While I was born in New Jersey, from age two, I grew up in Kentucky in a conservative, Christian family. An emphasis was placed not only on attending church but living a life that modeled devotion to the Lord. At nine years old, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at a Methodist church camp. As the chorus of “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” played, I took to heart the phrase “no turning back.” Even though I was young, I recognized that the decision was serious and would be a life-long commitment. As I grew in the Lord, the importance of reading and studying Scripture daily was modeled by my father and became an important part of my formative years. Spiritual disciplines of prayer and service were also developed through the guidance of my family.
I felt called at a young age to be a teacher and, during my time in high school, I realized the Lord had placed within my heart a love and desire to educate young people in mathematics. Attending a college that would provide an environment of academic excellence and foster my commitment to Christ was very important to me, which led me to Asbury University. During my sophomore year at Asbury, I struggled with my calling when I encountered difficulty in a mathematics course for the first time. As a result, I began to question whether I had correctly interpreted the will of the Lord for my life. Through the guidance of professors and specifically the Holiness Conference, I came to understand that God’s call on my life would not be easy but rather “a path of downward mobility” (the theme of the conference). Learning to fully depend on God and humbly follow him whatever the cost led me to continue in the direction of mathematics education.
Upon completion of my time at Asbury, I accepted a teaching position at Woodford County High School and had the opportunity to work with pre-service teachers through practicums and student teaching. Thoroughly enjoying these experiences, I quickly realized the Lord was directing me to prepare teachers to teach mathematics. While I did not feel qualified to pursue this career, I felt compelled to follow Christ and again pursue the “path of downward mobility.” Days before I started my doctoral coursework at the University of Kentucky, I made the decision to be baptized as an adult as a public witness of my commitment to follow Christ completely.
For the past 15 years, God has used my ministry in higher education to mold and shape me to be more like him. During this time, the Lord also provided new avenues to grow and serve him by bestowing upon me a Christ-centered husband and daughter who bring new depths of joy to my walk with the Lord. As I continue to daily live for Christ, the meaning of “Holiness unto the Lord” has become more than a title in Hughes Auditorium but the watchword and song of my life. A firm belief in personal holiness, the intense pursuit to know God more, and the desire to daily take up my cross and follow God are the cornerstones of my life. “The cross before me and the world behind me…no turning back.”