Eagles Eye 2017

The Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy Magazine 

2017 Edition 

Cover story: 

Light the Way 

Becomes a Reality 

page 3

2017 Eagle’s Eye 

Volume 21 

Promise Statement 

Centered in the shared love of Christ, 

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy is the college-preparatory, 

preschool through grade 12 independent school 

that inspires and challenges students to discover, hone, 

and steward their one-of-a-kind gifts 

as they come to know themselves as distinct 

and unconditionally loved creations of God. 

CHCA’s vibrant, multi-denominational family of learners 

creates a sheltering—but not sheltered— 

environment where, supporting each other and guided 

by expert Christian teachers, 

students wrestle with increasingly complex, 

timeless, essential questions in order 

to strengthen their minds and their faith. 

Beginning with the end in mind, CHCA graduates 

young adults fully prepared to succeed in college and beyond; 

to engage effectively and lovingly with different cultures, 

viewpoints, and ideas; and to achieve significant impact 

and influence with discerning wisdom, courageous curiosity, 

and resilient Christian faith— 

where others pull back, they lean into life. 

Editor: 

Jennifer Murphy 

Assistant Editor: 

Tammy Rosenfeldt 

Photographers: 

Judi Alvarado 

Veronica Guerrero 

Dan Ledbetter 


Contributors: 

Adam Atallah ‘07 

Cathy Andry 

Randy Brunk 

Julie Carnes 

Tim Hilderbrand 

Susan Jung 

Jim Lipovsky, PhD 

Amy Lutts 

Ben Panzeca ’16 

Sarah Robinson ’09 


Rebecca Sequeira 

Emma Shank ‘18 

Mona Summers 

Christie Taylor ’11 

Emma Treadway ’18 

Eagle’s Eye Magazine 

Eagle’s Eye is published 

annually by Cincinnati Hills 

Christian Academy 

Please send address changes to 

Diane.Taylor@chca-oh.org or 

513.247.0900 

Visit us on the web 

at chca-oh.org 

On the cover: 

The transformation of CHCA’s Founders’ 

Campus (formerly Middle School) now 

includes Upper Elementary Grades 4-6. 

Follow CHCA on Facebook 

facebook.com/cincinnatihillschristianacademy 

Follow CHCA 

on Twitter @GoCHCA 

Follow CHCA 

on Instagram @GoCHCA

Table of Contents 

Dynamically Engaged 

Light the Way Becomes a Reality 2 

CHCA Upper Elementary Students 

Find Their Passion in Operation Impact 5 

CHCA Students Design and Build a 

Living Water Fountain 8 

Armleder Eyewitness News 10 

Entrepreneurship Runs 

through our Veins 10 

Armleder Students Lending a Hand 11 

Resiliently Faithful 

Forever Thankful: A Story of 

Faith and Hope 12 

SLEW: A Fresh Look at Worship 14 

Refreshingly Insightful 

A Taste of the Ivy League 15 

The Talon 15 

Campus Highlights 16 

Boldly Determined 

CHCA Sports Performance: 

A Different Approach 18 

CHCA’s Noyen: ‘It’s a dream come true’ 20 

Highlights from 2016-17 Season 21 

2016-17 College Signings/Senior Sports 22 

CHCA Names New Athletic Director 23 

Exuberantly Creative 

Fiddler on the Roof 24 

Fine Arts Office Stained Glass Window 26 

“All the world’s a stage...” 27 

Anthony Frederickson ‘20 

on NBC’s “The Voice” 27 

Scholastic Feature and Seniors 

Moving On 28 

An Art Attack in Miracle Commons 29 

Boundlessly Hopeful 

Class of 2017 30 

Commencement Overview 31 

A Bit About Our Val and Sal 32 

Graduation Reflections 33 

Class of 2017 Recognitions 34 

Inspiringly Benevelent 

Spare Change for World Change 36 

SDL Time Well Spent 36 

Fully Prepared 

Engaging Alumni: 

CHCA’s Alumni Relations 37 

CHCA’s First Annual 

Alumni Showcase 38 

Alumni Reflection: Christie Taylor ’11 39 

Alumni Notes 40 

Breaking Out with 

Andy Garrett ‘09: Q&A 49 

Randy Brunk, Head of School 

From the Head of School 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one 

another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” - Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV 

God designed us to be in community. Simply stated, when we grow in relationship with 

others, we grow closer to Him. 

When I ask families what makes CHCA so special, a majority of answers always include the 

word, “community”. When I ask graduates what made CHCA so special, the resounding 

answer is “the community I experienced”. As students walk across the stage at graduation 

each year, I look upon the audience, and I see a community. Community is a thread that 

binds each of us together in a unique way, whether we walk into the doors of CHCA each 

day or whether we’re ministering halfway across the world. 

Each year, we’re presented with countless opportunities to come together to learn, grow, 

give, pray, serve, celebrate, and give thanks as a community. This past year was no exception, 

and some of that you will see highlighted in this edition of CHCA’s “Eagle’s Eye”. Of note 

was the First Annual Alumni Showcase last spring, when our alumni returned to share their 

talents, wisdom, business insights, and more with our CHCA seniors, and among each other. 

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is present whenever two or more are gathered 

together (Matthew 18:20). It is our plan and prayer that we take advantage of many more 

opportunities to come together as a community. Community is life giving, and it is essential 

to following Christ. Scripture also tells us that is because we are better and stronger together 

than we are alone (Romans 12:4–5). 

I challenge each of us to think about how we might contribute to making this community 

we call CHCA stronger, better, and more faithful than ever before. Invite a new family for 

dinner. Organize a family hike. Bless a large family with dinner or dessert. Have dinner 

with an old friend or past teacher. You will find within the doors you open and among the 

community you feed, that will be the very thing which brings you closer to life as God 

intended. 

Blessings, 

Randy Brunk, Head of School 

1

DYNAMICALLY ENGAGED >> 

4 

2

Light the Way Becomes a Reality 

CHCA is now home to enhanced programming and curriculum, as well as an expanded 

preschool, new innovation labs, and collaboration spaces - all designed to provide a rigorous, 

engaging, academic, and faith-based education. 

Robust new spaces include The Blake Lindner Thompson Early 

Childhood Learning Center, an expanded 22,000 square foot 

facility with open classrooms, an Atelier creative studio, an 

indoor Piazza and outdoor playscapes, learning gardens, and 

much more. CHCA’s Early Learning Program has expanded 

to serve children beginning at age two, with state-of-theart 

learning spaces and flexible scheduling options. Head of 

School Randy Brunk shared, “We believe that an expanded, 

strong early learning program will better serve families of our 

youngest children and will provide an even stronger learning 

foundation as students head into the primary school years.” 

An expanded Upper Elementary wing features new 

classrooms, new outdoor play areas, a new cafeteria, new 

science labs, and an innovation and collaboration space. With 

the retirement of Principal Mrs. Nancy Buckman, CHCA also 

welcomed a new Upper Elementary Principal, Mr. Steve Sideris. 

The Upper School now features innovation labs and 

collaboration spaces that are designed to facilitate more 

hands-on learning opportunities. Students are able to study, 

research, and work in teams on projects in the new McSwain 

Family Collaboration Center at the MSL Campus (these 

spaces include ideation rooms, comfortable seating areas, and 

internet bars). The innovation spaces are already fostering 

creativity and leadership, where students and teachers can 

have lectures with dimensional learning and take risks in ways 

that stimulate discussion and creative thinking. The spaces 

are also being used to support CHCA’s Teacher Innovation 

Fund grant initiative, designed to empower teachers to inspire 

innovative high-engagement learning opportunities for 

students, while reaching their established benchmarks. 

continued on next page 

Most notably, CHCA recently restructured programming 

to establish the Upper School as Cincinnati’s only Christcentered 

six-year college prep high school experience, serving 

students Grades 7-12. Grades 7-8 are being empowered 

with the tools, knowledge, and disciplines to flourish in the 

high school years. Upper School Principal Dr. Dean Nicholas 

introduced a written documentation to all families, “Cincinnati 

Hills Christian Academy’s Approach to Upper School: A 

Six-Year Christ-Centered College Preparatory Experience”* 

which outlines the key strategies and distinguishers behind the 

Upper School approach. With opportunities to take college 

courses in high school, pursue your passions via independent 

research, grow entrepreneurship skills, and cultivate your 

curiosity in every subject, CHCA’s Upper School truly offers a 

unique experience for our students. Dr. Nicholas shares in his 

overview, 

“Our changing world needs leaders. It needs people who are 

passionate critical thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators. It 

needs people who can communicate well, whether by written 

or spoken word. It needs people who are motivated self-starters, 

with entrepreneurial drive. It needs people who can manage 

themselves and others. It needs people who can face adversity 

and and not be shaken. It needs people willing to serve those 

around them, putting the needs of others before themselves. 

Our world needs people who understand that all the world is 

God’s and that He is restoring all things, making all things new 

through Christ. Our Upper School is creating an environment 

to raise up young women and young men who will engage the 

world and shape the future. We are excited for what the future 

holds. We are excited for what our students will do.” 

3


Light the Way Becomes a Reality 

(continued) 

In addition to these spaces, CHCA is also home to a new 

Environmental Sciences Center Greenhouse, which will not only 

enhance the school’s renowned aquaponics program, foster 

university level research opportunities, and provide additional labs, 

but it will also serve as an opportunity for CHCA’s youngest students 

to learn about the Greenhouse effect… in an actual Greenhouse! 

CHCA is equipped like never before to fully engage students at all 

grade levels. From 3D printers to zSpace to news programming to 

student-run businesses, everywhere you turn, this new generation 

of learners are taking advantage of opportunities that are expanding 

their experience both within and outside of the classroom walls. 

*For a copy of Dr. Dean Nicholas’ Upper School overview, please contact the 

school – 513.247.0900 

4


CHCA Upper Elementary Students 

Find Their Passion in Operation Impact 

Operation Impact came to light after Grade 5 Science Teacher, Ms. Jaime Robbins, heard about the 

idea at the ISACS conference in the fall of 2016. 

It was originally developed between Emerson School in Ann 

Arbor, MI, and DistinguishMe, an organization that works to 

develop students, helping them find their passion and acting 

on that passion in order to make them “stand out” to potential 

colleges and employers. Robbins was so excited about the idea 

that she brought Emerson School’s Middle School Director, 

Mr. Andy Zimmer, to share this idea with CHCA faculty at an 

in-service training. The excitement grew and Robbins, along with 

Grade 6 teacher, Mrs. Kristen Woock, worked together to create 

“Operation Impact” for Grades 4-6. 

The Operation Impact week began with the students being asked, 

“What makes you pound your fist on the table? What are you not 

okay with in your world?” They were asked to go from there and 

figure out how they could use their unique passion to help make 

an impact. 

The entire week was built around giving students space, time, and 

a framework in which to develop their own God-given passions, 

using those gifts to impact their world. Students explored how they 

could make the world a better place through one of their interest 

areas-sports/fitness, art or music, creating a business, engineering or 

science, baking, computers...whatever made them excited. The goal 

was to help the students with the following: 

• Gain awareness of passions and interests 

• Gain confidence to make an impact on the world 

• Learn how to give and receive productive feedback 

• Learn how to bring ideas to life 

• Learn how to fail and grow from it 

• Learn to market an idea to others 

• Influence the world! 

Students began by writing down their passions. They asked 

themselves, “What can you not stop doing? What do you do when 

you have complete free time? What do you want to be when you 

get older? What do you love to learn about on your own? What do 

people tell you that you are good at? What are you good at without 

even trying? What are you good at because you care and try really 

hard? What good memories or experiences do you have?” 

continued on next page 5


Operation Impact (continued) 

After answering these questions, they took time to connect with 

others in their class, finding things in common. The groups then 

thought about their answers and how they could uniquely come 

up with ideas to solve problems using their common passions. 

Through this, many students ended up working with peers they 

did not know well or even who were from other grades. In one 

case, a group of Grade 5 engineers designed a robot prototype, 

but realized they needed help with raising money to build the real 

thing. They “hired” someone from the film room to make a video 

of their robot prototype, then “hired” someone from the digital 

media room to make the website that would introduce their robot. 

Robbins observed, “A really cool moment of the day was when 

I was monitoring snack time. After giving the snacks, I gave the 

students choices of where to go–they could either stay in the 

cafeteria or go back to the room to work on their projects. The 

majority of the students went back to the room, even when asked 

by friends to stay. That’s when it hit me. We are giving them free 

time and they are choosing not to take it! They are electing to go 

work on something that we are not even grading or forcing them to 

do! What kids do that? It was one of those things that I knew could 

theoretically happen, but haven’t seen in practice yet!” 

Zimmer came to CHCA to lead the students in a piloting 

workshop. After hearing his ideas, the students spent an afternoon 

storyboarding and prototyping their ideas. Many random items 

were in the building for the students to use as prototypes. 

Guest experts consisting of parents, alumni, alumni parents, 

and friends of CHCA were brought in during the week to work 

with the students. They presented mini-presentations and gave 

personal feedback to each of the student groups, Jon Adams 

‘95, helped students who were interested in business. Dr. Vijay 

Easwaran, who is a research chemist at P&G, and Dr. Maura 

Easwaran, who works with the EPA, provided information from 

an environmentalist perspective that young scientists are facing. 

UC Biology Professor Heather Christensen also helped with 

those interested in science. Engineers Dr. Kris Gansle and Christy 

Hansell, as well as CHCA Technology Teacher, Adam Cool ‘01, 

provided their expertise with those designing projects. 

Crossroads’ Awaited producer Paula Rakestraw, Friends of the 

Groom actor, Tom Long, and Christine Shrum, who does film 

for The Underground, spent time discussing their passions for 

theater and film with students. Professional Christian rap/hip-hop 

artist and producer, Regis Jones, Crossroads’ Kids Club Director, 

Chris Stewart, and Ginger Johnson, who works with the Dance 

Education program at the Cincinnati Ballet, also offered their 

expertise for the students interested in the performing arts. 

Cincinnati Enquirer author and editorialist, Peter Bronson, 

children’s book author, Julie Nicholas, and Paul Smith, author 

of Lead With a Story and Parenting With a Story, assisted those 

interested in writing and storytelling. Emily Vilardo, an artist who 

works at Restavek Freedom Foundation, explained how she uses 

art and graphic design to promote justice issues with children in 

Haiti. 

One of the guest experts commented on how well the students 

asked questions and how well they worked together in groups. She 

6

“This truly was a passion project of mine,” shares Robbins. “I was really emotionally moved at the end of the 

week to see the outcomes-not just with the projects themselves, but with the ways that the students now feel 

empowered to innovate and carry out an idea that they have.” 

pointed out that you often have one person doing all of the talking 

in groups, but these kids all graciously took turns and listened to 

each other. 

The ideas that came from the week covered a wide range 

of topics. A group of Grade 4 and 5 students created and 

programmed a robot called “BookBot” that could carry books 

for those with a broken leg or other injury. Two Grade 6 students 

figured out how to reduce the school’s carbon footprint and 

electric bill by replacing all of the lights with LED bulbs, calling 

their project “Light Right.” 

One student created a video game to help people with the issue 

of bullying. Another student is writing a graphic novel also on the 

topic of bullying. A group of Grade 5 and 6 girls are creating an app 

called, “Blue Whale” that will help people who face depression 

and anxiety. The idea behind it is to have helpful information 

(hints, hotlines, websites, service dogs, and ways to connect 

instantly with friends) on an app for easy access in the case of 

someone having an anxiety attack. One of the students behind 

this app, Grade 6 student, Abby Rosenfeldt shared, “My favorite 

part of this was planning what was going to be on the app, knowing 

that everything on here will have a purpose and can maybe save 

someone’s life.” 

