I walked into a 6th grade math class as a teacher for the first time in August of 2018 without a clue how much I would learn and grow over the next six years! Since that time I have finished my degree through Liberty University, lived in 6 different places, gone through 4 used cars, taught 19 different courses across 4 different school buildings (well, one of those was my house… You remember “distance learning from our homes” I know I try to forget about it too!), coached soccer and cross country, ran a some half marathons, built a website for the school, taught 100s of students, made and consumed hundreds of gallons of coffee, worked 4+ different summer jobs, and wow… I could keep going, but maybe I’m getting into the weeds here. I want to take a step back and tell you how I actually ended up in front of that first 6th grade class with 18 pairs of eyes looking to me for direction.

Virginia —> Washington

I graduated high school in 2016 as the valedictorian from a small private Christian school in Roanoke without much of a plan for what I planned to do afterward. Knowing that I loved Jesus and traveling, I sought to pursue missions one way or another. I had an opportunity to go on a missions trip to Madagascar that summer with an organization called Teen Missions International. It was an amazing experience! After being gone for the summer, I returned home with the realization that I still did not know what was next. At some point I took a family trip to Ohio to visit friends. My friend’s dad (shoutout David and Ethan Blanton!) had recently completed his flight training and took us up on a little joy ride in a little Cessna. Once we were bumping around the sky in that tiny plane, I immediately thought YES! This is it! I can absolutely see myself doing this. I began looking into flying as a missions pilot. Not too long after I applied and was accepted to a missions aviation program at Moody Bible Institute in Spokane, Washington. I packed up my ugly little green 2001 Volvo S40 (ok she was good to me I can’t complain too much, RIP Sally) and headed to the West Coast. The PNW was a dream! I loved it out there. I met my first college roommate, we made lots of memories and took many camping trips in the short time that I was in Spokane. After a semester at Moody, I began to feel less inclined towards the aviation route and began switch my flight major to biblical studies. In the middle of this process we were informed that the Moody Spokane campus would be closing indefinitely following the next semester. Needless to say I, was devastated. Along with many other students, I wasn’t sure what my next steps were supposed to be after hearing this news. Here I thought that I had the next 4-5 years of my life planned in Washington and it all fell out from under my feet. I attempted to get a job (I applied to A LOT of places) and could not seem to get anything lined up. Not to over spiritualize an entire college campus closing, but it really felt like God was closing doors for me out West. With no more real reason to be in Washington and an increasingly tough financial situation, I reluctantly loaded my car back up and began the journey back to Virginia. Big thanks to dad for the gas money home!

Washington —> Virginia

I made the most of the return trip with a friend who flew from Virginia to drive the 2,000+ miles back with me. We camped and hiked and stopped at places like the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. It was a trip that proved to carve many core memories for me! Once the dust settled at back in Virginia, I have to admit that I became a little bitter. I thought to myself, “well, I tried doing what I believed God wanted me to and it didn’t work so I’m just going to get a job and make some money.” That is exactly what I did and… yeah I hated that job! I specifically remember praying in the back at work one day that God would give me guidance and purpose for my life because I did not feel like I was heading anywhere. In my stubbornness (and don’t judge me here…) I told God that I would not reach out to anyone for advice, but that I wanted Him to bring someone to me. I prayed specifically that Lincoln Bryan would reach out to me so that I could talk to him about my life’s direction. I need to insert here that Lincoln was a large mentor figure for much of my life. He was my youth pastor, taught me in high school, led my first two missions trips, and most recently my boss at Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy. If I remember correctly, I hadn’t even talked to him since returning to Virginia from Washington so my prayer was essentially me telling God that He would really have to work if He wanted my attention. Won’t He do it! Not even a week later, I received a text from Lincoln out of no where (but not really “out of no where”, God is in control, amen?). I so wish that I had a screenshot of the text, but you will have to take my word for it! Something along the lines of, “Call me sometime” Ok God… I get it. Loud and clear! I called Lincoln and he asked what my plans were since I’d returned to the East Coast. I let him know that I was working a job, but that I admittedly did not have much planned beyond the day to day. He responded with a question that I could not have prepared for… He asked if I had ever considered teaching. Woah! This is not where I thought we were going. After a little more discussion we ended the call with the understanding that we would prayerfully consider the options here and get back with each other later. After about another week I reached out and we met in person. I told him the whole story that you just read above and we both sat quietly for a moment. Lincoln asks, “so you’re in?” Yes. Definitely. Fast forward six years (I’ll spare you most of the details from the teaching years) and I have been so blessed to be a part of this SMLCA team! While it has been a very large learning curve for me, I truly believe that God led me to SMLCA and the overall experience has been incredible. God is so good! Leaving SMLCA has not been a decision that I made overnight. I have drenched it in prayer and thought for a long time. Lincoln and I sat down at the end of the 2022-23 school year and I let him know that I felt God calling me away after the 2023-24 school year. Now that it is here I am excited, albeit still pretty nervous, to walk into the next adventure God has planned. Six years after walking into my first classroom, God is leading me on to the next thing and I am confident in His plans for my life . How could I not be??

Virginia —> Guatemala

I have also been given a front row seat to see God bless SMLCA through the years!

Notice any differences in the classrooms below? Just a few upgrades since the beginning.