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Pacifica Hires New History & Theology Faculty

June 6th, 2023


With the continued growth of Pacifica's student body, we are thrilled to share that we have hired an additional faculty member for the 2023-2024 school year! Mr. Justin Solis will be joining our History & Theology Department team in the fall and is excited about Pacifica's mission of freeing the next generation to think and live well.

Justin Solis loves helping young minds pursue the true, good, and beautiful through immersion in the Liberal Arts. A native of Southern California, Justin, fell in love with learning at a young age, thanks in part to parents who exposed him to local cultural landmarks such as The Getty Center, The Huntington Library, and the Pacific Symphony. Seeking Christian scholarship and community led him to Concordia University Irvine where he graduated with a B.A. in History and a Minor in Music.

 

It was during his time at CUI that Justin developed a deep appreciation for the history of Christ’s Church and Christian Theology. Mr. Solis developed the historian’s craft at Claremont Graduate University, graduating with an M.A. in Early Modern Studies. He returned to his undergraduate alma mater to teach courses in History, including Concordia’s Enduring Questions & Ideas Core History for underclassmen, as well as Propaganda & Persuasion, The History of Pop Culture, California History, and Eastern Civilization.

It was also at Concordia where Justin met his wife, Amanda. During the pandemic, Justin, Amanda, and their 3-month old daughter relocated to Goodyear, Arizona where Justin began teaching Humane Letters for Trivium Preparatory Academy, a Great Hearts School. Here, he developed a passion for introducing great texts to high school scholars, helping them wrestle with ideas from Homer to Aristotle, and Dickens to Dostoevsky. Now, Mr. Solis is thrilled to be back in Orange County in order to serve the Pacifica community as a teacher of History & Theology.

Justin loves integrating music into the classroom and believes a life well-lived is one adorned by pitch and rhythm. Highlights from his days as a musician include playing French Horn on the beaches of Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion and performing in Wittenberg at the very church where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. He has also played handbells for Disneyland’s annual Candlelight Ceremony and the Lifetime film, Kristen’s Christmas Past.

Credentials
B.A. History (History of Ideas) – Concordia University Irvine
M.A. History (Early Modern Studies) – Claremont Graduate University

Posted in the categories Academics, Head of School, News.