All of the students presented their ideas in the classrooms, while 

other students and parents were able to stop by and discover what 

they had created. Many also chose to present to the entire Upper 

Elementary School and their parents in the gymnasium. 

Many of these students are still taking their ideas and pursuing 

them even beyond Operation Impact Week. Grade 6 students 

Avery Cox, Elise Irwin, Taylor Mitchell, Bella Pfister, and Lindsey 

Steele worked together to create coloring books with Bible verses 

in them and donated them to the Ronald McDonald House. 

Mitchell was excited to discover a way to use her talent of art to 

help her with her passion for children. It opened her mind to how 

the gifts she has can be gifts to others. 

A group of Grade 4 girls, Lauren Littlejohn, Kate Moran, and Carly 

Nix created a company called, “Cupcake Gals”. The idea was for 

people to be healthy, but still be able to enjoy cupcakes, so they 

came up with three recipes of cupcakes to bake and sell, with 

proceeds going to PAWS Humane Society. They even created 

their own website! 

“This truly was a passion project of mine,” shares Robbins. “I 

was really emotionally moved at the end of the week to see the 

outcomes–not just with the projects themselves, but with the 

ways that the students now feel empowered to innovate and carry 

out an idea that they have.” 

7

8


CHCA Students Design and 

Build a Living Water Fountain 

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy is home to many entrepreneurial ventures. One of CHCA’s 

students’ latest endeavors thoughtfully combined engineering, programming, and marketing. 

What began as a paper exercise to represent the culmination of a 

Fluid Mechanics Unit in AP Physics, CHCA seniors Mikey Taylor, 

Johnathan Sequeira, and Adam Rice were tasked to “think like an 

engineer” and design a decorative fountain. Applying Bernoulli’s 

equation and the fluid flow continuity equation (think back to 

your Physics days), they were instructed to detail the velocity, 

height, and range of the designed fountain stream. Among other 

design constraints, they needed to identify (in the building or 

from an external vendor) a source pump with a given volume 

flow rate. 

They exceeded all expectations and submitted their design of 

an animated fountain that would incorporate 97 programmable 

jet/valves for creating 3-D artistic fluid images. Moreover, if that 

wasn’t enough, these ambitious students asked if they could 

create a prototype, and then build it for full-scale installation on 

campus. Hence, the school’s first Senior Capstone Project was 

born on September 15th, 2016: Animated Fountain Capstone 

Engineering Project. They presented their idea to CHCA’s Head 

of School Randy Brunk, and were awarded a small amount of 

funding to get it up and running. 

A team effort. 

It wasn’t long into their work that the three students 

recognized they needed to expand their team. Taylor, Sequeira, 

and Rice were in need of several other support roles to make 

their vision become a reality. They enlisted an electronics/ 

programming team member Sebastian Rodriguez ‘18, teacher 

mentor Mr. Adam Cool ‘01, and marketing/fundraising team 

member Zachary Gunlock ‘17. They also solicited input from a 

local fountain expert Mr. Dave Zambenedetti, Owner/Engineer 

of Pond and Lake Inc. The students presented their designs 

to Zambenedetti, and he was so impressed by the advanced 

design and depth of their knowledge, that he volunteered his 

time to collaborate with them to bring the full-scale project 

to realization, providing input and sharing his professional 

expertise along the way. 

Student led, student designed and student built. 

Work quickly began on creating the prototype. On a 

‘shoestring budget’ and within a very short timeframe, these 

students leveraged their expertise, materials, and a great 

amount of concept testing to get the fountain running 

properly, and as designed. This decorative fountain is an 

“animated fountain” with “jumping” jets around the perimeter 

and “dancing” jets in the interior. The prototype is up and 

running beautifully. 

“Knocking it out of the park!” 

In the course of incorporating this system, Zambenedetti 

shared that these students “knocked this one out of 

the park!” He was so thoroughly impressed that he has 

been sharing his experience with counterparts across the 

country. He has shown their videos, stating, “…they can’t 

believe that high school students can and did do this! It’s very 

impressive.” Furthermore, Zambenedetti has been observing 

some of the features (lattice system, basin design) and noting 

that they could be useful approaches to their displays at Home 

and Garden shows (ease of portability/set-up). He added, 

“These kids are extremely creative and innovative! No other 

school is doing what you guys are doing.” 

Moving forward… 

How is this possible? CHCA has been fostering a culture 

of innovation, inspiring young people to dream big, think, 

and create. Born out of our FIRST (For the Inspiration and 

Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics program 

(Beak Squad 4028, State Champions, and World-Ranked), 

these robotics student leaders translated the technical skills 

and soft skills back into the classroom, elevating the level of 

instruction. CHCA’s former Upper School Science Department 

Head and AP Physics Teacher Dr. Lu Taylor* shared, “The 

animated fountain is a tangible manifestation of our students’ 

wholehearted engagement and courageously creative spirit to 

apply their science/technology education to tackle real world 

problems. They are truly inspired.” 

Taylor also shared her vision for CHCA students and families 

moving forward. What will hopefully be located outside 

of CHCA’s New Research and Innovation Center (coming 

2018), “…the full scale fountain will be foundational for 

future programs across all grade levels. Once this prototype 

becomes a reality, this is truly just the beginning. A science and 

innovation tool, students of all ages will be able to engage with 

it thematically, incorporating art, shapes, fluid flow, technology, 

and so much more.” Families and visitors will be able to benefit 

from this animated fountain as well - a truly inspirational, 

innovative, and educational endeavor for the entire community. 

*Best wishes and blessings to Dr. Taylor in her retirement! She will be 

missed! 

9


Armleder Eyewitness News 

STORY BY PAMELA BAILEY 

As January 

2017 quickly 

approached, 

we were ready 

to launch the 

new program 

that airs daily 

at 7:50 a.m. 

throughout 

all Armleder 

classrooms, 

as well as on 

YouTube. 

Armleder has hosted a daily news broadcast for years 

under the amazing leadership of Mrs. Barb Bodley 

(retired in 2015) and in the last two years, Mrs. Alicia 

DuBois. As equipment started aging, dying, and 

losing relevancy in today’s fast-paced digital age, it 

became evident changes needed to be made. With 

the teamwork of John House (MIS), Mary Margaret 

Krause (CPS Auxiliary Clerk), Bob Scott (Armleder 

volunteer), and Jan Fresh (Instructional Assistant), it 

was determined that with new software and the use 

of classroom smartboards, we could make a major 

upgrade with little financial investment, and remove 

the old large televisions that were taking up valuable 

classroom space. 

This opportunity started taking shape over the spring of 

2016, and plans went into full gear for the changeover 

and work towards a January 2017 relaunch of Armleder 

Eyewitness News. This included adding a green screen, 

creating a YouTube channel, rebranding the news, and 

opening news positions to students in Grades K-6. A 

contest was also held to rename the news from its 

original “Channel 7”. Leah Kindle had the winning 

entry with a play on the name “eyewitness” news. 

Mrs. LaGina Burton had the winning logo (pictured 

above). Students who were interested in being a part 

of the news team had to complete an application, 

take part in an interview, and go through an audition 

process. Students also had to commit to arriving to the 

newsroom by 7:30 a.m. each day. 

As January 2017 quickly approached, we were ready 

to launch the new program that airs daily at 7:50 a.m. 

throughout all Armleder classrooms, as well as on 

YouTube. Many student leadership opportunities 

arose, including Grade 6 student Tyanna Nelson 

producing with the support of co-producer, TJ Nelson. 

Elijah DuBois, Owen Tuffendsam, and Bin-II Smoot 

lead the tech support staff. Erissa Lusain, who was 

in the newsroom by 7:00 every morning without fail, 

was the Production Manager which entailed getting 

the teleprompters started, proofing copy, getting the 

reporter chairs in order of appearance, and much more. 

These students and over 40 more participated over the 

course of the second semester. 

We learned a lot that first semester and have worked 

out many kinks, realizing that a lot can happen when 

you are on live television! We are definitely looking 

forward to a successful 2017-18 school year with the 

new team of Eyewitness News members. Stay tuned… 

Entrepreneurship 

Runs through 

our Veins 


10


Armleder Students Lending a Hand 


In the fall of 2016, Armleder was honored to host an 

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) weekly class, 

City Over Fifty. The University of Cincinnati’s OLLI 

program provides opportunities for lifetime learning 

and social interaction to the mature residents of 

Greater Cincinnati. The eight-week course had full 

capacity enrollment, and provided an opportunity for 

Armleder Achievers Program students to participate 

by greeting and chaperoning the OLLI class members 

to their Armleder classroom. Preschool students 

under the guidance of Mrs. Jan Fresh provided themed 

snacks based on the weekly topic (i.e. edible bone and 

worm dirt cups were the favorite for the archeology 

discussion). A team of students would set up the 

room for the class and then greet and chaperone the 

OLLI students to their classroom. Armleder Card 

Committee members would write a note the next day 

to thank the guest speakers and make sure they knew 

they were invited to visit again in the future. 

Among the student greeters and chaperones, it 

became obvious after two weeks that Grade 2 student, 

Caylen Murray, had a passion for this leadership role. 

Caylen was responsible for managing the set up of the 

room, including the hospitality table, cleanliness of 

the room, hallways, and entry doors, as well as training the 

student team. Training included reviewing how to greet a 

guest (eye contact, smile, firm handshake, and conversation 

starters). After a few weeks, these young marketingminded 

students determined in their weekly debriefing 

meeting that the team needed to have an official name. 

They agreed on calling themselves The Handy Helpers. 

At the end of the fall OLLI class, Caylen and Grade 3 

student Chris Bailey were asked to be in the classroom at 

the start of the session and were given a card signed from 

the entire class, where they were applauded and informed 

that The Handy Helpers created a wonderful experience 

for the attendees. 

As a result of the positive feedback from the first session, 

a spring session was added in March, and another session 

was added in the fall of 2017. The Handy Helpers are 

very much looking forward to continuing to serve our 

community! 

Our youngest students at Armleder have become quite the 

budding entrepreneurs. What started as the “Card Committee”, 

this special group of students continues to produce cards like 

crazy and is considering expanding its membership to meet 

the demand for their cards. To date (since January 2016), the 

Card Committee has sent more than 1,500 cards to leaders 

throughout the city, CHCA family and friends, faculty, and staff. 

They send cards for all occasions including birthday, thank-you, 

sympathy, thinking of you, congratulations, and holidays. 

On August 19, they had a very exciting opportunity to participate 

in the City Flea Kids Market. The City Flea is an event held 

annually in Washington Park, and the Kids Market was added 

last year and was a huge success. This venue allows kids to 

showcase their wares, feel empowered, and for them to get 

even more exposure to what it’s like to own and run a small 

business. They’re very grateful for this opportunity and met 

over the summer to plan and prepare for it. The event was a 

huge success. 

The Card Committee prides itself on repurposing products 

and minimizing the items they have to purchase. For anyone 

who has items they’d like to donate, please consider upcycling 

to the Card Committee. To reach them, please contact at 

ArmlederCardCommittee@chca-oh.org or pamela.bailey@ 

chca-oh.org. 

11

RESILIENTLY FAITHFUL >> 

Forever Thankful: A Story of Faith and Hope 

BY SARA ROGERS, CHCA PARENT TO ARSENIJS POGA ‘17 

We first met Arsenijs in December of 2015 through an organization called New Horizons for Children. New 

Horizons works to connect Christian families in the United States with children who have been orphaned 

in the countries of Latvia, Ukraine, and China. 

Through New Horizons for Children, a family can host a child for five 

weeks over the summer or winter break. Some children come over too old 

to be adopted, such as Arsenijs, but others are still young enough to be 

considered for adoption. New Horizons hopes to connect some families 

with their future adopted son or daughter and for the children too old to be 

adopted, they hope to still connect them to a family who will show them 

the love of Christ for the five weeks of hosting and through a continued 

relationship with them once they return to their home countries. The hope 

is that through hosting or adopting, these children will find families who will 

invest in and love them for the rest of their lives. 

We picked Arsenijs up at the CVG airport on December 19th, the day 

before he turned 17 years old. My husband and I and our four teenage sons 

were so anxious and excited to meet him! We had only seen a picture of 

him from the shoulders up so when this 6’3” kid came walking towards 

us, we were a little intimidated. But immediately after we hugged him 

and fired a thousand questions at him, we could tell Arsenijs was a great 

young man. He had the sweetest, most disarming smile and answered all 

our questions as best as he could. He hadn’t slept or eaten much on his 

24-hour journey from a village in Latvia to us. He only came with a small 

backpack with one change of clothes. We had gone through some training 

with New Horizons to prepare for some of the common ups and downs 

of hosting, but still that first night taking out his ill-fitting clothes from this 

little backpack was overwhelming. I had packed bigger bags for my kids 

to spend one night at their grandparents than Arsenijs had to travel to 

another country for five weeks. 

There are so many things that God did to get our family to the point of 

hosting Arsenijs. And so many things God did in Arsenijs’ life along the way 

to prepare him to be a part of our family. My husband was adopted as an 

infant. But as soon as we married (for each of us, our second marriage) we 

put away any idea of adopting because we already had four boys between 

the two of us. We each had two from our previous marriages, so we didn’t 

think we could handle any more children. 

Fast forward 11 years and here we were staring at a picture of Arsenijs and 

thinking we were getting in way over our heads! Our life was crazy enough 

with our four sons, but God was definitely lining things up for us in such a 

way that we knew He wanted us to host a child through this organization. 

Arsenijs’ picture kept striking a chord with us, which was strange because 

12 

he was so much older than all the other children we could consider hosting. 

But for some reason we couldn’t get past Arsenijs’ picture. His smile 

seemed so genuine and we were intrigued. 

In Latvia, God was blessing Arsenijs with perseverance and an extremely 

intelligent mind. He was motivated to stay in school while others were 

choosing not to go beyond the 9th grade. Arsenijs was officially orphaned 

at 7 years old when his grandmother, who was raising him, passed away. 

From there, he went from foster homes and orphanages to his birth mom 

and back to orphanages and foster homes. All the while, he was learning 

the English language far better than most, and accomplishing things such 

as winning science competitions and passing tests that would allow him to 

continue his education at a University. 

When we met Arsenijs, he was living on his own during the week in a city 

where he could attend what they called University (equivalent to what we 

consider high school). Then on the weekends, he would take an hourlong 

bus ride back to his foster home in a village where he worked on a 

farm with other foster children. In order to understand how God had His 

hand on Arsenijs, it’s important to understand that in Latvia, orphans don’t 

typically continue their schooling. Unfortunately, many are sold into sex 

trafficking or end up addicted to drugs and alcohol. And many end up 

picking mushrooms on mushroom farms. Arsenijs somehow learned to 

speak English and stayed in school, and even learned some things about 

computers through a cheap cell phone he had before coming to the United 

States. 

So after hosting and getting to know this exceptional young man for five 

weeks, we couldn’t believe it was already time to take him back to the 

airport to fly back to Latvia. Our whole family, including aunts, uncles, and 

grandparents, couldn’t bear to see him leave. In this short time, he fit in so 

well with our family that we felt like we were losing a family member. After 

we hugged him and said goodbye at the airport, my husband and I and our 

four sons sat in the car feeling completely depressed. We were not sure 

what God’s next step was for us but we just couldn’t believe that this was 

the end of the story for Arsenijs and our family. We had bought him a cell 

phone to take back to Latvia with the hope that we could text with him to 

keep in contact, and as we sat in the car, a text from Arsenijs came through 

that said “I miss you guys already”. The heartfelt message floored us 

because while he was so sweet, he was very guarded during his visit with us.

So when that text came through, I burst into tears. What was God’s plan? 

Arsenijs was too old to be adopted. We had no idea how to bring him into 

our family for good, but we all felt that our family was indeed where he 

belonged. 

When we got home, we immediately started researching ways to bring 

Arsenijs to the United States to live with us long-term. We quickly learned 

that he could come on a student visa, and that is where CHCA came into 

the story. 

