I was raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home, attended church each week, and was involved in Pathfinders. During my elementary school years, I attended public schools where I had great friends and good teachers. There was no church school in our area. However, when it became time to prepare for high school, my parents suggested an alternative. They wanted me to consider attending an Adventist boarding academy 60 miles away. I believe they did this for two reasons. First, they were concerned about the possible influences I would encounter in public high school that might move me morally and spiritually away from the church. Second, they knew I would be recruited to play football and that I would want to play with my friends as I had in the local city leagues.
To this day, I don’t know why I agreed to consider that option. Maybe it was the prayers of my parents. Maybe it was God nudging me in a direction. But I agreed to at least visit the school and think about it. The visit was enjoyable. I liked the work opportunities along with the social and spiritual activities, but it was the people I met on that visit who just drew me in as if we had been friends for years.
That summer, just after I turned 14, I left home for that Adventist boarding academy and began my journey in Adventist education that now spans 41 years as a student, teacher, and administrator.
My journey is one that I could not have imagined when I graduated from college with a business degree. My plan was to be a hospital administrator, and I began working on an MBA. At the same time, to help support myself, I accepted a call to be a substitute teacher at an Adventist school. My intent was not to become a teacher, but God had other plans; I soon felt a sense of satisfaction and value in teaching.
The turning point happened during a pastors’ retreat. I was asked to teach the children who were there. I remember clearly helping two second-grade girls who were struggling with a particular math concept. After two days, I witnessed their “aha” moment. That experience changed everything for me as I realized that with God’s help I could make a difference in a young person’s life both academically and spiritually.
Needless to say, I never became a hospital administrator. That next year, I went back to college and earned my teaching credentials. Because of the doors God has opened for me, I’ve served in three countries as an elementary teacher, middle school teacher, principal, missionary, university administrator, and now associate superintendent of education. I met my wife while teaching, and now our eldest son is becoming a teacher. Through it all, God blessed me with amazing friends, colleagues, and mentors. Walking with students as they grow and have “aha” moments academically, socially, and spiritually has been my joy and reward for engaging in this ministry.
Maybe my parents knew something all those years ago when they suggested I attend an Adventist school. Those important morals and standards I was taught as a child were reinforced in Adventist schools, and I remain committed to being and serving as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian.
