CA Hallways Summer 2023

CA Hallways
Summer 2023
“A publication for Alumni & Friends of Collegedale Academy”
ALUMNI
WEEKEND
Recap
ALUMNI WEEKEND
RECAP
CLASS OF 2023
GRADUATION
CA'S "INSPIRE"
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

TABLEOFCONTENTS
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6
10
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Alumni Weekend 2023
Honor Classes
Class of 2023
Student Mission Trip
Annual STEAM Expo
"Inspire Now and For Eternity"
Capital Campaign Update
WORKING TO KEEP STRONG CONNECTIONS AMONG OUR ALUMNI.
We'd love to hear about your latest updates and life happening; please share with
us! Will you help us by updating your mailing address, phone numbers, and email
address? Simply send the info our way - ahowell@collegedaleacademy.com.
Looking forward to catching up!

ALUMNI
20th Annual Alumni Golf Classic Tournament
WEEKEND2023
Hole in
One!
What an incredible day of
golf at our 2023 Alumni Golf
Tournament at The Ooltewah
Club! The rain held off for
most of the morning, and
the sun even managed to
peek through at times. A big
moment of excitement was
when high school science
teacher, Stan Beasley, made a
144 yard hole-in-one on hole
#9 and won $10,000!
Thank you to our generous sponsors and
participants! We raised $35,137, before expenses,
which supports CA Athletics!
TITLE SPONSOR
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ALUMNI
SABBATH
WEEKEND2023
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5

Honor Classes
CLASS OF
1943
Since taking this photo, we've lost one
of our CA alumni, Jim Ashlock.
CLASS OF
CLASS OF
1953 1958
4 6
CLASS OF
1968
CLASS OF
1973

CLASS OF
1963
CLASS OF
1965
CLASS OF
1978
CLASS OF
1983
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Honor Classes
CLASS OF
1988
CLASS OF
2003
CLAS
200
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CLASS OF
1993
CLASS OF
1998
S OF
8
CLASS OF
2013
CLASS OF
2018
8
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Congratulations to the Class of 2023
Sarah Andrews
Katelynn Appel Reagan Arner Mason Becker
Angelina Burgess
Karlo Carlin
Cyrus Cho
Staci Church
Arianna Clark
Madeline Combs
Mady Corbit
Syndey Crabtree
Victoria Cruz JohnPaul Cunningham Arianna Dacus
Reid Dempsey Camden DeWind Denisse Elve Andre Evans Naara Feliciano
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Claire Fisher
Maya Franklin
Kaylee Garcia
McKenna Gibbs
Garet Gipson
Briana Gladden
Emma Goddard
Angie Gomez
Victoria Griffin Betsy Guerra
Michael Guild Tristen Halversen Harley Herman Hannah Herren Leah Hicks
Ellie Sue Hocking San San Huai Tristan Hulsey Sergio Jacinto Lexi Kaufman
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Congratulations to the Class of 2023
Kareem Kiswani
Cortney Lowman Ivana Mall Laurissa Mancia
Gracie Mattox
Fatith McColl
Atlanta McKee
Maddie Miyashiro
Andrew Miyashiro
Antonio Monteso
Denise Montoya
Cooper Moore
Audra Mullins Belle Pardo Bradley Peterson
Aile Pitts Kyanna Ramirez Matthew Raney Gabriel Reed Carmen Romero
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Paris Romero
Macy Seebeck
Hailey Shabo
George Shrode
Georgia Trott
Thomas Turk
Abigail Valenzuela
Joshua Vila
Samuel Vila
Ally Walker
Olivia Waterhouse Jacob White Rachel Wilkens Ashlyn Williams Courtney Williams
Dakota Williams Ryan Wilson Ryan Yoon Jasmine Zavala Bri Zepeda
Tommy Ziesmer
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2023 Graduation
Congratulations

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Students share their
Thanksgiving Break
with Costa Ricans in
need of Medical Care
By Rachel Wilkens, Collegedale Academy student, Class of 2023
Since I was in middle school, one thing that had
been on my bucket list was to go on a mission trip
before graduating college. I can vividly remember
seeing Collegedale Academy students posting their
experiences online and thinking to myself, “That is
something I need to be a part of.” Flash forward to
the spring of 2022, when Mrs. Marquez, CA’s Spanish
and Life Skills teacher for grades 9-12, announced
the medical mission trip she and her husband were
planning to Costa Rica. This certainly piqued my
interest considering that the mission trip would be
medically centered. Deadlines came and went, and
for whatever reason I did not get my name on the
list. A few weeks later, Mrs. Marquez announced that
she had one ticket left and was asking that if anyone
felt particularly impressed to go, to come and talk to
her. I immediately knew this was a sign from God and
secured my spot on the trip within the hour.
