By Josephine Lee

Dr. Stevan Pekovich’s doctrinal convictions and academic credentials made him a natural fit for the science faculty at The Master’s University, which he joined this fall.

Pekovich earned his doctorate in molecular biology from Vanderbilt University and has taught in higher education for over a decade. A key reason he chose to come to TMU was the University’s firm commitment to the sufficiency, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture — including in the Bible’s opening passages.

“People sometimes think, ‘If we can gloss over the first couple chapters of Genesis, is it really that big of a deal? Is it important that God is the ultimate creator?’ It’s easy to gloss over that when you’re feeling the pressure, but it’s a huge, huge deal,” Pekovich said. “That’s the foundation for everything. It all starts there in the first part of Genesis.”

However, Pekovich’s journey to TMU has been anything but linear.

After finishing his postdoctoral work at Vanderbilt, Pekovich considered teaching, which would have been a natural next step. But instead, an unexpected opportunity in Southern California led Pekovich into the field of entrepreneurship, where he established an auction house for sports memorabilia. For the next decade, he enjoyed his involvement in the business world while he and his wife, Kirstin, raised four children.

But the desire to teach never fully disappeared. When another opportunity arose — this time to teach at a local college in Idaho — he made a second career change.

Since then, Pekovich has built up extensive experience as both a businessman and an educator — including starting a company helping adoptive individuals find their biological families, and teaching at respected universities on both sides of the country.

Now the Pekovichs live in Santa Clarita, and this fall, Pekovich is teaching courses like Immunology and Molecular Genetics.

“The exciting part about teaching at The Master’s is the spiritual depth here,” he said. “As a professor, I’m looking forward to meeting other faculty and staff that have already walked down the road that I’m walking, as well as being able to share my life experiences with students. So I’m looking forward to the relationships at TMU both in terms of ‘what can I offer?’ but also ‘what can really help me grow as a man of God?’”

TMU’s biological science degree program equips students to excel in careers in the sciences, medicine, and research, under top faculty committed to the Word of God. Learn more [here].

Josephine Lee is a senior double-majoring in communication and interdisciplinary studies.