My road to Evangel University was somewhat of a “back road” as was the road to my career as a professor of English and Director of the TESOL program. I grew up in the Catholic and Reformed denominations in Firth, Nebraska, and I had never heard of Evangel. Nevertheless, God used the tagline, “Boldly Christian, Unquestionably Academic,” on an Evangel magazine advertisement and the admissions counselor on an “empty” campus visit during the summer to call me to Evangel.
I majored in Music Education, but a close friend encouraged me to pursue TESOL certification as well. Five years later, I received my Bachelor of Music in Music Education (both instrumental and vocal K-12 certifications) with minors in TESOL and Biblical Studies in the summer of 2014. That summer, I also got married to my beautiful wife, Dodi, AND began preparing for my first job as an ESL Teacher in the Willard R-2 school district! I taught in Willard for eight years as an ESL teacher, and during that time I also earned my Master of Education in Literacy and had three beautiful daughters.
Originally, I came to Evangel as a student to pursue excellence in my faith and in music. I return now to Evangel as a musically trained, Spirit-filled, passionate advocate for English language learners. My mission is to partner with multilingual families in their education to become valuable contributors in their communities all to the glory of God.