A couple of months later, we began basic training
with Dr. Marquez and his Physician’s Assistant (PA),
Marley. They taught our team how to take blood
pressure, draw blood samples, and even suture
patients. Our team also learned how to take and
analyze urine samples, which arguably was the task
we were least looking forward to. We also gained
plenty of pharmaceutical knowledge that would be
used to issue proper medications to the people we
would be seeing.
Before we knew it, Thanksgiving break had arrived.
We took off bright and early Friday morning from the
Atlanta airport. When we arrived in Costa Rica, we
embarked on an eight-hour bus journey through the
mountains on some intense and treacherous terrain.
We arrived safely and late that night, with a full few
days ahead of us. Sabbath consisted of a church
service led by our team. CA students, Reese Dingman
and Ryan Williamson, sang for special music. Dr.
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Guild, community member and grandfather of a
student on the trip, shared an unforgettable children’s
story. The mountain village was a quiet, remote, and
scenic place. With Sabbath concluding, we set up for
the clinic which would be opened first thing Sunday
morning.
Over the next few days, we saw approximately
500 patients. Some of our patients traveled for
many hours on foot, just to be seen by a physician.
Accompanying our team was a group of Costa Rican
medical professionals. This was especially helpful
since having plenty of translators was crucial. For those
of us on the team that do not speak fluent Spanish,
our Spanish-speaking skills improved tremendously
over the trip. Some of our patients did not even speak
Spanish and spoke a native dialect of the village they
were traveling from. Along with the Costa Rican
medical team, we were fortunate enough to have a
team of local women who made all our meals.
As far as the patients, the majority of the
individuals we saw were locals who had limited
access to medical care. We saw a range of conditions
from minor ailments like colds and flu to more
serious conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and
respiratory illnesses. We also saw a few cases of skin
infections and wounds, likely due to the manual labor
many of the patients engaged in. I had the incredible
opportunity to remove a lipoma with Dr. Marquez.
A lipoma is a fatty tumor located below the skin,
and this one happened to be about the size of a golf
ball. After a painful hour and a half of squatting in
our humid, makeshift surgical room, watching our
patient leave with his tumor in a cup and a smile on
his face is a memory I will not forget anytime soon.
Spending time with all the ecstatic children that came
through the clinic was another highlight of the trip.
Even though we were all exhausted by the end of
each day, seeing the difference we were making in
each patient's life made every bit of it worthwhile.
After four days of working at the clinic, we
embarked on the eight-hour journey back to San
Jose where we would spend our last two days. In
these last couple of days, we had the opportunity to
visit some of Costa Rica’s most famous attractions.
This included going zip-lining through the jungle
and visiting Manuel Antonio National Park. There
we got to observe some of Costa Rica's spectacular
wildlife up close. Our tour guide was able to point out
numerous animals from indigenous snakes to sloths.
At the end of the tour, we got to spend some time at
the most serene beach within the national park. It was
a beautiful way to conclude an extremely successful
trip.
Despite any minor or major difficulties, we may
have faced, our experience was incredibly rewarding.
