By Kate Smith
For Juliana Jourdane, the desire to help others heal is personal. Growing up in a home marked by instability and addiction, she learned early what it meant to need healing herself. Years later, those experiences would help lead her toward LPU’s Psychology program, and a calling to walk alongside others in difficult seasons.
“My focus is to help people heal in the ways I didn’t know I could until I understood I needed healing,” Juli shares.
The youngest of six children, Juli grew up attending church and first accepted Jesus as her savior at four years old. As she grew older and her faith deepened, she found herself navigating instability within her family and recognizing areas of her own life where she needed healing: “I grew up in a home that was filled with addiction and unhealthy lifestyles. I went to church throughout high school, but at home and at school, I was not representing Jesus well.”
The summer after graduating high school, she began to sense God directing her path towards LPU. “I’ve experienced a deep sense of peace and assurance that LPU is where I’m meant to be,” Juli shares.
At LPU, Juli began to see how her own experiences could shape the way she cared for others. Through her courses, she began to see more clearly the kind of work she wanted to pursue. Advanced Counseling helped Juli recognize her desire to become a therapist, while Child Welfare strengthened her desire to advocate for children. “These classes have really helped me become more sensitive, empathetic, and more aware of how to deeply help someone,” she says. But Juli’s desire to serve others extends far beyond the classroom.
Juli grew up in a musical family; her mother led worship and her siblings served through music. Today, Juli is a Chapel Worship Lead at LPU, and serves on the worship team at Water of Life Community Church in Fontana, CA. Her creativity also extends to theater, where she recently played Ella in LPU’s production of Cinderella.
For Juli, worship is deeply connected to what God has brought her through. “I use my gifts to glorify Him and respond with praise for who God is and the ways He has delivered, saved, and brought me through the hardest times in my life,” she says. “I am so passionate because I praise God in my weakness when no one is looking,” she shares. “We cannot lead people into the presence of God if we are not first remaining in the presence of God ourselves.”
This posture has shaped Juli’s experience as part of LPU Worship. Over the summer, a small group of LPU Worship team members gathered for a songwriting retreat.
“All summer I prayed and asked the Lord for ideas, but what we actually came out with was only divinely scripted by the Holy Spirit,” Juli shares. “We were on a mountaintop, and there were six writing sessions in the span of 24 hours. How did we do it? Honestly, that was only the Lord because we were exhausted.”
During the retreat, Juli helped write and lead Stir It Up, a song inspired by what the team sensed God was doing within the LPU community. “We all deeply felt like the Holy Spirit wanted to do something new on campus this year,” she says.
Outside of LPU, Juli volunteers as a youth leader to 9th-grade girls, and has been on multiple mission trips, experiences that now shape how she views service and community. Juli recalls, “I went to Thailand on a two-week mission trip that was completely life-changing… Thailand taught me hospitality and being generous with everything you have.”
Whether through counseling, worship, youth ministry, or missions, Juli continues to return to the same desire: to care well for the people God places in front of her.
“I genuinely care about the people I work with and serve,” Juli says. “I value creating meaningful relationships, supporting others, and being someone people can depend on.”
Juli will soon complete her undergraduate degree in psychology and begin LPU’s Master of Arts in Counseling program in the spring, working toward becoming a licensed professional clinical counselor. “My time at LPU has helped me grow in confidence, leadership, and recognizing the gifts God has given me,” states Juli. “I am grateful for every opportunity to serve, take initiative, and use my strengths to make a positive difference.” Juli is discovering that the struggles God has brought her through may also become some of the very things He uses to help her minister to others.
Juli is a full-time student at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, California. In her free time, she loves finding new coffee shops, playing guitar, listening to everything from Dave Matthews Band to’90s music, and watching 19th-century romance films. And if Trader Joe’s Takis are involved, even better!
To support students like Juli Jourdane at Life Pacific University, click HERE!
