About April

“Forget conventionalisms; forget what the world thinks of you stepping out of your place; think your best thoughts, speak your best words, work your best works, looking to your own conscience for approval.” –Susan B. Anthony

April Asuncion is a God Chick and Warrior Chick¹ . Every day she wakes up, she decides to start her day with readings from Hugs Daily Inspirations Words of Promise, Moments of Peace for the Morning, and her personal book of choice that she is currently reading. She is led and inspired to live each day fully, not necessarily knowing where God will lead her, but trusting and believing that she is where she is supposed to be.

Starting off as a tutor in Santa Ana elementary schools, a teacher aide at UCI Extended Day Care, lead teacher at the YMCA, and second grade teacher at a Catholic school in Los Angeles County, she is ready for her next calling.

She received a Catholic Education from grades K-12 in Vallejo, California, earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Social Behavior and minor in Educational Studies in the University of California, Irvine, studied abroad in Cambridge, England, and earned her Masters in Elementary Education and Teaching Credential at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). She was a member of Cohort 6 in Partners in Los Angeles Catholic Education (PLACE Corps) under LMU where she was placed in an under-resourced Catholic School while earning her Masters and living in a convent in Compton for two years. She stayed at her placement site for an extra year while clearing her teaching credential and lived in the same city as her students.

After much contemplating and prayer, she decided not to renew her contract at her school and follow her “Personal Legend” as mentioned by Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist. She created a “bucket list”, inspired by Pastor Phil from The Oasis Christian Center, of goals and things she wanted to accomplish before settling down. She conquered the first thing on her list which included going to the annual GodChicks Conference, this year’s theme being: The Adventure, sponsored by The Oasis and led by co-pastor, Holly Wagner.

Equipped with her experiences, education, skills, and faith, she is ready to start a new chapter in her life, full of adventure and lessons to share with everyone. She hopes to empower women by inspiring them to live with purpose and with passion. She will continue to be a lifelong learner, pursue God whole-heartedly, and influence others to use their God-given talents. Her assignment in life is “to open” the minds of others by providing her insights, different perspectives, and experiences to the platform, because that is what the word April means – “to open.”

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¹terms coined by Holly Wagner, co-pastor of Oasis Christian Center Center in Los Angeles and author of  God Chicks and Warrior Chicks, which refers to a woman who is committed and destined to fulfill her God-given purpose in life while doing what is right in the midst of challenges. She realizes her value and gifts are given by God and her worth is not determined by the standards of society, culture, or man.