We started praying and contacting schools who would be interested in 

helping us get Arsenijs here on a student visa. We called all of our local 

private and public schools in Northern Kentucky. We contacted local 

Catholic schools, public schools, and Christian schools. We even contacted 

NKU hoping he could just skip straight to his freshman year there. With 

doors closing, we quickly began to lose hope. 

Then my husband mentioned CHCA, because he knew someone with 

whom he worked whose children attended CHCA. We looked at CHCA’s 

website and got so excited about their International Student Program 

(ISP) and their mission to glorify God through their work with international 

students. But we were still not sure if we could even make it happen. We 

called anyway. The first person we spoke with ISP Admissions Director 

Kim Vincent. She was so kind and sincere and was genuinely interested in 

Arsenijs’ story. Though we were unsure because of the costs and logistics, 

we continued to pray and talk with the ISP staff. My husband John David 

and I started feeling hopeful that this may actually be where God was 

leading us. We could tell that both Kim and ISP Director Todd Bacon were 

sincere believers in God and truly had a passion for international students. 

One day, as I hung up the phone with CHCA, I remember bowing my head 

and praying. As a family, I knew we loved Arsenijs and wanted him to have 

a home with us, but I couldn’t see how we were going to afford two years at 

CHCA and four years at NKU. CHCA was our final hope because we had 

contacted every other school in our area even as far as Lexington and none 

seemed interested. A lot was riding on this. I bowed my head and prayed, 

“God if You want Arsenijs here, You are going to have to pay for it. We 

cannot afford it. We need You to provide $20,000 a year. I know that’s a 

crazy amount but You own the cattle on a thousand hills so what’s $20,000 

to You?” I will never forget that prayer. 

Shortly after, Kim and Todd asked us to come in for an interview with them 

and Dr. Dean Nicholas. On our way up there, I looked at John David and 

asked him if we should even do this because we didn’t have the money 

to afford it. He said we should just follow this road and see where God 

takes us. The interview went so well. We left feeling that Dr. Nick, Todd, 

and Kim were such sincere, passionate Christians, even if this didn’t work 

out, it was so encouraging to see fellow believers involved in such an 

amazing ministry to students from around the world. Not too long after 

that interview and after many more emails, Todd called me and said that 

they thought they had found a way for Arsenijs to go to school there. That 

a generous donor had contacted them and offered to help international 

students in need come to school there. This generous donor had offered a 

$20,000 scholarship. 

I still can’t tell this story without crying. I asked God specifically for 

$20,000 and this generous person - who we didn’t even know - would give 

Arsenijs $20,000 to go to school at CHCA both his junior and senior years 

of high school. God had answered us so specifically! 

We are still in awe of God’s amazing answers to prayer and we are still so 

thankful to EVERYONE who made it possible for Arsenijs to be here with 

us. There’s so much more to this story. We would need a full book to fully 

tell of God’s faithfulness and His mighty works to bring Arsenijs here to our 

family and to the amazing family of CHCA. Todd, Kim, Dr. Nick, everyone 

on the Robotics team, teachers, tutors, students, and parents of students 

loved on Arsenijs his junior and senior years in a way to which we could 

never give justice with mere words. 

Arsenijs loved his time at CHCA. God had brought this little boy who had 

suffered things we still don’t know from a little village in Latvia to a place 

of love and kindness and generosity beyond anything of this world. Only 

through the love of God and His Son Jesus Christ could this be possible. 

Through CHCA, Arsenijs enjoyed learning, competed on an amazing 

Robotics team, learned to fly, travelled to California, spent the night 

with the Sequeira family every week during Robotics, where he learned 

he loved Pop Tarts, had the most amazing graduation party through the 

generosity of the Gunlock family, was treated to a Latvian lunch through 

the international program, learned he loved Kings Island roller coasters 

when the international students went to Kings Island, went to plays, and 

incredible dinners, helped himself to snacks in Mrs. Vincent’s office every 

afternoon, learned so much more about his love of computers through 

Mr. Cool’s amazing teaching and kindness, and we could just go on and 

on. Everyone from the janitorial staff, to the students, to the teachers, to 

the parents, and to the whole staff of CHCA loved on Arsenijs in some 

ways even more than our family did during his first two years here. John 

David and I were so worried the first day we dropped him off at CHCA, 

because although we knew the staff and leaders of CHCA were kind and 

loved God, we feared he might not be embraced by classmates, but even 

the students at CHCA were so incredibly kind and gentle with Arsenijs. As 

a result, Arsenijs has changed so much from the guarded kid he was two 

years ago. He’s outgoing, hysterically funny, open, and kind. God has used 

everyone at CHCA to shape him into more of the amazing human being 

God created him to be. While we are excited for Arsenijs’ next adventure 

at NKU where he started this fall, we will miss CHCA so much. Everyone 

who knew and loved Arsenijs at CHCA will forever hold a very special place 

in our hearts. Through the incredible generosity of so many, Arsenijs knows 

the love of Christ through the family of God. We do not know how God will 

use Arsenijs in the future, but we do know that God has big plans, and has 

given him a very powerful testimony to the Lord’s ability to take what was 

broken and make it beautiful. 

13

RESILIENTLY FAITHFUL >> 

SLEW: 

A Fresh Look 

at Worship 

BY EMMA SHANK ‘18 

Spiritual expression is a powerful thing. When 

placed in the midst of high school students, 

it can become even more moving. Many 

students and teachers were gripped by such 

emotional expression when our student body 

participated in Spiritual Life Emphasis Week 

(SLEW) this past spring. We were incredibly 

blessed to welcome alumnus, Darris Sneed 

‘09 and his band to lead us in worship all 

throughout the week, and I think I speak for 

many people when I say that our worship 

experience changed a lot for the better. 

Students became shamelessly bold and 

joyfully unafraid to express a genuine love for 

God through praise and worship. 

14 

As I reflected on the week, I consulted Mr. Kramer, Dr. Pohl ‘01, 

and Dr. Nicholas, who shared similar observations. As Mr. Kramer 

pointed out, simply allowing God’s presence into a chapel setting 

made worship much more expressive and open. Dr. Nicholas also 

reminded me that often, the biggest obstacle to God is ourselves 

and our preoccupations, but Darris’ urge for us to be open to 

God’s presence changed the way we worship. Darris and his band 

also held a worship service on Wednesday night of Spiritual Life 

Emphasis Week, and I agreed with Dr. Pohl when he shared what 

an immense joy it was to witness the courageous worship initiated 

by the energy Darris and his band emanated. 

The message for this year’s Spiritual Life Emphasis Week—the 

topic of race within our community—was a challenging, sensitive 

topic but one that I believe our student body handled quite well. 

The speakers during the week, Dr. Nicholas, alumnus Robbie 

Wilson ‘04, Armleder principal Mrs. Montgomery, and some of 

our very own students, forced us to make some tough realizations 

about ourselves and our community, and as Mr. Kramer, Dr. 

Nicholas, and Dr. Pohl all agree, as we grow closer to each other, 

we in turn grow closer to Christ. Dr. Pohl also pointed out to me 

something Dr. Nicholas mentioned on the first day of Spiritual 

Life Emphasis Week: if we can’t have a conversation about 

race within a community of Christians, where else might the 

conversation be had? 

That week of spiritual revival was very moving, but I have been 

wrestling with the question: how do we continue this type of 

spiritual growth in the future? Mr. Kramer pointed out that 

continuing this feeling starts with being open, honest, and even 

vulnerable in worship. Even though Darris’ team is not here to lead 

us in worship every week, 

being open to God’s 

presence is really all we 

need to be bold in praise. 

Dr. Nicholas shared 

a similar sentiment, 

as he suggested that 

forgetting our worries, 

preoccupations, and 

anxieties is also key 

to focusing on God’s 

presence. Dr. Pohl 

reminded me of a really 

crucial point: worship is 

a lifestyle, not a fifteenminute 

segment in 

chapel. We can worship 

God in everything we do, and, when we do that, worship through 

song in chapel becomes much more natural. He also emphasized 

something very poignant of which Darris reminded us: “Our 

neighbor didn’t die for us; Jesus did.” When we concentrate on 

this seemingly obvious but significant fact, our focus is much 

more easily turned to God. 

My personal hope is that students will remember 

this week and continue to fearlessly worship God 

and constantly grow closer to Christ with the 

assurance that this community is a safe place for 

this type of expression.

REFRESHINGLY INSIGHTFUL >> 

A Taste of the Ivy League 

Upper School Latin students experienced a once-in-a-lifetime trip to 

Princeton University. Led by CHCA’s Upper School Latin teachers, Dr. 

Jim Lipovsky and Ms. Toni Kraft, the group visited Princeton April 2-4 

on a life-changing trip for the students. 

Lipovsky leads a group of his Latin students on this trip every other year. 

As guests of the Princeton Classics Department, they were considered 

Princeton students for a day. They were able to sit in on Latin and Greek 

classes and were able to speak for an hour with one of the professors. 

Lipovsky, who attended graduate school and received his doctorate 

at Princeton, began this trip over 30 years ago, while teaching at 

The Heights School in Maryland. While at The Heights School, he 

was serving on a Princeton committee and brought up the idea of 

his students visiting for a day, which the university whole-heartedly 

supported. After moving to Cincinnati years later and taking a position 

at CHCA, he reached out to Princeton again and continued the 

tradition. CHCA is currently the only school who is able to experience 

this rich opportunity. 

In addition to sitting in on the classes, CHCA students were also able to 

visit Albert Einstein’s house, who had stayed and lectured at Princeton 

for years. They were also able to visit many historical sites and tour the 

campus. 

The eight Latin students who went on the trip were Emma Treadway ‘18, 

Charlotte Lee ‘19, Bobby Stewart ‘19, Bree Wilson ‘19, Austin Parker ‘20, 

Riley Cebulskie ‘21, Joshua Uterstaedt ‘21, and Connor Espenshade ‘22. 

Charlotte Lee shared, “I thought it was incredibly empowering to see 

that I could keep up in classics classes at an Ivy League school. It put 

into perspective for me how advanced I am in the language.” 

“The Princeton trip was a college visit unlike any other I’ve 

experienced,” shared Emma Treadway. “Essentially living as a student, 

I was able to make meaningful connections with professors who 

are global leaders in their field, debating over the minutia of the 

Latin language that gives it such beauty. Not only did I personally 

witness the benefits of an Ivy League education, I got an in-depth 

and personal glimpse of a campus that no college tour could boast. 

Overall, this trip was a priceless experience that I would highly 

recommend to any student, regardless of whether they have an Ivy 

League education in mind.” 

Lipovsky’s original intention for this trip was for his students to 

expand their horizons and to consider schools like Princeton a 

possibility for their future. By sitting in these classes, realizing they can 

do the work shows them that they are capable of doing great things. 

“As a Latin teacher, I sell dreams,” says Lipovsky. “I am a dream 

merchant and it’s a great dream to see.” Thanks to his passion for 

teaching and helping his students pursue their dreams, these CHCA 

students were blessed with a memorable trip. 

The Talon 

This past year, CHCA boasts a brand new student newspaper: The Talon. Putting out publications once a 

quarter, The Talon is designed to highlight students from all countries, grades, and perspectives in order to 

showcase both the talent and the diversity of the student body. In the newspaper’s May 2017 issue, exchange 

students Coco Zhang ‘18 and Jane Li ‘18 wrote an investigative piece on the lengthy library construction. 

Construction had become a source of student frustration and ridicule, yet Coco and Jane proved otherwise, 

showing how all the work was in no way pointless and was well worth the wait. In The Talon’s March 

2017 issue, one of the frontrunners was the opinion piece focusing on President Trump’s Congressional 

Address. As opposed to a traditional one-sided view, the newspaper features both conservative and liberal 

perspectives, engendering a more informed, multi-faceted piece and avoiding bias. In addition, The Talon 

features a wide range of other outlets for student talent: a humor section known as the “Eagle Droppings,” 

sports news underlining athletic achievement, an ongoing serial short story, and much more. Emma 

Treadway (’18) and Laura Karrer (’18) have organized the publication as editor/designer and general manager, 

respectively, with Mrs. Howarth as teacher advisor. So far, the team has seventeen writers and has put out 

two publications. In the future, The Talon’s team hopes to expand the newspaper with an online version in 

addition to print, and it welcomes any student wanting to participate. 

15

Campus Highlights

BOLDLY DETERMINED >> 

18 

CHCA Sports Performance: A Different Approach 

CONTRIBUTORS: ADAM ATALLAH ‘07, BEN PANZECA ‘16 

There’s something special about going to a CHCA football game on 

a crisp fall night, or enjoying the home opener of the soccer season, 

or the third set of a tense girls’ volleyball match. As fans, viewers, 

and parents of athletes – it’s easy to get caught up in the moment 

of game day, and to forget all of the work that occurs behind the 

scenes. But any successful athlete or coach will tell you that the 

work put in on an early weekday morning, or in the extra hours after 

practice, makes all the difference in the outcome of a season. A 

major part of how well an athlete will perform, is how they train and 

take care of themselves – their bodies, minds, and spirits. 

The parallels among academics, service, fine arts, and athletics 

take many different forms from school to school, but at CHCA, 

you will find excellence throughout. The difference with CHCA 

student-athletes: they are being challenged to think critically during 

an AP Chemistry block bell the same way they do at their 6:00 

a.m. performance workouts. When you talk about committing to 

a culture of champions, look no further. CHCA student-athletes 

stay on top with high academic rigor, continual service, and 

championship caliber seasons. 

Under the leadership of Sports Performance Coach Adam Atallah 

‘07, and Head Athletic Trainer Joe Lucas of Beacon Orthopedics, 

the CHCA Performance Program is an incredibly unique service 

to student-athletes. Their Sports Performance department has a 

full time staff who are dedicated to the treatment of each athlete’s 

physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Atallah and 

Lucas quote, “We are very much a college-prep academy across the 

board. That has been the vision from the beginning. Our athletic 

department and school administration believe in the vision and have 

backed us tremendously.” Apart from many other schools, the CHCA 

Sports Performance team bridges sports medicine in its programming 

resulting in optimal performance in sport, nutritional guidance, 

consistent sleep regimens, recovery protocols and injury prevention. 

Atallah and Lucas hold down the fort daily for every need of a 

CHCA Athlete. Atallah pointed out that if an athlete spends two 

hours a day working with him on fitness, and two hours with the 

coach working on skills, then there are twenty hours left in the 

day that will have a significant impact on the performance of the 

player. Things such as nutrition, sleep, and stress maintenance, 

when controlled properly, can vastly increase the athlete’s potential. 

“We’re doing something different from any other local school – the 

technology, programming, recovery – all allow our coaches to coach 

smarter and better serve their student-athletes.” 

The care provided to CHCA student athletes is at the root of their 

culture and cultivates a championship mentality. “Our athletes don’t 

care how much we know, until they know how much we care,” says 

Atallah. “That’s where purpose and passion meet. We are building 

eternal relationships - that is priority number one. If they know 

Jesus and increase their athletic ability while developing their hearts 

of servanthood – then we have succeeded as coaches! That is the 

standard we will always have as long as I’m here.” Joe Lucas has 

been the Head Athletic Trainer at CHCA for the last 13 years. His 

commitment to the athletes’ wellbeing is unmatched. Lucas will 

never take credit for anything, but Coach Atallah didn’t bat an eye 

when he said, “Joe is one of the most important parts of our athletic 

department, period. We can’t accomplish what we are doing without 

him.” 

This dynamic duo has made some significant updates to the 

Sport Performance toolbox by adding an arsenal of state-of-theart 

equipment to support their teams. “We looked into the best 

recovery methods used by teams in the NFL, NBA, MLS, MLB, and 

NCAA. They provide top notch options to their athletes and we try 

to mimic it as close as possible,” Lucas explains. Here are a few of 

the new tools available to CHCA athletes: 

Normatec Recovery System: Speeds up the body’s recovery 

process so athletes can recover as hard as they train. 

