What brought you to LCA, and how many years did you attend?
I can distinctly remember my first visit to LCA. I was a 5th grader looking ahead to middle school. As soon as I walked through the double glass doors, I was received with so many smiles and warm welcomes. As I sat in on some of the classes, I remember feeling intimidated by the math they were doing but the math teacher made me feel like I could step up to the challenge. (Later I would get to know her as Mrs. Beales.) That afternoon, however, I had to return to my public elementary school. As I climbed the steep cold marble steps and slid through the tall wooden doors, the contrast of the atmosphere struck me. The secretary at the front desk did not offer me a smile as she signed me in. The after-glow of smiles that I received at LCA stuck with me as my excitement grew to move into a Christian school for 6th grade.
I graduated LCA in 2019 and now I’ve come full circle because I’m back teaching 6th graders!
How has your experience at LCA shaped who you are today?
LCA was the water I swam in and the air I breathed. I don’t think I really appreciated what an incredible place it was until I taught in public schools. My parents always told me how grateful they were for a place where the teachers not only knew their students’ personalities but actually prayed for their students. This only really hit me when it became my turn. On my morning commute to the public school, after stepping off the bus, I set aside the time it took to walk between the bus stop and the gates of the school to pray for my students by name. In those cold early mornings, God transformed my heart attitude. The way I taught shifted too. What would it be like if there were a whole school of teachers who prayed for their students? I began to miss LCA.
I see now that LCA shaped me more than I realized. The prayers of my teachers (some of whom continue to pray for me now!) shaped how I approach learning, how I approach science, and how I rely on prayer even now in my lesson planning.
Which faculty members or coaches impacted you the most while here and why? Tell us about what you currently do for work and the road to your current career.
I told Mrs. Oliver, “I want to be you when I grow up.” And now here I am teaching middle school science!
What college did you attend and what inspired you to choose your major?
At Dickinson College in Pennsylvania I majored in two very disparate fields: GeoScience and Dance!
I’m a dancer, so the dance major just made sense.
It took me some time to settle into which science I wanted to do. It all fell into place when one of my classmates introduced me to the geology professors. They raved about their department and they told me how previous students had co-taught at the high school just down the street. The clincher was when I attended my professor’s office hours during my 101 “rocks for jocks” class and found out that she was Christian! In the following years I got to join her research team and transform our findings into a workshop for teachers!
If you could offer just one piece of career advice to today’s students or something that you wish you had known before graduating, what would it be?
Let go of what you think you want to do in your life (if you have an idea) and let God change it.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned since graduating?
No matter where I settle down to make my “home,” my true Home is in God’s presence–so that can be anywhere! These past two years since college I’ve been living in France. My plan was to go after college for one year to solidify my French language skills (which started at LCA thanks to Mlle Todd et Mme Williams.) But I’m so glad that it turned into two. Even though I was far from home, God gave me a second home. I lived with an older French woman and another American roommate–both of whom are believers! After a long day of navigating a new culture, fumbling around in a foreign language, and picking up new skills to teach English, I found comfort in coming home and doing home-y chores for my appreciative roommates. It was at that orange ceramic sink doing dishes that God reminded me of His presence with me. He had followed me across a sea. (“If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” Psalm 139:9-10. I still have this psalm memorized thanks to Mrs. Johnson’s 6th grade homeroom.)
What are you most grateful for from your time at LCA as a student? Do you have a favorite LCA memory or favorite spot on campus?
My favorite spot was Mrs. Hashem’s classroom. Her English classroom was THE BEST decorated classroom: she had bean bag chairs, cozy lighting, and a fully equipped keurig machine for hot chocolate, coffee or tea. But it was the conversations outside of class that were the real draw. We covered all of life’s big questions and then some. The conversations pushed me to consider others’ perspectives with respect and humility.
What is your favorite part of your job and what is it like being back at LCA now as a teacher?
My favorite part is my students!
It’s a little strange being back as a teacher. It’s still taking me some time to get used to calling my former teachers by their first names. It just sounds weird!
What has been the most inspirational part of working with your students?
I’m so grateful for my students! They bring their curiosity, wonder, and motivation. The tiny off-hand comments they say really make my day. Things like “I like that we get to DO things in your class!” Me too–that’s exactly why I love science. Or feedback from a student saying she appreciates “having a teacher that cares about you as a person and not just cramming you with information and homework. It’s also just a fun class!” These comments came at moments where I was feeling critical of my classroom atmosphere, so these were an enormous encouragement to receive!
