to school.

I’m excited for everything my family and I are looking forward to in this last year of my 40s, including an upcoming stint at the University of San Diego Center for Restorative Justice to receive training in RJ facilitation and leadership.

I don’t know if 50 is gonna be the new 30 or 40. But like my former professor said, “For me, 9 p.m. is the new midnight!” LOL

Thanks for sharing this sunrise with me on my birthday! Peace to you and yours, my friends!

- Lloyd

Collage image of figure looking upwards on the left and a sunrise on the right

Lloyd Chia , Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology, Program Director

Program Director and Professor of Criminology and Sociology Lloyd Chia, Ph.D., was a reluctant student who didn’t follow in his sister’s footsteps to Cambridge University. Surviving being caught for shoplifting a GI Joe toy as a kid, Professor Chia is now a passionate advocate for restorative justice and unexpected criminology professor. He’s glad that he wasn’t defined by his worst mistakes in life and hopes the same for everyone else. He’s originally from Singapore (not part of China) and loves being a global citizen… exploring God’s path for his family even if it takes them to unexpected places. Professor Chia didn’t succeed as a pro musician but is glad because being a professor has been much more fulfilling by far.