Matrix S-drive Treadmills: Self-propelled treadmills with a fixed 

incline position and the ability to increase resistance as well as 

work load. CHCA teams’ conditioning, force production, running 

mechanics, and acceleration training are on a completely new 

level. 

Athletes’ Lunch Special: Available to all students (athletes and 

non-athletes) multiple times a week in the MSL campus cafeteria. 

Supplying all the necessities for a well-rounded healthy eating 

option to fuel our athletes. 

The most exciting thing the team has integrated comes on the 

technology side. CHCA is the only high school program in the State 

of Ohio using a proprietary platform called ‘Kinduct’. Kinduct’s 

industry-leading athlete intelligence and management system 

enables us to turn data into actionable insights. Daily wellness 

journal texts are sent out monitoring pain/soreness, quality of sleep, 

academic stress, personal stress, hydration analysis, meals eaten, 

water consumed, as well as prayer requests.

A virtual body map diagram is a part of the survey and has been 

instrumental in injury prevention. Students pinpoint direct areas of 

soreness & pain, better aiding Lucas to do what he does best. “We are 

able to treat symptoms earlier before they become a more serious 

concern for the athlete,” Lucas says. “Having a better road map of each 

athlete is a tremendous resource, especially if they need to be referred 

to one of our Orthopedic Doctors at Beacon. These tools make all the 

difference.” 

The investment made by CHCA for a high level Sports Performance 

program is equipping Athletics like never before to carry out its mission 

of excellence. There clearly is a different approach going on at this 

school, which is feeding a culture of champions - a Christ-centered 

environment, high-level educators, beautiful campus, servant leadership, 

and state-of-the-art programming and resources... As Atallah would say, 

“Now that is something to ‘GET JACKED’ about!” 

As Atallah also stated, the relationships are what matter most. A majority 

of the student-athlete population interacts with Atallah and Lucas on a 

daily basis. We asked some current and former student-athletes, as well as 

coaches, about the Sports Performance program and team. 

Adam Baker, Football, Basketball, Track (‘17) 

Butler University Football 

Discuss your journey through injury and the process with Coach A & Joe. 

Coach A and Joe were awesome for me after I injured my shoulder. They 

pushed me to get stronger and healthier while keeping me in positive spirit. 

Their team spent so much time with me making sure I received the treatment 

and rehab I needed. They truly are a great asset to our program. I could speak 

for days about these guys. 

Jules Collado, Volleyball (’18) 

How has the volleyball team workouts helped prepare the team 

for the season? 

Workouts with Coach A have always been multidimensional for us. He 

opens up every lift explaining why our workouts will help us get stronger, 

help prevent injuries, and be better athletes. The physical effects have been 

obvious; our endurance is continually building in our bodies even during 

season. Our teams’ comradery has also grown by being in workouts together. 

It has been huge in bridging the gaps of grade levels within our volleyball 

program. This runs across different sports too since we work out with other 

programs in the summer. Many of our inside jokes as a team originated in 

the weight room, making it the beginning of our team-building experience, 

preparing us to play at a high level together. 

Griffan Smith, Baseball (’17) 

Ohio State University Baseball 

You are living out your dream of playing Baseball for the Ohio State 

University - talk about what it took for you to get there. 

In order to accomplish this dream, I knew that I needed to be the best 

version of myself. I was intentional about every aspect, including working 

hard in the classroom, weight room, and pursuing my savior - no time 

wasted. Coach A always made sure we were doing the exercises properly 

and there was no skipping workouts. The weight room atmosphere in 

general demanded success - this pushed me beyond my own limits to do 

things I did not think I could do. 

Brooklyn Dobyns, Volleyball, Lacrosse (’19) 

What parts of the program have been meaningful to your 

spiritual and/or personal growth? 

One of the things I love about working with Coach A is his way of 

incorporating all of our physical, mental, and spiritual needs. Whether 

it’s a short devotion, an encouraging verse on the board right next to the 

planned workout, or a helpful piece of advice, his love for Jesus shows 

through his actions. It’s cool to be physically mentored by someone who 

shares similar faith values and encourages you in other aspects of life as 

well, such as school, for example. 

Mark Lynch, Head Coach - Men’s Lacrosse 

How does our Sports Performance program at CHCA differ 

from other places you’ve coached? 

CHCA is the first place I have coached that has a designated Sports 

Performance department. Having two, full-time sports performance 

experts is an enormous boost to the lacrosse program. Adam and Joe 

help keep our kids healthy mentally and physically. Our strength, cardio, 

and athletic gains were clearly noticeable. Our rate of injury was low and 

our recovery time was significantly faster than my previous experience. 

I attribute this to the work Adam and Joe do with the boys. We are 

grateful for our Sports Performance team! 

Heather Wilkowski, Parent to four CHCA Eagle Athletes 

What has your experience been watching your son recover 

from his ACL injury? 

My son, Jack, tore his ACL at the start of the varsity lacrosse season. 

Within an hour of receiving the news from the doctor, Coach A, Joe 

Lucas, and Mark Lynch (lacrosse coach) were already meeting with 

Jack in person. They immediately put a plan into action to start the sixmonth 

recovery process to get him back to competitive play. This helped 

him stay focused on his goal of complete recovery. The morning of the 

surgery, Coach A called to pray with him. Post-surgery, they pushed him, 

coached him, and celebrated each milestone during his recovery. He 

came out of that injury stronger than he went in. He learned resiliency 

and the importance of community. As a parent, nothing means more 

than when someone is willing to invest in and love your kids like you do. I 

will forever be grateful for the way our Sports Performance team stayed 

so connected and supportive to my son and our family during the entire 

injury and recovery process. 

19


CHCA’s Noyen: ‘It’s a dream come true’ 

BY ADAM BAUM AS FEATURED IN THE FEBRUARY 3, 2017 CINCINNATI ENQUIRER ARTICLE 

20 

In his fifth-grade yearbook under ‘Future Plans,’ Nick Noyen wrote 

down his dream. 

It wasn’t self-centered, or egotistical, quite the opposite, actually. 

Noyen wrote two words: Air Force. 

Nearly eight years later, Feb. 1, the Cincinnati Hills Christian 

Academy senior again wrote two words — this time his name — on 

an official letter of intent to play football, receive an education, and 

serve his country at the U.S. Air Force Academy. 

Noyen, a primary component of the Eagles’ last four football 

seasons that saw CHCA go a combined 46-5, wasn’t sure a little 

more than a month ago how his college career would play out. 

“I only applied to Mercer and then I applied to the Air Force 

Academy just as a student,” said Noyen. “So, I was still gonna 

debate whether or not college football was for me or if I had the 

opportunity to serve then just going that route, and seeing if I could 

play along the road. 

“Getting that offer was huge cause now I can do both and that’s 

been my dream since I was in the fifth grade.” 

Finding out what the Air Force offered him was an experience 

Noyen will never forget. 

“It was interesting,” he said, “we were driving home from Florida, 

our Christmas vacation, and we were just at Mercer (where Noyen 

was first committed) the week before in the gift shop buying stuff, 

at a basketball game ... so that’s where I was planning on going; I was 

showing my brother, just getting excited.” 

“Then, on the way home, the (Air Force) recruiting coach called 

me and said, ‘Our (offensive line) coach left and became the head 

coach at Furman. The new guy likes you a lot — he wants to offer 

you, so do I — we just have to talk to our offensive coordinator.’ He 

said we’ll give you an answer within 24 hours. We were driving home 

and I was just giddy because I wanted to know what the answer was, 

like yes or no, what’s it gonna be?” 

“The next day I was out and I was driving home and he was like, 

‘Give me a call when you get a chance,’ so I pulled over and called 

him and he [told me] ‘You have an offer to the Air Force Academy 

if you wanna take it.’ So I called my parents, drove straight home, we 

celebrated, then I called him back and accepted it.” 

Noyen said, “It was emotional, me and my dad were both tearing up 

over the phone. It’s been a long road, but it worked out in the end. 

It’s a dream come true.” 

The road was long, but Noyen’s resolve was unwavering. Growing 

up, Noyen’s grandparents had a home in Breckenridge, Colorado, 

not far from Colorado Springs — the Air Force Academy’s home. 

“One of the times we were out there, we went to the Air Force 

Academy, just the museum part, gift shop, we saw the campus and 

from that point on ... I think I watched ‘Top Gun’ at my house after 

that,” Noyen laughed. “I thought this looks interesting so I did some 

research, and I was like, ‘This is what I wanna do when I get older, 

regardless of football, I want to go to school and I want a career in 

the Air Force.’” 

A dream doesn’t need much to survive. It requires dedication and an 

unwillingness to cease in its pursuit, the same way a person needs 

food and water, a dream demands a steadfastness from its pursuer. 

Noyen has been nothing if not steady. 

“On the field, he’s tenacious,” said CHCA coach Mark Mueller. “He’s 

one of the meanest kids on a football field that I’ve coached in 23 

years. As football coaches, you love that stuff. But, then off the field, 

he’s an incredible young man. He’s nice; he’s a gentle giant. 

“... That’s a kid that was thinking about going (to Air Force) without 

playing football. He’s wired to serve and he’s very good at it. He’s 

someone we definitely want protecting our backside.” 

On the last Thursday in June, Noyen reports for boot camp. 

“All I know now is the coach said you might get a small duffel bag 

of your favorite underwear, and then I just get dropped off,” said 

Noyen. “If I could be a fighter pilot, I’d love to. Anything with planes, 

if I could fly or be a technician, like a hands-on person, I’d do that. 

Then the new technology with drones is very popular and common 

now. Once I get there and just discover what I’m good at and where 

it leads me, then I’ll find out. I’m really excited for anything right 

now.” 

Noyen’s was also recipient of the National Football Foundation’s 

“That’s My Boy” Award — an honor his older brother, Johnny, won 

last year. “It’s also a dream come true to win this. I think it’s awesome 

representing CHCA,” said Nicholas Noyen. “Bringing it back for 

CHCA is something I take pride in.”

Highlights from Our Outstanding 2016-17 Season BOLDLY DETERMINED >> 

SUBMITTED BY: CHCA ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT 

Baseball 

MVC League Champions 

Won Section, District, and 

Regional OHSAA Tournaments 

State Semi-Finalists 

Tony Schulz, MVC Coach of the 

Year, Ohio All-Star Coach of the Year 

Max Ripperger, MVC 1st Team, 

Ohio All-Star 1st Team 

Blake Sheffer, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 

All-Star 2nd Team 

Jack Vezdos, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 

All-Star 1st Team 

Ethan Briggs, MVC 2nd Team, Ohio 

All-Star 2nd Team 

Cayse Osborne, MVC 2nd Team, 

Ohio All-Star 2nd Team 

Clay Brock, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Colin Lutts, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Griffan Smith, Ohio All-Star 1st 

Team, Pitched perfect game in 

sectional tournament 

Basketball-Boys 

Freshmen Basketball Team, MVC 

Tournament Champions 

Mason Barnhardt, MVC 2nd Team, 

Ohio All-Star Honorable Mention 

Michael Nelson, MVC 2nd Team 

Cole Fisher, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Tanner Southerland, MVC 

Honorable Mention 

Grades 7-8 won Division 1 

All-City Tournament 

Basketball-Girls 

Grade 7 MVC Champions 

Maddie Buist, MVC 2nd Team 

Malorie Wilson, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Cross Country 

MVC Champions 

Jordan Kramer, MVC Coach of the 

Year 

Rachel Haslem, MVC Athlete of 

the Year, MVC 1st Team 

Laura Dykstra, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 

All-Star Honorable Mention 

Maria Pancioli, MVC 1st Team 

Grade 7 Riley Jones, MVC JH 

Champion, placed 9th in State 

Cross Country Meet 

Football 

Scarlet Division MVC Champions 

Mark Mueller, MVC Coach of the 

Year 

Kesean Gamble, MVC Athlete of 

the Year, MVC 1st Team, Ohio All- 

Star Offensive Player of the Year 

Mason Bernhardt, MVC 1st Team, 

Ohio All-Star Receiver 

Ben Collado, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 

All-Star Linebacker Honorable 

Mention 

Nick Noyen, MVC 1st Team, Ohio All- 

Star Offensive Lineman 

Justin Peck, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 

All-Star Defensive Back Honorable 

Mention 

Cody Shiver, MVC 1st Team, Ohio All- 

Star Defensive Back 

Ryan Wichmann, MVC 1st Team, 

Ohio All-Star Offensive Lineman 

Darian Woods, MVC 1st Team 

Isaac Carpenter, MVC 2nd Team 

Kyle Renners, MVC 2nd Team 

Danny Vanatsky, Ohio All-Star 

Quarterback 

Golf-Boys 

Matthew Kadnar, MVC 2nd Team, 


Jack Lindgren, Ohio All-Star 


Golf-Girls 

Bree Wilson, Ohio All-Star 1st Team, 

District 4th Place 

Malorie Wilson, Ohio All-Star 

2nd Team, Coaches Association 

Honorable Mention All-City 

Lacrosse-Boys 

Mark Lynch, MVC Coach of the Year, 

Southwest Region Division II Coach 

of the Year 

Kyle Renners, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 


Mike Phillips, MVC 2nd Team 

Tyler Sikkema, MVC 2nd Team 

Ryan Wichmann, MVC 2nd Team 

Noah Harrison, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Ryan Hunt, MVC Honorable Mention 

Grade 7-8 won Division 6 State 

Championship 

Lacrosse-Girls 

Noelle Van Den Heuvel, MVC 1st 

Team, Ohio All-Star 2nd Team, scored 

her 100th goal this season on April 20 th 

Brooklyn Dobyns, MVC 2nd Team, 


Morgan Renners, MVC 2nd Team 

C.C. Southerland, MVC 2nd Team 

Alayna Petersen, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Gabby Schmidt, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Soccer-Boys 

Chance Ashman, MVC 1st Team, 


Jack Riley, MVC 2nd Team 

Hunter Stemple, MVC 2nd Team 

Colin Lutts, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Will Stiles, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Soccer-Girls 

Laney Huber, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 


Marie Ranieri, MVC 1st Team 

Amanda Donahue, MVC 2nd Team 

Shannon Riley, MVC 2nd Team 

Rosie Haunert, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Mary Moffitt, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Softball 

