I received my classical music training at Calvin College and have more than 30 years of experience in private piano instruction, professional accompanying, and church music ministry. I currently teach piano lessons at the Academy of Music in Grand Rapids and attend Ventura Baptist Church in Holland. Throughout my career I have had the privilege of encouraging students of all ages and the blessing of sharing the joy of music with others. Choral singing is a valuable and rewarding pursuit and I am delighted to help your students tune their voices into one unique masterpiece of praise.

I was born and raised in West Michigan and I attended Plainwell High School where I spent most of my senior year in woodshop class. This is when my passion for the craft of woodworking started. Since graduation from high school, I have spent my lifetime learning different trades: construction, concrete finishing, Ready-mix driver, and handyman. For the last 26 years, I have been working for the City of Otsego’s Department of Public Works. I have always desired to share my gift in woodworking with others; God has recently laid it on my heart to teach trades to high school students in an environment with a firm foundation in the Christian faith. I look forward to working with South Christian High School and am very excited to use my gifts and talents for God’s children and inspiring them to further His kingdom.

My wife Jill and I have been married for 34 years and have been blessed with five children (three girls and two boys). We were blessed to be able to put our children through Christian schooling and are passionate about the impact Christian role models and friends can have on young adults.

In my free time, I enjoy working in my barn where I have built my own woodshop. I always keep busy with miscellaneous projects whether it be around my home or elsewhere, but one of my most fun projects was restoring a Ford Model A.

I graduated from Michigan State University with my degree in Biological Sciences and Secondary Education, and a minor in Chemistry Education. I completed my student teaching internship at Innovation Central High School and Grand Rapids University Preparatory High School. Outside of work, I enjoy running, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

I graduated Holland Christian High School in 2016, and enjoyed spending my time there playing baseball and football. During that time, I was also blessed to have been able to visit Israel, which sparked a passion for teaching and studying the Bible. I graduated Calvin University with a degree in Secondary Education and took a job as an ESS Aide at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School, for a semester. This experience helped me grow tremendously as a teacher in both confidence and compassion. It also helped me start a job as a full time Social Studies and Bible teacher at Holland Christian Middle School in 2021. After teaching for two years and being blessed by the people at HCMS, God decided to bring me to South Christian as a Bible teacher! I couldn’t be more excited!

I am a graduate of South Christian, class of 2019. After graduating I went into the trades. I realized quickly that the path I believed to be for me was in fact a little different than I had imagined. Throughout my time at South Christian I told everyone I was going into carpentry, but after four months I realized my calling was elsewhere. While searching for what it was, I took a job in retail, where I ended up meeting the love of my life, Kennedy. We are getting married next summer! I am heading into my senior year at Western Michigan University and will be graduating with a degree in Industrial Technology Education.

I grew up in Holland, Michigan and graduated from Holland Christian in 2016. I moved to Sioux Center, Iowa to study special education and received a minor in reading from Dordt University. After graduation, I moved back to Michigan and met a South Christian graduate and recently got married in July of 2023. My husband and I both came from large families and love spending time with them doing activities such as camping, going to the cottage, traveling, and relaxing! I love thrifting and sharing my lucky finds with those around me.

After multiple summers of awesome experiences participating in Camp Sunshine throughout high school, I decided to pursue becoming a special education teacher. Little did I know, this would be the best decision I could make for my life. This decision has led me to many great experiences, specifically becoming involved in Special Olympics Unified Sports, and coaching the team at Holland Christian the previous two years. My favorite part about Unified Sports is that it provides a platform for students with a wide-range of abilities to reach a common goal while fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging. I recently graduated from Hope College in 2023 with a B.A. in Special Education, Emotional Impairments and Learning Disabilities. I am most excited about joining a growing school system that loves to put their love for the Lord and others on display. A few things I enjoy are all sports, camping, and being around my loved ones.

God has given me the incredible blessing of three great kids. Although it was a challenge to raise them alone during much of their school years, God showed up in amazing ways and we have always had more laughter than tears! Spending time with my family is still one of my favorite things to do. Reading, hiking, and traveling make life interesting and fun. I have a B.A. in Education and a MEd in Learning Disabilities from Calvin University. I am also a trained life coach. I’ve worn many hats in my career – from teaching 3rd and 4th grade to preschool and kindergarten to being a middle school special education teacher. What keeps me in the world of education is the bold belief that God is still at work, calling students to follow him. And as someone who gets to speak that into their lives, I get the honor of reminding them they are his and that He has good plans for them.

I graduated from South Christin in 1972 and from Calvin College in 1976 with a teaching degree.  I taught for three years at Valley Christian High School in Bellflower (Los Angeles) California.  I married my awesome wife, Jan, while teaching there and moved back to Michigan when we had our first child.  I taught at West Michigan Christian High School during which time I got my master’s in Education Leadership from Calvin.  I was a principal in our Christian Schools and also worked in development.  For the last fifteen years, I worked for Carelinc Medical Equipment as an accounts manager.  We have four grown children, Candace, Christin, Bill, and David as well as twelve awesome grandchildren.