LAURA JANE KENNY | staff writer

Ryan Thomas is the lone Cougar in an home filled with Eagles.

Ryan Thomas was grounded when his mother found out he was going to attend APU.

His decision was definitely one against the flow since his grandmother, mother, father and two older siblings attended Biola University and were hoping that he would do the same.

Thomas, who grew up in Pasadena, went to Biola basketball games when he was in high school to support his older brother.

Even though he sat on the Biola side, Thomas converted his fandom his senior year of high school to the Cougar side. Though he visited Biola because of the family history, he chose APU because of the great community.

“The people I meet here, the classes I’m taking, I don’t think I could see myself anywhere else,” Thomas said.

His parents attempted to push Biola on him consistently throughout his decision.

When Thomas would visit APU, his parents always advised him to look at Biola as well.

They would ask Thomas if he considered all the options of Biola, specifically asking him if he thought about the cafeteria at Biola, reminding him that he was “going to have to eat for four years.”

Thomas waited until March of his senior year to decide after meeting with counselors from both schools.

He found that students who attend Biola are automatically biblical studies minors due to the course load of required Bible classes.

Thomas wanted to minor in math at the time, so Biola’s requirement helped him make his final decision to attend APU. Regardless of where he went, Thomas was confident in God’s ability to be bigger than our choices.

“Whether I was here or I was at Biola, God would use me either way,” Thomas said. “Whatever decisions we make, God works around them and will use you no matter what.”

There was still the problem of getting his parents on board. Thomas had to pay for his schooling and due to this fact, Thomas thought about going to a Cal State.

Since Thomas’s parents wanted him to attend a Christian school (Biola in particular) they offered to pay the difference if he attended a Christian university.

Thomas found a loophole in his parents deal and decided to attend APU. His parents were surprised at first, but Thomas was able to sway them to his side.

“It was hard. I really wanted him to go to Biola,” Ryan’s mother Ruth Thomas said.

In the end Thomas’s parents support his decision, even though they wanted him to attend Biola.

Thomas explained that his parents became more comfortable with the idea when they visited campus during orientation weekend.

Ruth Thomas is happy with her son’s decision. She put her desires behind her and supports her son.

“The great thing is that he is where God wants him to be,” Ruth said.

Sophomore communication studies major Phil Congelliere is a good friend of Thomas’s and has been able to witness the family rivalry firsthand.

“It’s funny because Ryan is one of the most spirited Cougars we have here. It’s comical that he is rooting against his parent’s alum,” Congelliere said.

Thomas’s little sister, Alyson, has entered the ring of decision that her older brother did not leave too long ago.

She is deciding between Biola and Westmont and has the same pressure from her parents that her brother received.In her senior yearbook tribute, Alyson’s parents wrote that she was going to attend Biola. Thomas was not shocked this because his parents also announced he was going to go to Biola in his senior tribute.

Even while supporting Thomas’s decision, his parents continue to stay loyal to their alma mater.

When Thomas brings friends over to the house, his parents are sure to wear their Biola T-shirts and use their Biola coffee mugs.

At APU vs. Biola games, they sport their half Biola and half APU T-shirts.

“It is more joking, but Biola is the place they are comfortable with, it’s the place they have known. APU has always been the cross-town rival,” Thomas said.

Even Thomas’s grandmother will stand up for her school. When Thomas went to an APU vs. Biola basketball game, his friend commented on an older women sitting on the Biola side. This lady was dramatically opening her sweater in their direction to reveal a Biola T-shirt.

Thomas told his friend that the woman was his grandmother.

“My family always sits on the Biola side,” Thomas said. “But I always walk over there to give them a hug and they introduce their Biola friends to me.”