Camryn Olson, MVC Athlete of the 

Year, MVC 1st Team, Ohio All-Star 

1st Team 

Mady Shank, MVC 1st Team 

Ainsley Droege, MVC 2nd Team 

Emma Shank, MVC 2nd Team 

Abby Blink, MVC Honorable 

Mention 

Corinne Vanderwoude, MVC 


Swimming 

Catherine Frazer, Elizabeth 

Schaefer, Julia Stotz, Anna Van 

Jura, MVC 1st Team 200 yard 

Freestyle Relay 

Anna Van Jura, MVC 1st Team 100 

yard Breaststroke, MVC 1st Team 

200 yard Freestyle 

Ryan Hunt, MVC 2nd Team 200 

yard Individual Medley 

Grades 8 Anabelle Brock, MVC 

Champion 25 Butterfly 

Grades 8 Scott Burk, MVC 

Champion 25 Breaststroke 

Grades 8 Caleb Tomlin, MVC 

Champion 200 Freestyle 

Grades 8 Anabelle Brock, Ava Kraft, 

Matt Saxby, Caleb Tomlin, MVC 

Champion 200 Free Relay 

Qualified for Districts: Trevor 

Cebulski, Wyatt Droege, Catherine 

Frazer, Nathan Gibson, Rachel 

Haslem, Ryan Hunt, Carson Koporc, 

Elizabeth Schaefer, Julia Stotz, Anna 

Van Jura, Grace Vanderwoude, Hope 

Whiteside, Jennifer Wood 

Tennis-Boys 

Stefone Broaders, MVC 2nd Team 

Singles 

Luke Springer, MVC 2nd Team 

Singles 

Colin Keenan, MVC Honorable 

Mention Singles 

Sidhu Thunga, MVC Honorable 


Colin Keenan, Sidhu Thunga, 

Ohio-All Star Honorable Mention 

Doubles 

Tennis-Girls 

Noelle Van Den Heuvel, Anna 

Van Jura, MVC 1st Team Doubles, 

Ohio All-Star 2nd Team Doubles 

Anna Abunku, MVC 2nd Team 

Singles, Ohio All-Star Honorable 


Sydney Day, Ella Hipsley, MVC 

2nd Team Doubles, Ohio All-Star 

2nd Team Doubles 

Mady Shank, MVC Honorable 


Leanna Yuan, MVC Honorable 


Track & Field-Boys 

MVC Champions 

Jeff Timmers, MVC Coach of the 

Year 

Adam Baker, MVC 1st Team High 

Jump 

Alex Barnard, MVC 1st Team 300 

meter IM Hurdles 

Kesean Gamble, MVC 1st Team 

Shotput, MVC 1st Team Discus, 

placed 12th in Shot Put at State 

Adam Baker, Alex Barnard, Kris 

Carnes, Julian Herman placed 

15th in 400 Relay at State 

Track & Field-Girls 

Morgan Bradley, MVC 1st Team 

Pole Vault, placed 12th in Pole 

Vault at State, Ohio All-Star 1st 

Team Pole Vault 

Jayda Coleman, MVC 1st Team 

100 meter High Hurdles 

Cameron Cooper, Ohio All-Star 

Honorable Mention Pole Vault 

Hannah Price, Ohio All-Star 

Honorable Mention Long Jump 

Grade 7 Riley Jones placed 3rd in 

the 800 and 3200 at State 

Volleyball 

MVC League Champions 

Lisa Schaad, MVC Coach of the 

Year 

Lexie Kuczinski, MVC Athlete 

of the Year, MVC 1st Team, Ohio 

Alll-Star 1st Team 

Julianna Collado, MVC 1st Team, 


Delaney Poore, MVC 2nd Team 

Gabby Schmidt, MVC 2nd Team 

Britlyn Coleman, MVC 


C.C. Southerland, MVC 


21


2016-17 College Signings 

Football 

Ben Collado, 

Centre College 

Football 

Adam Baker, 

Butler University 

Football 

Kesean Gamble, 

Kent State 

Volleyball 

Megan Kissel, 

University of Cincinnati 

Track & Field 

Morgan Bradley, 

Austin PEAY State University 

Football 

Nick Noyen, 

U.S. Air Force Academy 

Senior Sports 2016-2017 

Hunter Arthurs 

2016 Fall Boys Golf 

2016/2017 Winter Boys Basketball 

Adam Baker 

2016 Fall Boys Football 

2017 Spring Boys Track & Field 

Madi Beal 

2016 Fall Girls Cheerleading 

Morgan Bradley 

2017 Spring Girls Track & Field 

Ethan Briggs 

2017 Spring Boys Baseball 

Rachel Brink 


2017 Spring Girls Lacrosse 

Isaac Carpenter 


2016/2017 Winter Boys Basketball 

Lindsey Charles 

2016 Fall Girls Soccer 

Ben Collado 


Laura Dykstra 

2016 Fall Girls Cross Country 


Kesean Gamble 


2017 Spring Boys Track & Field 

Paige Gear 


Emma Grubb 

2016 Fall Girls Volleyball 

Mahkaylyn Harden 


Rachel Haslem 

2016 Fall Girls Cross Country 

2016 Winter Girls 

Swimming/Diving 


Rosie Haunert 


Ella Hipsley 

2016 Fall Girls Tennis 

Grayson Hodges 


Mackenzie Jones 


Bryson Karrer 

2016 Fall Boys Cross Country 

Mitch Kennedy 

2017 Spring Boys Lacrosse 

Megan Kissel 


Lexie Kuczinski 


Meghan Lawlor 


Alana Lindenfeld 


Colin Lutts 

2016 Fall Boys Soccer 

2016/2017 Winter Boys 

Basketball 


Brennan Metzler 


Anna Mumma 


Kyle Nelson 


Basketball 

Nicholas Noyen 


Alex O’Brien 


Joseph Paschke 


Justin Peck 


Brady Pfister 


Delaney Poore 


Hannah Price 


Josh Pyle 


Maria Ranieri 


Kyle Renners 



Morgan Renners 


2017 Spring Girls Lacrosse 

Jack Riley 


Mady Shank 


2017 Spring Girls Softball 

Cody Shiver 



Basketball 

Tyler Sikkema 


Griffan Smith 


Mitchell Stryker 


Azariah Tidwell 


Zander Treon 


Jack Vezdos 


Max Vincent 


Hope Whiteside 

2016/2017 Winter Girls 

Swimming/Diving 

Ben Whitman 


Maddie Will 


22

CHCA 

Names New Athletic Director 

“I am eager at the thought of being able to lead and walk alongside students, athletes and 

staff in their journey with Christ. As the leader of CHCA Athletics, I will be committed to 

creating an athletic environment of excellence that would honor and glorify Christ.” 

Eric Taylor was named as CHCA’s new Athletic Director, 

bringing 17 years of experience and an impressive resume 

as an educator and coach. Most recently, he added Athletic 

Director to his resume when he left CHCA in 2016 to return 

to Deer Park, his Alma Mater, as Athletic Director and Head 

Varsity Football Coach. Under his leadership, this past year, 

Deer Park athletics rose to the next level, with many of its 

programs experiencing the most wins seen in years, or in 

some cases, exceeded or tied success in the history of the 

programs. 

Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education from 

Northern Kentucky University and a Masters in Sports 

Administration from Xavier University. While at CHCA as 

Head Varsity Football Coach, his teams won four Miami 

Valley Conference Championships, made the OHSAA 

regional semi-finals six times and competed in the OHSAA 

State Final Four in 2014. Taylor was also recognized as Ohio 

AP State Coach of the Year 2013, Enquirer Coach of the 

Year (2008/2010/2013/2014), Bengals Coach of the Week 

(2008/2013/2014), Head Coach and winner of the East / 

West All Star Game (2008), speaker at UC Clinic (2011), and 

guided several players to the next level (Div. 1, 1AA, 2, 3 and 

Ivy League). 

Prior to CHCA, Taylor also taught and coached Football, 

Wrestling, and Track at various other local schools including 

Deer Park, Summit, Indian Hill, Wyoming, and Finneytown. 

Taylor’s experience highlights also include: planning, 

organizing, and directing multiple youth through high school 

camps and events, coaching, mentoring, and directing the 

Anthony Munoz Character Camp & NFL Play 60 Camp, 

helping to facilitate multiple fundraising events, and 

designing new school standards for Academic Eligibility. 

Upon hearing the news, CHCA’s former AD Matt Coleman 

shared, “It’s great to have Coach Taylor come home and take 

the reins of the athletic program. With his winning tradition 

at CHCA and the relationships he has developed, Eric will 

no doubt take our athletic program to the next level. We 

are excited to welcome Eric and his family back to Eagle 

Nation!” 

Below is an excerpt from Taylor’s thoughtful and detailed 

response during CHCA’s search. When asked, “What 

draws you to CHCA as the place to express your passion 

for athletic excellence?” Taylor responded as follows: 

CHCA embodies excellence in all facets of Christian 

education. I truly believe that it is a unique environment 

where students can excel in academics, athletics, and 

fine arts - all while celebrating and growing in their walk 

with Christ. Spending eight years and raising my family 

in the CHCA community has had a major impact on 

my family and me. The opportunity to lead an athletic 

department in a Christ-centered school with disciplined 

student-athletes and a supportive community striving for 

excellence is exactly where I want to be. It is my desire to 

lead the development and design of an athletic program 

of excellence at CHCA. 

Taylor also shared, “I am eager at the thought of being able 

to lead and walk alongside students, athletes and staff in 

their journey with Christ. As the leader of CHCA Athletics, 

I will be committed to creating an athletic environment of 

excellence that would honor and glorify Christ.” 

CHCA Athletics is definitely on the move and one to 

watch in the coming years. Having hired several program 

builders and seeing the fruits of those investments in 

programs such as lacrosse (with successes this year 

such as MS Division VI State Champs and MVC Coach 

of the Year), and building a new Sports Performance 

program for all athletes Grade 6 and up, athletics at 

CHCA is aggressively raising the bar. Springing from that 

foundation, Taylor intends to optimize, build upon, and 

grow to new heights. 

Taylor, his wife Leah and two children, Averi ‘26 and Cael 

‘30, have settled well back into the CHCA community. 

The CHCA Administration is thrilled to have him on 

board in this critical role, and look forward to great things 

to come. 

23

EXUBERANTLY CREATIVE >> 

“Fiddler on the Roof”: 

A Remarkable Display of Talent and Impact 

The Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy Theater Department was proud to present “Fiddler on the 

Roof” last March at CHCA’s Lindner Theater. Directed by Susan Jung, the cast and crew of 60+ 

students in Grades 9-12 sang, danced, moved sets around, managed lights and sound, and acted in 

this classic tale. 

Based on Sholom Aleichem’s Tevye and his Daughters, 

Fiddler on the Roof is the beloved story of the small, traditionsteeped 

town of Anatevka, Russia, where Jews and Russians 

live in delicate balance. During the course of the show, the 

time honored traditions of Anatevka are both embraced and 

challenged by Tevye (Carter Jackson ‘17) and his colorful 

community, as they witness his daughters, Tzeitel (Katherine 

Abel ‘17), Hodel (Abby Cates ‘19) and Chava (Sarah Koopman 

‘19), grow up and fall in love in a time of extraordinary change. 

The “Fiddler on the Roof’s” Broadway premiere became 

the longest-running Broadway musical in history, a title it 

maintained for almost ten years. It is a story that captures 

the essential human longings for love, community, success, 

freedom, family, and meaning. Fiddler features such iconic 

songs as the beautiful “Sunrise, Sunset,” the boisterous 

“If I Were a Rich Man,” and the classic “Matchmaker, 

Matchmaker.” 

From the moment The Fiddler (Bryson Karrer ’17) played 

his first notes, the audience knew they were about to 

experience something special. From Tevye and Golde’s 

(Caroline Rakestraw ’17) story with their daughters, to the 

lively Matchmaker (Haley Charles ’17) making her schemes, 

the musical beautifully interwove the story of family, love, and 

devotion to God. 

CHCA Fine Arts Director, Mona Summers, shared, “The show 

was phenomenal! The Directors, cast, student production 

team, orchestra, and parent volunteers spent countless hours 

preparing in order for our audiences to experience something 

wonderful. Our Director Susan Jung is very creative and 

always brings a fresh perspective to every show. When you 

put the team of Susan with her husband Jim Jung as the Set 

and Technical Director together, you can expect a show full of 

creativity!” 

I believe, made a huge impact on our community. That is why 

excellence in artistry is so important to me.” 

Some central themes in “Fiddler on the Roof” revolve around 

traditional ways being shaken by new thinking, long-standing 

beliefs being challenged by young minds, families choosing 

between acceptance and rejection, and people being forced 

to leave behind their ideas, their homes, and each other. The 

cast reminded us that these are the same things that are 

challenging our world today with the opening and closing 

scenes of the show. Seeing Tevye and his family as refugees in 

a modern day subway system stirred the audience’s hearts to 

realize this is still happening today. 

Jack Paquette ‘18 (who played the Rabbi) gave a call-to-action 

to the audience, asking them to prayerfully consider helping 

refugees trying to find their way right here in Cincinnati. 

Because of his service with CHCA’s Student Organized Service 

(S.O.S.) program, he works closely with the Catholic Charities 

of Southwestern Ohio. He called the audience to consider a 

gift to Catholic Charities after the show. He shared that they 

could help Catholic Charities who serve refugees who come 

to the United States through the U.S. Department of State 

and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. These refugees 

come from extreme poverty, violence, or religious and political 

persecution in their homelands, seeking a better life for 

themselves and their families. 

Thanks to the generosity of those in attendance, CHCA 

was able to present $1,343.64 to Catholic Charities. 

Congratulations again to all for an outstanding performance 

and wonderful display of generosity! 

“Our production of Fiddler on the Roof represented for me 

how good theatre can truly move people,” shared Director 

Susan Jung. “From the orchestra, cast, crew, and creative 

team, everyone worked together to create an experience that, 

24

25


Fine Arts Office Stained Glass Window 

Class of 2017 students Lindsey Charles ‘17 and Rachel Kolar ‘17 did a 

year-long independent study stained-glass class with Mr. Hilderbrand 

and decided to create a masterpiece for the new Fine Arts office 

in the Lindner Theater Commons. Lindsey and Rachel took the 

first quarter to study design with Mr. Tim Hilderbrand and not only 

encompass all of the fine arts at CHCA, but also have a design 

that flows, is beautiful, is creative, and honors God. They started 

constructing the 6-foot window at the beginning of second quarter 

and finished around the end of the third quarter. The first quarter 

was spent studying design. “Your finished piece will never be better 

than your design, so make your design beautiful!” states Hilderbrand. 

The window can be viewed as you look up when you are walking 

26 

into the Theater Commons entrance. Some of the special features 

of the glass include the musical staff actually reading the song “How 

Great Thou Art” in addition to the warm orange glass around the cross 

being plated, which entails the artist layering glass to get the color they 

wish to achieve. This is somewhat similar to a painter mixing colors to 

achieve the color they wish to use. From beginning with preliminary 

sketches, to cutting the pattern and cutting and grinding glass, to using 

the lead came technique, and soldering, glazing, and polishing to finally 

installing, Rachel and Lindsey invested over 350 hours in creating this 

piece from start to finish. Hilderbrand stated, “I couldn’t be more proud 

of these young ladies. They created a stunning piece that will stand as a 

legacy to their creativity at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.”

“All the world’s a stage...” 

BY SUSAN JUNG 

For many of our students, the stage and the theatre itself is “home” 

and many hours are spent making that home a place that brings 

them a sense of accomplishment and family. Often, these hours go 

unnoticed to most, who may not have an understanding of what 

goes into the production of a play or musical. I wanted to honor 

and commend all of these students in a way that didn’t bring about 

competition, but rather celebration. This is why we have reinstated 

our school’s troupe in the International Thespian Society (ITS), 

and in May we inducted 24 students into our chapter. ITS is an 

organization that recognizes achievements in all aspects and all 

levels of theatre. Students earn points by participating both on and 

off the stage, and can accumulate them over their years, achieving 

growing levels of status within the society. Students also have the 

opportunity to travel to state and national conferences, where they 

can take a portion of a play or musical to be critiqued by theatre 

professionals, compete in technical challenges, and experience 

workshops in a variety of disciplines taught by professionals in 

their fields. ITS is a wonderful way to celebrate all of our students 

and their accomplishments and I am very much looking forward to 

seeing our involvement grow. 

Anthony Frederickson ‘20 on NBC’s “The Voice” 

After submitting his audition video in late February, Anthony was notified that he was 

one of four finalists and chosen by coach Alicia Keys to be her finalist on The Voice’s 

Snapchat feature, Voicesnaps. 

When asked what inspired him to audition, Anthony shared that he enjoys singing 

and thought that “The Voice” would be a great learning experience for him. 

Anthony’s parents are supportive of his passion for singing and agree, “This is a great 

opportunity for Anthony to work with a vocal coach from ‘The Voice’.” 

Anthony’s parents shared the text from Alicia Keys immediately following another 

performance for which he received the Overture Awards Grand Prize for Theater. Of 

note, he was the first freshman and CHCA student to ever win the Overture Award 

for Musical Theater. It was quite a season for this talented young man! 