We were able to make a difference in the lives of so
many people who otherwise would not have had
access to what we consider basic medical care. My
time spent working in the clinic was a great reminder
of how much I have to be thankful for. Our theme
song throughout the trip was “Dame Tus Ojos” which
translates to “Give Me Your Eyes.” This trip helped
me to acquire a new lens in which I view and interpret
the world around me. Life will be challenging at
times, teamwork can be tough, and exhaustion leads
to impatience, but if we can see through the eyes
of our Father, he can offer peace that transcends all
understanding. As a church and ministry, we do not
need to travel to another country to share the love of
God. We are given that opportunity daily, all we have
to do is invite Him into our hearts.
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Collegedale Academy's An Annual
Expo for the Community
By Sarah Andrews, Collegedale Academy Student, Class of 2023
On March 28, 2023, Collegedale Academy
hosted a successful event known as the CA STEAM
Expo. STEAM is an acronym standing for science,
technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. The
night was split up into two events: a presentation
given by NASA scientist Joby Minor and an expo
afterwards displaying student STEAM programs in
motion at Collegedale Academy, from the youngest
3 & 4-year-olds in our Early Childhood Education
program to our nearly graduating seniors.
The night began in the high school auditorium
as keynote speaker Joby Minor shared incredible
information about the future of space exploration
and advances in science with the attending parents,
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and interactive elements such as spin painting by CA’s
National Honor Art Society members. A highlight of
the night was the infinity room designed by middle
and high school art teacher Mrs. Stone, which was
a small room filled with mirrors, inspired by Yayoi
Kusama’s infinity room.
Southern Adventist University staff also joined
the evening and shared emerging technology with
students, such as a life-size, jumping robotic dog.
“STEAM Night was successful, with a packed
gym and many informed minds. It really goes to
show the talent, brilliance, and creativity that CA
students at all ages have. Supporting new STEAM
programs, and continuing to show up for events like
this one are all ways the community can help these
young minds continue to thrive,” shares CA’s Director
of Innovation, Nicki Johnson.
Plans are already underway for next year’s
STEAM Expo in hopes to show the many ways that
science, technology, engineering, arts and math is an
essential part of students’ education and subsequent
futures.
students and community members. Minor is well
known for his work on the International Space Station,
and his work continues with the Artemis project. Minor
stated that the next goal for the scientific community
is a long-term lunar exploration and, eventually, the
human exploration of Mars.
After his speech, the attendees were invited into
the gymnasium for the STEAM Expo. Students from
EC-grade 12 displayed projects and creations from
various STEAM related classes, giving family and
friends an insight into the intelligent and creative
minds of our students. Elementary and middle school
students had displays including toy design, robotics,
and blacklight paintings. The seventh graders had
an exhibit for their scale project in math class, with
recreations of various items such as Rubik’s cubes,
video game controllers, and even a scaled down
version of Mrs. Trott’s 7th-grade math classroom. CA
high school had a variety of STEAM projects, such
as the birthday polynomial project from Algebra II
students and marble run tracks made out of index
cards and tape by the Physics class. In previous years,
CA’s Math & Science night, as it was called then, did not
include art, technology and engineering. In addition
to CA’s science and math initiatives, this year’s event
included dressers made in Woodshop class, light
bulb-themed sculptures from the seniors Bible class,
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Personnel Changes
Collegedale Academy’s Marketing & Recruiting, and Development & Alumni departments have undergone
some recent changes and have merged into a single department called the Advancement Department. The
former Director of Development & Alumni Relations and the Director of Marketing and Recruitment, Marilee
Silverstein and Angi Howell researched and strategized to merge their areas with the end goal of advancing
CA’s mission, increasing continuity, and creating efficiencies.
