IVGrad is a multi-ethnic and non-denominational community of graduate students who want to know Jesus Christ. We seek to grow spiritually, cultivate true Christian community, integrate faith and learning, and dedicate ourselves to witness and service. In particular, we encourage thought and discussion about what it means to be a Christian in an academic setting. We are not just a group “for Christians” but also for those who have little or no Christian background. All are welcome to explore and discuss issues with us or simply participate in our social events.

Our Student Leaders

Matt (P), Ben (VP), Anna (FO), and Elaine are this year’s Steering committee. We provide planning and support to help small group leaders, large group meetings, retreats, and the many other activities at IVGrad that happen all year long. If you have questions or suggestions, let us know! We’d love to help 🙂

Matthew Withers
Matthew WithersPresident

Matt is a third year student in Stanford’s Physics Ph.D. program. He grew up in the mountains of Virginia and is currently enjoying is first long-term stay away from the East Coast. In the lab, he works on developing radio-frequency readout systems for ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) telescopes (a fancy way of looking at the earliest light in the universe) and direct dark matter detection experiments. Matt grew up in the church but became much more convicted of his faith as a college student, where he was involved in IV Undergrad and Greek IV ministry and was surrounded by a strong Christian community. He’s excited to continue working with IV as a graduate student and to see how God moves on Stanford’s campus. In his free time, he enjoys being very bad at sports he never learned to play properly.

Ben Krisna
Ben KrisnaVice-President / Monday Bible Study Leader

Ben is a second year Ph.D. student in the Mechanical Engineering department, conducting research in the exciting realm of computational fluids.
He grew up in Indonesia before moving to Aachen, Germany for college. Despite being born in a Christian family and in the church, Ben did not discover the true meaning and reason for his faith until later on in life. Personal adversities and apologetical questions challenged him to revisit his views on his faith and to take them with paramount importance. For this reason, he joyfully responds to God’s calling in discipleship and community, especially in IVGrad. Ben is always fond of having deep conversations with friends (sadboi hourz). He spends a lot of his free time cooking and trying out good food in the area. Also, he will gladly talk to you for hours about his VIM and terminal setup, music, soccer, and DotA.

Anna Miller
Anna MillerFinancial Officer

Anna is a second year Ph.D. student in Electrical Engineering working on optical sensors with applications in environmental monitoring. She grew up in the Chicagoland area and did her undergrad in Illinois as well. Anna was raised in a Christian home, but she really started making her faith her own in her senior year of undergrad. When starting grad school at Stanford, finding a Christian community was one of her top priorities, and she feels so blessed to have found IVGrad. In her first year, IVGrad contributed strongly to her spiritual growth, and she looks forward to giving back to this community. In her free time, Anna enjoys sketching, needle-felting, reading, lifting, swimming, and taking walks around campus.

June Li
June LiFirst Year Fellowship (FIGS) Coordinator

June is a first year Ph.D. student in Epidemiology and Clinical Research (but third year Stanford student!), working on predictive modeling and real world treatment evidence in chronic kidney disease. She was born in Hubei, China and moved around a lot as a child, eventually settling down and growing up in Toronto, Canada. She insists that winter is the superior season. While growing up surrounded by God-loving people, it wasn’t until high school that June truly began to experience God’s grace and love. God has taught her many lessons since then about trusting in his plan. June has been involved in serving her youth fellowship in high school and in university as a bible study leader and worship leader. She is excited to give back to IVGrad, who has been so integral in her life at Stanford, through building up this year’s FIGS community! In her free time, June enjoys dabbling in many hobbies, including lots of visual arts and calligraphy, running, trying to improve her climbing skills, baking, and singing.

Alvin Tan
Alvin TanSprouts Bible Study Leader

Alvin is a second year Ph.D. student in Psychology studying language learning in children. He was born and raised in Singapore, then did an undergraduate degree in the UK, and a master’s degree at Stanford—and has liked it here enough to stay for another five-or-so years. He has greatly enjoyed seeing God at work in community, and is looking forward to sharing more good food and good conversations in the coming year, especially with new incoming students. When he’s not futzing with computational models or running experiments on toddlers, he can be found pushing tokens around on a board game, furrowing his brow at a puzzlehunt, or reading way too many books at once.

Esther ElongaSoul Care Small Group Leader
Maggie Wang
Maggie WangWorship Coordinator

Maggie is a third year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Informatics, working on statistical methods for evaluating the effects of behavioral health interventions. She grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she learned to love all things winter. She feels so blessed to be a part of the IVGrad community at Stanford and looks forward to continuing to grow with others in faith. When not in the Epidemiology student lounge in Alway (her makeshift office since her lab sadly doesn’t have one) Maggie enjoys singing, running, climbing, and going out for good food with great friends.

Allisa Hastie
Allisa HastiePrayer and Spiritual Formation

Allisa is a second year Ph.D. student studying Civil and Environmental Engineering. She grew up in central California before moving to the Midwest to complete her bachelors and masters degree at the University of Illinois. Her research focuses on equity in drinking water and wastewater systems in the U.S. and is passionate about the intersection between Christianity, environmental stewardship, and social justice. Allisa enjoys rock climbing, reading memoirs, country music, and facilitating IVGrad prayer groups.

Elaine Sui
Elaine SuiVolunteer Alumna

Elaine graduated from Stanford in Spring 2023 with a M.S. in Computer Science focusing on Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. She now works as a Stanford research assistant. Hailing from the land of the True North, Elaine came to know Christ in middle school but started to explore her faith more deeply through Power to Change (the Canadian equivalent of Cru) at the University of Toronto, where she did her undergrad. Since coming to the West Coast, IVGrad has been an integral part of her life, being a supportive community where people actively challenged and continue to challenge her on her journey with Christ. After receiving the gift of IVGrad in her first year, she hopes to extend that same warmth to others who are looking to grow in a Christ-centered community. When Elaine is not coding, she’s probably cooking, baking, grocery shopping, or taking a walk (or maybe a run if she feels motivated).

Our Commitments

Spiritual Formation

Community

Evangelism & Service

Integration of Faith, Learning & Practice

What does IVGrad believe?  We come from many backgrounds and have varying beliefs on many topics. We gather together not because we agree on a set of doctrinal statements, but because we are a group of graduate students attempting to seek and know God during our time at Stanford. Everyone is welcome to join us, regardless of their beliefs.  IVGrad can be roughly categorized as “evangelical protestant”. The InterVarsity doctrinal statement below is a good summary of our group average: not everyone subscribes to every point, but it sketches with broad strokes where most of us are coming from.

We believe in:

The only true God, the almighty Creator of all things,
existing eternally in three persons–
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–full of love and glory.

The unique divine inspiration,
entire trustworthiness
and authority of the Bible.

The value and dignity of all people:
created in God’s image to live in love and holiness,
but alienated from God and each other
because of our sin and guilt,
and justly subject to God’s wrath.

Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine,
who lived as a perfect example,
who assumed the judgment due sinners
by dying in our place,
and who was bodily raised from the dead and ascended as Savior and Lord.

Justification by God’s grace to all who repent
and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

The indwelling presence and transforming power of the Holy Spirit,
who gives to all believers a new life and a new calling to obedient service.

The unity of all believers in Jesus Christ,
manifest in worshiping and witnessing churches
making disciples throughout the world.

The victorious reign and future personal return of Jesus Christ,
who will judge all people with justice and mercy,
giving over the unrepentant to eternal condemnation
but receiving the redeemed into eternal life.

To God be glory forever.

InterVarsity/USA Doctrinal Statement

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