While Anthony did not win The Voice’s Snapchat contest, it was an honor to be a 

finalist and get featured on national television. We are sure to see much more from 

this rising star! 

27


Scholastic Feature and Seniors Moving On 

MSL UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS RECEIVED 

SCHOLASTIC ART AWARDS 

Congratulations to our art students who received 

regional Scholastic Art Awards. Their award 

winning artwork was on exhibit at the Art Academy 

of Cincinnati from January 20 to February 3. An 

awards presentation was held at the School for 

Creative and Performing Arts on January 27. 

Below are student’s awards and title of artwork. 

David Woods, Gr. 12, Gold Key 

Looking Into My Future 

David Woods, Gr. 12, Honorable Mention 

Nigerian Journey 

Sarah Yang, Gr. 12, Gold Key 

Plum Flower (See below) 

Sarah Yang, Gr. 12, Honorable Mention 

Cheeseburger 

Maya Yates, Gr. 11, Honorable Mention 

Windows to the Soul 

Helen Zhang, Gr. 11, Gold Key 

Flower Grow Out of the Box 

Helen Zhang, Gr. 11, Honorable Mention 

Wonderland 

CLASS OF 2017 STUDENTS CONTINUING IN THE ARTS 

It is bittersweet when we say farewell to our talented seniors who were such 

a blessing to our community in their artistic endeavors. Yet is exciting to note 

how many of them are continuing their education in the fine arts this fall. We 

congratulate the following students and look forward to hearing from them as they 

pursue their goals: 

Katherine Abel, Northern Kentucky 

University – Musical Theater 

Haley Charles, Ball State – Acting 

Adele Enns, University of Cincinnati, 

College Conservatory of Music – Music 

Education and Vocal Performance 

Lauren Jankowski, University of 

Cincinnati, College Conservatory of 

Music – Commercial Music Production/ 

Song Writing 

Bryson Karrer, Indiana University – 

Double major in Violin Performance and 

an Individualized Cognate Area, with 

plans to attend medical school after 

graduation 

Josh Lake, University of Cincinnati, 

College Conservatory of Music – Jazz 

Studies 

Johnny Mize, Miami University – 

Double major in Piano Performance 

and Computer Science; received a 

scholarship for Piano Performance 

David Woods, Columbus College of 

Art and Design - Illustration major 

Sarah Yang, Cleveland Institute of Art 

Sarah Yang, Gr. 12, Gold Key 

Plum Flower 

28


“Art Attack in Miracle Commons” 

The Visual Fine Arts department decided to have a “Art Attack” in Miracle Commons this past spring. We made a “mobile mural” in the 

image of a large rooster - the rooster icon being a reminder from the Bible, “do not deny Christ”. 

29

Class of 2017 

“For I know the plans I have for 

you,” declares the Lord, “plans 

to prosper you and not to harm 

you, plans to give you hope and 

a future.” 

– Jeremiah 29:11 (Class Verse) 

BOUNDLESSLY HOPEFUL >> 

CHCA Celebrates the Accomplishments 

of the Class of 2017, by the Numbers: 

• We earned $11,311,940 in merit scholarships 

• We were accepted at 155 colleges and universities 

• Submitted 883 applications to 251 colleges and universities in 39 states, 

4 Canadian Provinces, 9 countries, and 4 continents 

• We served 26,500 hours (that’s an average of 230 hours per student) 

• We traveled 7,767 miles to build sustainable agriculture systems in Israel and Haiti 

• We completed 287 Advanced Placement classes 

• 100% of us completed 7 semesters of Christian Studies classes 

• 90% of us participated in Athletics and Fine Arts 

• 85% of us received Collegiate Merit Scholarships 

• We competed on 25 athletic teams 

• 13 of us earned National Merit recognition 

• We visited 11 countries during Intersession 

• 4 of us designed, programmed, and marketed a 97 jet animated fountain as our 

Engineering Capstone project 

30 

“It didn’t matter where 

they were going, as long 

as they knew who they 

were following.” 

- Dr. Eugene B. Habecker”


Valedictorian Alex O’Brien 

Salutatorian Bryson Karrer 

Dr. Eugene B. Habecker 

Commencement Overview 

CHCA’s Class of 2017 Graduation Day celebration was one of notable challenge for these young adults to 

stay true to themselves, be people of character, and face change and transition with God as their guide. 

Salutatorian Bryson Karrer encouraged his fellow classmates that 

as each one of them carries their own identity, when they embark 

into this next chapter, they need to be true to themselves. He 

shared, “Do not be so quick to judge others…without getting to 

know them and their true character.” He reminded them that it 

takes courage to take off their own masks and show their true 

selves, as well as to refrain from the judgement of others. The 

charge was simply to go forth with that courage. 

Valedictorian Alex O’Brien shared that looking back at high 

school, it won’t be academics, rather it will be the relationships, 

that held meaning to their experiences at CHCA. He elaborated 

the point in a challenge to his classmates as they move forward 

in life, to ask themselves in their circumstances, “How did I make 

someone else feel, and how did they make me feel?” 

He further shared, “CHCA taught me that I couldn’t learn 

everything about myself, or even the world, in just the 

classroom.” He went on to explain how the different unique 

experiences he encountered at CHCA – intersession, serving, 

prepping for debate team late at night, performing abroad, etc. – 

all helped to grow and mature him. “There truly is something for 

everyone at CHCA. And we couldn’t be successful without our 

teachers. They are unique in how they invest in our experiences. 

They are our coaches, mentors, and friends.” He reiterated that 

at CHCA, students are able to try and discover unique skills 

and talents they didn’t know they had. And he encouraged, “As 

we move forward in life, let’s continue to try out new interests, 

keeping an open mind about ourselves and the world around us.” 

O’Brien ended his speech with a reminder about character. 

“CHCA has prepared us to be strong leaders and to change 

the world for the better. I’ve learned that being a good leader 

requires mutual respect, kindness, and encouragement. 

Years from now, people won’t remember you for what you 

accomplished, they’ll remember you for how you made them 

feel.” 

Commencement Speaker Dr. Eugene B. Habecker (Taylor 

University ’68), President Emeritus of Taylor University, pointed 

out to students that while all of them are facing levels of change 

and transition in their lives, we can be encouraged that we serve 

a God who understands change and transition. He shared several 

examples from scripture that illustrated the importance of faith 

and obedience to God in times of uncertainty. He pointed out 

the importance of having a relationship with a God who they 

knew they trusted - as in biblical times and it still rings true today 

- it didn’t matter where they were going, as long as they knew 

who they were following. 

He shared four guidelines for their journey of change and 

transition: 

1 Let God be your guide. It’s difficult to get somewhere in this 

world without taking time to hear His voice. 

2 Focus your vocational efforts on what brings you joy; not just 

what brings you power, position, and prestige. 

3 Be prepared for the bumps along the way, when they come, 

not if they come. 

4 Make your life and your words your sermon to the world. 

“As you leave this place, you will be new people, face new 

circumstances, encounter new opportunities, all while 

experiencing change and transition all along the way.” Dr. 

Habeker shared. “As you go, be encouraged by these four 

guidelines. God bless you in this day of celebration.” 

31


A Bit 

About 

Our Val 

& Sal… 

Alexander Thomas O’Brien 

Class of 2017 Valedictorian 

Attending University of Michigan 

Earned acceptance into the Ross BBA Program 

“My CHCA teachers and coaches taught me the value 

of hard work and encouraged me to pursue what I enjoy. 

CHCA prepared me well for college and has equipped me to 

be a strong Christian leader who makes a positive impact.” 

Alex embraced CHCA’s mission to “be prepared intellectually 

and spiritually to positively impact the world” since joining in 

kindergarten. Alex is the founder of the CHCA Organic Garden 

& Vineyard, for which he earned the President’s Volunteer 

Service Award and was a Distinguished Finalist in the state 

of Ohio for the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Since 

2014, Alex has donated more than 1,000 pounds of produce 

to the L.I.F.E food pantry in Loveland. On the academic side, 

Alex is a CHCA Cum Laude 90% Scholarship recipient and has 

completed 10 AP classes, as well as earning several “Student 

of the Year” awards. As captain of the debate team, he and 

his debate partner successfully qualified for State this year. 

Alex enjoyed playing tenor saxophone with the Electric Jazz 

Orchestra on various fronts such as Kenya, Branson, Pep Band, 

and the Pit Orchestra for “Anything Goes” and “Fiddler on the 

Roof”, the former which won a Cappie for Best Orchestra. 

Since beginning freshman year, Alex ran Cross-Country for 4 

years, finishing as MVC’s #7 Ranked Male Runner and as one 

of the captains focused on mentoring the younger runners. He 

decided to join the Ultimate Frisbee team this year, having been 

inspired by Cross-Country’s many “Frisbee Fridays.” Alex valued 

the Intersession program which gave him opportunities to 

serve and experience different cultures in Peru and Kenya, and 

experience adventures in Utah and Texas. This past summer, 

he helped his family launch an artisan Hawaiian coffee business 

at the Loveland Farmers Market. Alex entered the Ross School 

of Business at the University of Michigan this fall where he will 

pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration. 

Bryson Gabriel Karrer 

Class of 2017 Salutatorian 

Attending Indiana University Jacobs School of Music 

Receiving the Premier Young Artist Award 

“Through my many experiences at CHCA, I have seen 

how the world works, both in our backyard and around the 

globe. The supportive and encouraging atmosphere created 

by the faculty and staff of CHCA allowed me to excel 

academically and be bold in exploring my passions.” 

Attending CHCA since kindergarten, Bryson made full use 

of the opportunities offered, especially when he came to 

the Martha S. Lindner High School. Academically, Bryson 

thrived. Upon entering high school, he was awarded the Cum 

Laude Distinguished Scholar Scholarship. Additionally, he 

participated and held leadership positions in both the National 

Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta, as well as being named 

a National Merit Finalist and AP Scholar with Distinction with 

nine AP courses. Athletically, he was a member of the middle 

school football, cross country, and track teams. He continued 

running in high school, earning four varsity letters with the 

cross country team. Bryson’s fine arts experiences at CHCA 

were vast and varied. He began his freshman year as the only 

trombonist in Lab Band before spending the next three years 

as a member of the Electric Jazz Orchestra, traveling with 

these groups to Missouri, Wisconsin, and even across Kenya. 

Bryson also played violin—which he began studying at the age 

of three years—with the Symphony Orchestra and Cintered 

Electric Strings Orchestra. He performed in the award winning 

pit orchestra for the school productions of “Children of Eden,” 

“West Side Story,” and “Anything Goes.” In his senior year, 

Bryson tried his hand at acting by playing the part of the Fiddler 

in “Fiddler on the Roof” and participated in CHCA’s annual 

comedy show, “Academy Night Live”. Bryson is attending the 

Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University to study violin 

performance with an additional emphasis on preparation for 

medical school. 

32


Graduation Reflections 

BY MADY SHANK ‘17 

As always, Diaspeiro was a special evening celebration among the Class of 2017 graduates, CHCA faculty 

and graduates’ families. As one of the last events of their CHCA experience, seniors are honored and they 

take time to share and encourage. Mady Shank did just that in her speech as shared below. 

Two years ago at this time, our school announced a change 

in structure that resulted in our new upper school which 

would include Grades 7 through 12. As a result, Mrs. 

Metzger would transition from being a high school history 

teacher to an Assistant Principal for Grades 7-8. With this 

drastic change in positions, I can imagine she had a lot of 

preparation and planning to do in a very abbreviated period 

of time. However, the moment after the school announced 

her new position, Mrs. Metzger drove to West Virginia to join 

up with 30 high school students hiking the Appalachian Trail 

for May Term. She exhibited her care for us, and, in doing 

so, demonstrated how valuable interruptions are, even in the 

seemingly busiest of times. 

In Matthew 4, Jesus calls the first disciples, and says, ‘Come, 

follow me…and I will make you fishers of men.’ It then states, 

“At once the left their nets and followed him.” At once. They 

did not wait until they caught their quota of fish or pause to 

contemplate the fact that they were leaving their nets, their 

livelihood, and possibly their families. They embraced this 

interruption. Jesus did not call these disciples because of 

their abilities; he called them because of their availability. 

Some of my most cherished high school memories are 

not times I accomplished a task, but times I accepted an 

interruption. This year Mrs. Bailey led a girls’ Bible study on 

Fridays during bell 5. Choosing to join, I knew this would 

interrupt 48 minutes I could devote to studying for Carter 

quizzes or eating with my friends. Not only was this an 

interruption in my school day, but this was definitely an 

interruption for Mrs. Bailey. I’m sure she had grading and 

planning to do during 5th bell, and she also had to create 

Bible studies at night when she could’ve been spending time 

with her family. However, Mrs. Bailey’s leadership in topics 

such as trust, patience, and love transformed how I lived 

out my faith on a daily basis. The fact that she made time 

for an interruption with a couple of high school girls showed 

how much she cares for us. A couple of weeks ago, alumnus 

Darris Sneed ‘09 held a worship night in this theater on a 

Wednesday night from 7:00-9:00. For some people 7:00- 

9:00 was the time scheduled to write an English essay; for 

others 7:00-9:00 was a sports practice; for some it was music 

lessons or work. But that Wednesday night, many said, ‘not 

right now’ to that scheduled task and chose to worship. I 

think each one of us felt God’s power working through our 

community that night, and had no regrets of the two hours 

spent off schedule. 

The second noteworthy aspect of Matthew 4 is Jesus calls 

fishermen. If I had to identify the best potential disciple, 

I would not necessarily turn to skilled fishermen. I would 

predict that scholars and religious leaders best fit this 

description. But these mere fishermen did not question their 

qualification for the task of disciple. They trusted God when 

He called them to this interruption. From Jacob to Moses to 

Esther to David to others, the Bible is filled with unqualified 

people. 

What a relief that God doesn’t need us to be qualified. This 

Christmas, my contact at the Hearing, Speech, and Deaf 

Center of Cincinnati asked if I could bring some volunteers 

to serve at their Signing Santa party. Not only was this a 

significant interruption during finals time, but my group of 

three and I felt grossly unqualified. We were the only people 

at this party who did not know sign language. But God led us 

in expressing compassion and love to these kids without this 

means of communication. From this interruption, we grew in our 

understanding and respect of a culture different from ours. 

So fellow classmates, over the past four years, we have all 

worked hard in the tasks assigned to us, in our academics, 

athletics, and fine arts. I encourage you to continue this hard 

work in your next stage in life so you can use your abilities 

and passions for God’s glory. But in the midst of your efforts, 

remember that God works through those who are open 

and available at any time to let God use them. You are busy 

now; you will be busy in college, but don’t let your tasks be 

the master of your life. Be interruptible, and don’t discount 

yourself as unqualified for the task. 