We are happy to announce the following changes as of July 1, 2023:
Marilee will serve as the Director of Advancement and will manage the newly merged
department. She will continue to build and strengthen effective partnerships with
in our community and with our constituents in order to provide continued growth
in capital, endowment, and current giving campaigns. She will continue to support
CA departments in their fundraising goals to ensure continuity.
Pamela Davenport has been hired full-time and will serve as the Assistant Director
of Communications and Marketing. For the past year and a half, Pamela has worked
part-time as the Digital Marketing Coordinator. She will continue our efforts with
best practices in marketing and communications and provide innovation, strategy,
infrastructure, support and expertise needed for a cohesive and comprehensive
messaging plans with the goal of promoting CA’s mission with prospective students,
current students, parents, alumni, churches, donors, and community partners.
Angi Howell will serve as the Assistant Director of Recruitment and Alumni
Relations. Angi will continue with the recruitment efforts she previously managed
with our feeder schools, general prospects, high school tours and working with our
admission team members for all grade levels. Additionally, her focus will be to
engage stronger and more relationships with CA’s alumni encouraging involvement
and support of Collegedale Academy. Angi will scale back her hours to a 3/4-time
schedule.
Jenny Sue will continue to be a strong asset by supporting the department as a 1/2-
time employee with her wide skill-set of organizational and event planning skills.
Her title will be Advancement Associate.
While we will do our best to reach out to you feel free to contact us and any time to learn more, say hello
or let us know your desire to be involved with Collegedale Academy. We can all be reached by phone at
423-396-2124 or by email.
Marilee Silverstein - msilverstein@collegedaleacademy.com
Pamela Davenport - pdavenport@collegedaleacademy.com
Angi Howell - ahowell@collegedaleacademy.com
Jenny Sue Hocking - jhocking@collegedaleacademy.com
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The Inspire Now and For Eternity Capital Campaign Update
It is an exciting time at Collegedale Academy! After years of planning, we are moving forward with our
plans for a new elementary building and have initiated the Inspire Now and for Eternity capital campaign.
This exciting new facility will position us for growth, enhance our ability to provide discipleship, academic rigor,
and integrity to our students in a Christ-like and inspiring environment that will continue to attract the top
teachers and families to our community.
We have made a lot of progress these past few months and we wanted to take this opportunity to update you:
• Fundraising Goals/Milestones:
o Currently, our new working fundraising goal is $25,000,000 for this project.
o God continues to open doors and bless our fundraising efforts! Thanks to early supporters, we have
raised $15,483,603 in gifts/pledged support in just one year!
o In the Fall/Winter months, we will launch the Major Gifts, Corporate/Business, Parent, and Alumni,
and Community Fundraising Campaigns.
o Our next milestone goal is to reach $20,000,000 by December 31, 2023.
• Pre-Construction/Staging: If you are local, you will have seen some dirt moving already. We set
a goal of $15 million in pledge support before pre-construction/staging could begin. Thanks to our
generous donors, we have surpassed this goal, and have begun with the construction of the play
spaces and parking lots.
• Dedication and Ground-Breaking Ceremony: Please join us on September 13, 2023, at 5:30 pm at
the Middle School grounds, we will have our dedication/ground-breaking ceremony.
• New Elementary School Opening: Our goal is for the new elementary school to be ready and open
for students by August 2025.
We are still in the early stages of our campaign efforts and there is much more to come. Everyone will
be invited to join the effort – parents, grandparents, alumni, church members, corporations, and our entire
community. We will continue to keep you informed and if you would like more information, please visit our
campaign website: collegedaleacademy.com/inspire.
Finally, we thank you for your continued prayers as we work towards this exciting new phase for
Collegedale Academy.
Sincerely
Brent Baldwin
High School Principal
Head of School
Marilee Silverstein
Director of Advancement
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CollegEdale Academy
PO Box 628
Collegedale, TN 37315-0628
SAVE THE DATES
‣‣ CA Alumni Band Concerts on Oct 17 & Dec 7, 2023 @ 7pm.
Locations will be available & sent in the near future.