Mar 18, 20202 min read

Pepperdine University, Malibu

In the Summer of 2017, I graduated from Pepperdine University, a college located in Malibu, California. Pepperdine is a small, private Christian school with a total of 3,600 students. I loved attending Pepperdine and am excited to tell you about it!

Pepperdine is a unique university for many reasons but the greatest, in my opinion, is its location. As you can see in the image above, it is nestled between the rolling hills of the Santa Monica Mountains and the winding coast of the Pacific Ocean. For this reason, Pepperdine has been named, year after year, as one of the most beautiful campuses in the United Sates.

The city of Malibu is located about 15 miles North of Los Angeles. When I lived in an off-campus apartment senior year, I would drive to class everyday on the highway pictured above. This highway, known as Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), is famous because it winds along the ocean and has amazing sunset views!

Pepperdine's unique location influences many aspects of University life. Instead of taking a regular PE class, for example, students can take surfing or hiking classes. There is even a famous hiking trail on campus called "hike to the cross" that winds up a mountain and ends at a white, wooden cross (pictured above). Finally, it is not uncommon to see wild animals on campus such as deer, foxes, and squirrels. There was even a mountain lion one year!

Besides location, Pepperdine is known for its study abroad programs! A study abroad program is where students can spend a long period of time studying in a different country. About 70% of students study abroad during their time at Pepperdine. I wanted to mention this because the Summer after my Senior year, I decided to study abroad in Madrid, Spain! If I had not studied abroad with my University, I would have never learned about the Auxiliares program, and would have never moved to Madrid.

Below are some of my favorite pictures from that Summer.