33


400-600 Service Hours 

200 - 300 Service Hours 

Class of 2017 Recognitions 

1000 Service Hours 

Mayerson Service 

Leadership Award 

Neyer Scholarship 

Award 

SOS Leadership Award 

34 

Gold 

Silver 

Bronze

Academic Signing Class of 2017 

200 Service Hours: Katherine Abel, Adam Baker, Carson 

Brooks, Sarah Bruns, Ben Collado, Huijing Dang, Paige Gear, Alex 

O’Brien, Joe Paschke, Hannah Price, Morgan Renners, David 

Woods 

300 Service Hours: Will Braden, Haley Charles, Jenna 

Charles, Lindsey Charles, Laura Dykstra, Zach Gunlock, Meghan 

Lawlor, Alana Lindenfeld, Caroline Rakestraw, Grace Wells, Hope 

Whiteside 

400 Service Hours: Kaylee Bennett, Rachel Brink, Maggie 

Harrison, Rachel Haslem, Ella Hipsley, YiChen Li, Mady Shank, 

Katherine Wilkins 

500 Service Hours: Eddie Byington, Anna Mumma, Kyle 

Nelson, Devin Taylor 

600 Service Hours: Maddie Asrat, Jessica Gruber 

700 Service Hours: Max Vincent 

1000 Service Hours: Adele Enns, Johnathan Sequeira 

SOS Leadership Award: Will Braden, Adele Enns, 

Meghan Lawlor, Anna Mumma, David Woods 

Mayerson Service Leadership Award: 

Anna Mumma 

Neyer Scholarship Award: 

Mady Shank 

Gold: Maddie Asrat, Eddie Byington, Johnathan Sequeria, 

Max Vincent 

Silver: Rachel Brink, Anna Mumma, Caroline Rakestraw 

Bronze: Jenna Charles, Lindsay Charles, Adele Enns, Zach 

Gunlock, Rachel Haslem, Devin Taylor 

Dick Snyder Award: Megan Kissel, Maddie Buist, 

Adam Baker 

Lifers Picnic 

35

INSPIRINGLY BENEVOLENT >> 

Spare Change for World Change 

STORY BY CATHY ANDRY 

Each year, Kindergarten Preparatory students sort, count, 

and present their “Spare Change for World Change” to 

Lower Elementary Principal Mrs. Sandy Breitholle, Assistant 

Principal Mrs. Elaine Marsh, and Mrs. Emily Iddings, 

representative of the Restavek Freedom Foundation. This 

past year, these young students raised $213.00 by doing 

chores around the house, for grandparents, for neighbors, 

etc. just like the Restavek children do. However, instead 

of working for free, our students work for spare change 

donations. The Restavek Freedom Foundation was founded 

in 2007 by CHCA alumni parent and founding member Joan 

Conn, who has been tirelessly working to end child slavery 

in Haiti ever since. Kindergarten Preparatory students have 

been serving Restavek Freedom Foundation since 2011, 

and have funded school tuition, books, and uniforms for 

approximately eight children to enter school who would not 

have otherwise been able to attend. These students and 

their teacher, Mrs. Cathy Andry were thrilled to be able to 

support Restavek Freedom Foundation again this year, and 

will continue to do so in the future. Andry shared, “Thank 

you Restavek Freedom for serving the children of Haiti. 

And, thank you boys and girls, and families, for serving as 

well.” Andry believes that even our smallest children can 

make the biggest impact. 

SDL Time Well Spent 

A friend of the Brooks family, Colonel Cunningham, is serving and leading a 

company of soldiers for a stint in Afghanistan. Students and twin siblings, Jack 

and Jenna Brooks ‘22 (pictured) rallied their classmates together to write letters 

of encouragement to the Company during their Student Directed Learning (SDL) 

bell one day. After receiving the letters, Colonel Cunningham and his Company 

created a makeshift plaque including US and Afghani flags, and sent it to our 

students as a thank you. The students were presented with the plaque at field day 

this past spring. They shared that they were very happy and proud to be a part of 

the special project. 

36

FULLY PREPARED >> 

Engaging Alumni: 

CHCA’s Alumni Relations 

Who are we? 

A collective group of CHCA alumni, representing classes spanning 

over 20 years, who volunteer time and resources in order to 

increase engagement among our alumni community. 

What is our purpose? 

Serving our alumni. These individuals are passionate about their 

community. They get involved because of their pride in their 

alma mater, their desire to stay connected, and mostly for their 

passion of connecting and serving their fellow alumni community 

in their adult life. Whether that be supporting alumni in their 

family life, connecting alumni professionals, or offering opportunities 

to entrepreneurs, it is about serving our alumni. 

What do we do? 

The board committee leaders meet bi-monthly to discuss and 

execute new opportunities to serve our Alumni community on 

and off campus, as well as locally and abroad. Within the Board, 

there are four sub-committees (Web Development, Events, 

Data, and Business Relations) who meet casually every 2-3 

months to discuss ideas and progress. 

What do we need? 

Alumni engagement! We want to be a resource, a connector, 

cheerleader, and a source of home. We want to offer endless 

opportunities. Let us fill the gaps! 

What DON’T we want? 

To be a source of stress or obligation. We never want to 

overstay our welcome if you have no desire for connecting. 

During the 2016-2017 school year, the alumni board decided 

to take on a new vision and execute it with one thing in 

mind; intentionality. We don’t just want to be a part of your 

past; we care about your present and we want to be a part of 

the success in your future! If there is a way that we can help 

you, we will use our countless resources to do everything we 

can. We do our best to keep you updated through our social 

media outlets. Your family’s investment in CHCA has a 

lasting return, and we want to ensure that we deliver on that 

promise. If you are an alumni who resonates with our vision 

and wants to add to the conversation, we have many opportunities 

for your involvement. Please contact us at alumni@ 

chca-oh.org to see where your gifts and passions would best 

benefit the growth and development of the Alumni Relations 

Board and the support we give our community. 

CHCA Alumni Relations Board 

Back row – L to R: Billy Kissel ‘10, Grant Cooper ‘05, Natalie (Marks) Bowman ‘09, Front row – L to R: Andrew Perkins ‘10, Sarah (Eslick) Robinson ‘09, Zach Bohannon 

‘02 Not Pictured: David Blessing ‘97, Kate Kersey ‘05, Kurt Kersey ‘08, Eric Loftus ‘04, Christina (Karam) Painter ‘07, Robbie Wilson ‘04 

37


CHCA’s First Annual Alumni Showcase 

BY SARAH ESLICK ROBINSON ‘09 

May 4, 2017 CHCA’s Alumni Board hosted the First 

Annual Alumni Showcase: “Beyond These Doors”! This 

event was created to take the position of previous years’ 

Alumni Chapels. While the showcase is still a chapel 

format, it now has an entirely new purpose-to spotlight 

our alumni successes. We are so proud of our alumni and 

have celebrated with them through many achievements 

and experiences, we decided it was time to share those 

as broadly as we can with our community. Through this 

spotlight, we want our alumni to shine their gifts, passions, 

creations, and businesses by giving them an annual 

opportunity to connect and inspire! 

This year, Andy Garrett ‘09 (Breakout Games), spoke 

with the students about their “Story,” and how each 

component ties into God’s story. He shared his personal 

journey and what brought him to this fruitful place in 

his life. It was challenging and moving for all students, 

alumni, and faculty and tied into our theme of “Beyond 

These Doors,” so perfectly. We also had the pleasure of 

“UpDog”, throw back alumni band from 2002, making a 

guest musical appearance, which was a good time had by 

the entire crowd. It was especially nostalgic for those of us 

who were true fans of the ‘02 band. They’ve still got it! 

Outside the doors of the theatre was the “parade of 

businesses, and Art”. Space and tables were available 

for alumni to set up advertisement, products, and art. It 

was an opportunity to build into each other, as alumni 

provided as a vision to the upperclassmen. We envision 

this event to be a place where alumni can showcase and/ 

or sell their business. The alumni board wants you to know 

that we are ABOUT you, we are FOR you, and we want 

you to SUCCEED. Any way we can build into your success, 

we would love to! The upcoming school season is already 

under way and we are gearing up for a bigger and better 

showcase next spring. We want you to be a part of it! If 

you would like to reserve (no charge) a spot for Showcase 

2018, please email sarah.robinson@chca-oh.org. 

The Second Annual Showcase planning is 

already underway and we are gearing up for 

a bigger and better event. We want YOU to 

be a part of it! 

38


STORY BY CHRISTIE TAYLOR ‘11 

Christie Taylor ’11, dancer on a journey of faith, recently wrote a wonderful letter to several faculty members at 

CHCA, inviting them to “…join me in this mission as you continue to walk alongside me as witnesses to the fruit of 

the seeds you have sown.” 

Here is an excerpt from her letter to the CHCA faculty (shared with her permission): 

Four years ago, the Lord placed a vision on my heart to start a transitional 

fine arts boarding school for adolescents healing from trauma/ 

abuse. This school would use various art forms to help adolescents 

process their stories, receive counseling, and be restored to wholeness…. 

Two years ago, I responded to the Lord’s call to move to Houston 

and dance with Ad Deum, a faith-based modern dance company. 

Though I could not understand why the Lord would bring me here, I 

was confident that He had called me, and for that reason, I could not 

help but follow Him to Houston. 

Around this time last year, I emailed many of you asking for prayer 

as I discerned whether it was time to go to grad school or if I was to 

continue dancing with Ad Deum for another year. My decision to 

stay in Houston plunged me into a new level of trust with the Lord as 

I watched Him “clear the table” of my future plans, and re-set it in 

His perfect wisdom. At times, it is easy to doubt the Lord’s provision. 

The Lord is strategically equipping me for the vision placed on my life, 

through the opportunity to be “parented” in this calling. 

In the fall, the Lord brought me to Kalette, the founder of Beautiful 

Feet, an arts school dedicated to using various art forms as vehicles 

for transformation, healing, and communion with the Lord. Upon 

meeting Kalette, it was clear that it was no coincidence that our 

paths would cross. Months later, the Lord directed me to join her in 

the establishment of this school, a dream birthed 14 years ago and 

now coming to fruition. I will never forget her words: “I want you to 

know that I am honored to have you join my team, and I want to 

be here to guide and mentor you in whatever ways you may need to 

start the school the Lord has placed on your heart.” As a member of 

Beautiful Feet’s charter team, I have had the opportunity to develop 

a curriculum for classes such as “Healing through Movement,” 

“Improvisational Engagement,” “Soft Pastels,” and “Painting,” which 

will use the arts as vehicles for healing and transformation. In the fall 

of 2017, I will be taking these classes to the “Freedom Place,” a safe 

home for trafficked women, and working alongside Kalette to restore 

these women to wholeness. As I serve and pour into her calling, I find 

the Lord multiplying the deposits placed into my own. I am convinced 

that where the Lord gives vision, there His provision will also be. As 

I continue to say “yes” to the Lord, I see Him expanding my territory; 

for “to those who are entrusted with much, much more will be given” 

(Luke 12:48).” 

This summer, Christie took the next step forward in her calling….or many steps…..599 miles of steps to be more precise…and tackled the 

Pacific Crest Trail from June 27-August 5. This backpacking journey served as a Fundraiser for a new building facility, a 40 Day Prayer 

Journey for Beautiful Feet Studio of Dance & the Arts, and a time of Ministry as she embodied what it means to be the beautiful feet that 

go to the mountains to bring good news. She feels so blessed and amazed by the Lord’s creativity as He continues to direct her steps. Stay 

tuned as Christie’s story continues to unfold… 

39

ALUMNI NOTES >> 

40 

1995 

1 Carl Cordova and his wife, Sola, are currently 

living in Brooklyn, NY where they just 

celebrated the birth of their son, Harvey on 

June 3. 

1996 

2 Jennifer Petrey is currently a Professor of 

English for Central Arizona. She moved to 

the Phoenix area in 2016 from Barry University 

in Miami, FL. She is currently pursuing 

a second PhD in psychology and cognition. 

Over the years she has published several 

works on culture and trauma - focusing on 

diasporas and gender identity - and serves 

under-represented populations in borderland 

Arizona. In addition to her scholarly 

and professional pursuits, Jennifer breeds 

and shows Australian Shepherd dogs and 

German Warmblood horses. She is also 

currently working towards representing the 

United States in dressage at the next Pan 

American Games on her Holsteiner horse, 

LeDoux DFF. 

1997 

Erin Metzger Conn is currently a teacher at 

CHCA and is serving on the CHCA Alumni 

Board. 

1998 

3 Brian Garlock and his wife, Brittany, live 

in Mason, OH with their two sons, Colin 

(7) and Aiden (5). He is working for Mammotome, 

a medical device company in Cincinnati, 

on the leadership team of the North 

American Sales organization as Sales Operations 

Manager. 

Rebekah Sjogren Osypian is currently living 

in San Diego, CA where she owns a consulting 

agency that focuses on sales growth 

and strategy building. 

1999 

4 Kristen Stutz Barkimer married Greg 

Barkimer on April 22 in Winston-Salem, 

North Carolina, where she attended college. 

It was an amazing day and the Lord blessed 

them by holding the rain off for their outdoor 

ceremony until just minutes after everything 

was finished! Kristen’s two sisters, 

Darah Stutz Kerpka ‘02 and Meredith Stutz 

‘12, were the maids of honor. Dear friend and 

CHCA alum, Michelle Toy Warner ‘98 read 

Scripture and her daughter, Olivia, was one 

of their adorable flower girls. Kristen and 

Greg are loving married life and are enjoying 

living in Hyde Park, Ohio. 

2000 

5 Chad Leland is starting his 11th year as a 

coach for the CHCA middle school football 

program. This past year he started a new job 

as the employee benefits broker firm McGohan 

Brabender as a large account manager. 

Chad is involved in an awesome men’s small 

group, Inner Circle Cincinnati, which includes 

former CHCA football guys coming 

together to grow deeper in faith and to be 

honest and accountable for what living for 

Jesus really means. After 11 years of teaching 

at Edgewood Middle School, his wife Allison 

is working at home as a part time art teacher. 

They are celebrating their two daughters in 

every way as tea parties, dances, and ‘feelings’ 

are ever-present in their house! 

6 Michelle Pembaur Pater and her husband, 

Michael, welcomed Michael Robert 

Pembaur Pater on April 3, 2017. 

7 Liz Bronson Rosenau and her husband 

Greg welcomed their first baby, Audrey 

Kathleen, on August 18, 2016. Life will never 

be the same and they wouldn’t have it any 

other way. Liz says, “I’d like to apologize for 

all the times I rolled my eyes when someone 

wanted to show me pictures of their baby... 

I get it now!” 

2001 

8 Matt Warren and his wife Allyson moved 

back to Cincinnati just over five years ago 

and have enjoyed settling into their life as a 

growing family in Loveland. They have two 

energetic boys, Declan(age 6) and Beckett 

(age 4). This past December, Matt and Allyson, 

along with their family, opened Brixx 

Wood Fired Pizza and a couple months later 

opened Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe in 

Deerfield Township. 

2002 

Zach Bohannon is currently living in Cincinnati 

where he works as a field director 

for Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the 

nation’s leading grassroots activists organization 

which supports economic prosperity, 

freedom, and opportunity through free 

market principles and principles of limited 

government. 

Wes and Dori Dostal Edmonson are living 

in Loveland, Oh with their two children, Oliver 

(5) and Henry (2). 

Ryan Scott has been working for the last 10 

years at GE Aviation where he is an evaluation 

engineer. He has been working on the 

GE9X engine that will power the Boeing 

777; so if you are flying from here to California, 

it is likely that he will be powering you! 

2003 

9 Denis Beausejour and his wife Robynne 

are loving life in the suburb of Chicago. 

Denis is working at O.C. Tanner, which is a 

rewards and recognition company. They 

are currently attending Willow Creek Community 

Church. September 2016 they were 

blessed with a beautiful baby boy, Denis. 

10 Jon Beck has been in Santa Cruz, Bolivia 

working with World Gospel Mission as a 

volunteer since August 2016. While there, 

he taught Old Testament Theology, New 

Testament Theology, Hebrews/General 

Epistles, and Biblical Hebrew to the local 

university (Bolivian Evangelical University) 

and seminary in Santa Cruz. To say it has 

been a great experience would be a huge 

understatement! He concluded this term as 

a missionary on July 15, and is eager to discover 

what God has for him next. 

11 Kathryn Ashbrook Folkerth and her husband, 

Joshua are living in Dar es Salaam, 

Tanzania with their sons Max (4) and Linus 

(2). They are there on an international assignment 

with Joshua’s job (out of Geneva, 

Switzerland). Previous postings were North 

Carolina and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They 

are loving living inTanzania and having the 

opportunity to explore that corner of the 

world. 

Melissa Perkins Ruch proves you can successfully 

balance being a wife, mom, and 

having a full career! Shortly after graduating 

from Miami University in 2007, she started 

her career with the Nielsen company - a 

measurement company headquartered in 

New York. Melissa has held multiple roles 

within the company from sales to research 

management to HR leadership, where currently 

she helps lead the global employee 

engagement strategy across the organization. 

Melissa is actively involved with external 

branding and marketing for Nielsen, 

helping transform the internal employee 

experience for associates from the research 

and data insights collected externally. From 

a personal lens, after attending Miami University 

together, “Miami Mergers” Melissa 

and Paul Ruch were married in 2008. Paul is 

owner of Express Employment Professional 

in Cincinnati, a staffing company dedicated 

to helping people find jobs and provide 

workforce solutions to businesses. Together 

they have two boys - Caden (3) and Parker 

(1 yr). Both boys are great fun with lots of 

energy and smiles! They are currently living 

in Liberty Township, OH where they enjoy 

traveling, outdoor activities, and simply 

hanging out with family and friends.


1 

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2 

9 

3 

4 

6 

5 

11 

7 

10 

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13 

14 

17 

18 

19 

26 

15 

16 

20 

21 

22 

24 

25 

23 

42


Cara Clausing Rupp married her high 

school boyfriend, Tony Rupp in 2008 and 

then graduated with an Engineering Physics 

degree from Wright State. She is currently 

a research engineer at WPAFB in Dayton, 

OH. Cara and Tony welcomed a cute little 

boy, Jackson, in 2014, who joins their fluffy 

cat to round out the family. 

2004 

12 Josh and Julie Baker were married in an 

intimate wedding in her parent’s yard with 

just a few family members in May of 2016 

and are currently living in Indianapolis. Julie 

is a designer at Nelson jewelers. They 

opened a food truck “Tongue n Cheek” 

that specializes in hearty sandwiches. There 

latest venture is the 22nd Street Diner that 

has a classic diner feel serving comfort food 

to include family-style shared plates and 

classic sides like collard greens, cornbread, 

baked beans, and more. They were recently 

back at CHCA to celebrate the graduation 

of their “little brother” Adam, Class of 2017. 

13 Courtney Clark-Rankin has nearly completed 

a post-bachelor degree in Business 

Informatics to better succeed in her new 

role as the Information Systems Administrator 

at Cincinnati Museum Center and the 

National Underground Railroad Freedom 

Center. She and her husband, Christopher, 

continue restoration work on their 97 year 

old historic home in Southgate, KY, and they 

are ecstatic to be expecting their first child 

in November. 

14 Rachael Herrmann Martinez continues 

in her position as a Research Health Scientist 

for the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

She and her husband had their first little girl, 

Carlyn Kay, in June 2015, and just welcomed 

their second, Isabella Regina, on Memorial 

Day 2017. The Martinez family, including 

their two mini huskies, reside in Chicago. 

Nathaniel Sizemore and his wife, Erin, are 

currently living in Ft. Thomas, KY where he 

is the vice president and general counsel of 

Sizemore & Co., LLC 

15 Brittany Wyche is currently living in 

inston-Salem, NC where she is a college 

counselor at Guilford College. In February, 

she and Chris Jacques became engaged and 

are planning for their January 2018 wedding. 

2005 

Jonathan Gaietto is living in L.A. and is a 

professional actor. 

16 Ben Hoyer and his wife Shannon (Drumheller) 

were married in 2013 and reside in 

Anderson Township with their new son 

Blake Lee (born March 3, 2017). Ben graduated 

from the University of Cincinnati’s Carl 

Lindner Honors Plus Program in 2010 with 

a degree in Business Administration with 

concentrations in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. 

Ben is the CEO of ClearShield 

Auto Glass operating in Northern Kentucky, 

Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. Shannon, 

a 2010 graduate of The University of 

Virginia McIntire School of Commerce with 

a BS in Commerce, is Campaign Manager 

for 84.51 (formerly Dunnhumby). Ben is a 

proud Bearcat football supporter. 

Teddy Siegel is currently living in Cincinnati 

and is working as a Business Operations Assistant 

for the Cincinnati Reds. 

2006 

17 Dr. Michael Goebel graduated from University 

of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 

2014 and is currently an Emergency Physician. 

He married Meredith on September 17, 

2016, and they are currently living in Cincinnati. 

Justin Jones can be seen this season on the 

sideline at Eagles varsity football games as he 

has joined the coaching staff. GO EAGLES!! 

Cathy Kwan and her husband, Jason Yoong, 

live in Seattle, Washington where she is Senior 

Designer for Vie Active. 

18 Liz Stogner just graduated with her MBA 

from Sullivan University where she works 

as an Employer Relations Specialist for the 

career services there. She will be assisting 

at the Louisville Young Guns Dinner at the 

James Beard House again in the fall. 

19 Carrie Campbell VanSlyke and Jeremy 

welcomed their first child, Thomas in August. 

They currently live in Halifax, Nova 

Scotia, Canada. Jeremy is a music record 

producer and runs his own company called 

Leaf Music. Carrie currently teaches 45 little 

students private violin/viola lessons every 

week and continues to play viola in Symphony 

Nova Scotia. She plans to take three 

months off with the arrival of their little one 

to adjust to their new family life. They are 

very excited for this new adventure! 

2007 

20 Ryan Atkins married Stephanie Perry 

on November 19, 2016 at Old St. George in 

Clifton, OH. Ryan and Stephanie were in 

the same second grade class at CHCA Elementary 

in 1996. They continue to share 

their story at www.FlatOnMyFeet.com 

James Havey lives in Penang Kam, Cambodia 

where he continues to work doing anti 

human trafficking sociological research and 

LGBT advocacy with Maryknoll Lay Missions. 

21 Amy Stevens Hendley and her husband, 

Tanner, have three children - Mary Evelyn 

(4), Rosalie (2), and Noah (born in Feb 

2017). Commencement from Liberty University 

was shortly after Noah was born and 

both Amy and Tanner were graduating with 

their Masters. They were allowed to bring 

their newborn son on the field for commencement 

where President Trump was 

the speaker. 

Nathan Wallace is currently living in Columbus, 

OH with his wife, Claire. 

2008 

Adam Clark is currently living in Washington, 

DC and is working as an associate 

attorney at the campaign finance law firm, 

Utrecht, Kleinfeld, Fiori, Partners, LLC. 

22 Todd Simmons just graduated from 

Northeast Ohio Medical University with 

his M.D. He was recently married to Nicole 

Thieman on May 6, 2017. Alumni Adam 

Simmons ‘05, Kurt Kersey ‘08, Austin Zekoff 

‘09 and Nathan Lambert ‘08 were all 

part of the celebration. In June he began his 

psychiatry residency at Pine Rest Christian 

Mental Health Services in Grand Rapids, 

Michigan. 

23 Austin Wilson relocated to Nashville 

with his wife, Nicole, where he is currently 

on tour with Matthew West and loving it. 

During the stage shows, Austin steers cameras, 

makes giant video walls show the right 

things at the right time and other cool effects 

making the show come to life. 

2009 

Brianna Alvarado was recently invited to 

join the Women’s National Soccer Team to 

play goalkeeper for Puerto Rico. 

24 Drake Browne married Claire in November 

2016 and currently lives in the Atlanta 

area. He has been working at Perfect 

Game USA since graduation from Furman 

University in 2013 and was recently promoted 

to National Marketing Manager. While in 

college he played baseball for four years at 

D1 Furman University. 

25 Sarah Cesler has been living in Denver 

since 2014 and was married there in September 

2016 to Gavin Whitman. Sarah is 

currently a zookeeper at the Denver Zoo 

and cares for rhinos, tapirs, and elephants. 

26 Hannah Frank Cisneros married Paolo 

Cisneros on May 28, 2017 and is currently 

living in Santiago De Queretaro, Mexico. 

There she is involved in education and 

community development work. 

43


44 

Alison Edwards graduated with a Master of 

Science in Nursing, Clinical Nurse Leader in 

2016 from Xavier University and is currently 

living in Chicago where she is a Registered 

Nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. 

Travis Geiger is currently living in LA and 

is a film director and most recently a producer’s 

assistant on the set of Robin Hood 

shooting in Budapest. His first experience 

began in chapel videos at CHCA. 

Alivia Johnson is currently living in Cincinnati, 

OH where she is the Corporate HR & 

Training Coordinator for Jeff Ruby Culinary 

Entertainment. 

27 Captain Philip Marosi completed his captain 

training at Fort Lee Virginia and was the 

top student in his class from the Army Logistics 

University in May. He moved to Petersburg, 

VA in October 2016 after being on 

assignment for three years near Nuremberg, 

Germany. He and his beautiful wife, Megan, 

will be leaving for South Korea for two years 

at the end of June. They are excited to see 

what challenges lie ahead and are experiencing 

God’s goodness and faithfulness in the 

highs and lows. 

28 Kelsie Pignone Nagel married Bobby Nagel 

on February 13, 2016 and they are excited 

to introduce their new addition, Vinny, born 

in April 2017. 

29 Olivia Perez moved to Houston in 2015 

with her boyfriend of five years, Kent Fisher. 

They both work at NASA Johnson Space 

Center and love it! In their spare time they love 

hiking, traveling, pub trivia, and taking their fur 

baby, Coney (2 yr. old mini dachshund) everywhere 

with them! If any CHCA people are in 

Houston and want a tour, let her know! 

30 Chris Powers wed Joey Ausena on October 

29, 2016 and they currently reside in London, 

UK. 

Andy Shear graduated from college with a 

degree in software engineering and is currently 

working remotely for a technology firm 

in Blue Ash, OH as a software developer creating 

anything from apps to web surfaces. In 

August 2016 he married Kelly and they relocated 

to New Mexico where they are living on 

a ranch and raising their three horses. 

Paul Tepfenhart is currently in Columbus, 

OH working as the Director of Sales for 

CrossChx, a biometric medical security company. 

He helped build the company from its 

inception four years ago to the nationwide 

security and automation company it is today. 

31 Taylor Beadle Weber is currently living 

in West Chester, OH with her husband, 

Sebastian. Sebastian recently graduated 

with his MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University 

and works at Prasco Pharmaceutical 

in Mason, OH. Taylor just finished her fifth 

year of teaching and is a 5th grade teacher 

at Sharonville Elementary. She is involved 

in a Munich Sister City Teacher Exchange 

and hosted a Kindergarten teacher for two 

weeks last April. In June, Taylor went to Munich, 

Germany for two weeks to learn about 

the culture and the school system in Europe. 

Recently she and Sebastian celebrated their 

five year anniversary in Jamaica. 

2010 

32 Erin Lloyd graduated from CHCA in 

2010 and just finished her third year of 

medical school at Oakland University 

William Beaumont School of Medicine in 

Michigan. In April of 2017, she was asked 

to address 2,000 high school students before 

a Detroit Tigers game at Comerica Park 

for their Class Outside Series. Prior to her 

medical tract, she had sustained a serious 

injury while playing collegiate level basketball. 

Through this injury and recovery she 

experienced first hand how essential it is to 

be treated by compassionate doctors. Her 

passion arose to pursue a career in sports 

medicine and get kids back in the game. 

2011 

Matt Alvarado is a member of “Public”, a 

band that also includes CHCA alumni John 

Handelsman ‘12 and Ben Lapps ‘12. They 

recently released their latest EP, “Sweet 

Lemonade” and performed in a show with 

Twenty One Pilots this past June. 

33 Maddie Drees celebrated her one year 

anniversary of living in New York City in 

January! She and a few friends started their 

own small theater company called Artists 

Entrained. The debut production was 

successful, and marked the first of many. 

Maddie recently accepted a position with 

NY Kids Club and Preschool as an Assistant 

Location Manager. She continues to thrive 

in the “big city” life, but will always be a Cincinnati 

girl at heart. 

34 Maya Traynham-Richardson McCollum 

and Adam ‘12 were married January 

2016 and reside in West Chester, Oh. They 

were blessed with a beautiful daughter, Mila 

Marie, born in February. Adam is currently 

working for a data firm in Cincinnati and 

Maya is enjoying being a stay at home mom 

to Mila and their dog, Disney. 

Christie Taylor is currently living in Houston 

where she dances for a dance ministry 

called Ad Deum. In addition, she teaches 

dance and art, with the long term goal of using 

the arts as a mechanism for healing. See 

the feature on page # 

2012 

Ted Andrews was recently drafted to play 

for the Chicago White Sox. 

35 Samuel Becker recently started fulltime 

at a digital marketing agency in Orange 

County. However, over the last full year 

since graduating from Biola University he 

worked at a farm and then committed to 

work with a non-profit called Harvest Craft, 

helping to run their marketing. At Harvest 

Craft, they work to educate, equip, and 

empower under-resourced communities 

through sustainable food production systems. 

Working with this non-profit took 

Samuel to Cambodia and Japan. In Cambodia 

he partnered with a local pastor to design 

a sustainable farm for the new rehab center 

for rescued girls from the sex trade industry. 

In Japan, he learned and networked 

with recognized and impactful community 

shapers and sustainable agriculture innovators. 

Samuel wanted to give a special shout 

out to Dr. Savage for putting him onto this 

path and opening his mind to the ability to 

love others, serve God, and cultivate lasting 

change through sustainable agriculture and 

environmental care. 

36 Hannah Grubb is currently living in 

Brooklyn, NY where she is working as the 

Executive Assistant to the President of The 

King’s College, her alma mater. 

Zach James could be seen this season on 

the sideline of the Eagles Varsity football as 

he has joined the coaching staff as Varsity 

Lineback Coach and JV Assistant Coach. 

GO EAGLES!! 

37 Ann Marie Kadnar and James Riley ‘13 

were engaged in December 2016, with a 

wedding planned for December 2017. Ann 

Marie will graduate in August 2018 from 

University of Kentucky with a Masters in 

Integrated Plant and Soil Science. She is 

working on her thesis which focuses on forage 

quality in cool season pasture grasses 

for equine nutrition and health. 

Tanner Kuremsky graduated from Virginia 

Tech May 2016 with a degree in Chemical 

Engineering. In August 2016 he moved to 

Baltimore and began as a formulator for CoverGirl 

cosmetics, specifically creating foundations. 

Tanner lives in the Canton neighborhood 

in Baltimore and stays busy with city 

wide intramural sports like kickball, softball, 

and corn hole (where he reigns supreme in 

corn hole after hailing from the Midwest).


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34 Adam McCollum See Maya Traynham-Richardson 

McCollum ‘11 entry. 

Courtney Myers recently graduated with 

a B.A. in Business Administration and is 

currently living in Greenville, South Carolina. 

She is working as a Financial Analyst for 

Lockheed Martin. 

Meredith Stutz graduated from Elon University 

and is now working as a multimedia 

journalist for WSAV Channel 3 News in Savannah, 

Georgia where she writes, shoots, 

and edits all of her material. 

38 Jacob Thiel is living in Springboro with 

his dog, Derby. He is an Engineer for GE 

Aviation in Evendale. 

39 Josh Thiel completed his MBA from 

Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh this 

past May and is currently living in Liberty 

Township, OH. He is working in Covington, 

KY for TiER1 Performance Solutions as an 

Associate Account Manager on the Business 

Development/Market Service team. 

This is the same company he had interned 

with in Pittsburgh. 

40 Emily Walton was recently selected to 

receive a 2017 National Security Education 

Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship. 

She will be taking a year off from her graduate 

studies to move to Riga, Latvia where 

she will study advanced Russian language 

and conduct independent research. Emily 

will graduate in Spring 2019 with a Master 

of Arts in Eurasian, Russian, and East European 

Studies from the School of Foreign 

Service of Georgetown University in Washington, 

D.C. 

2013 

41 Abby Bowman graduated from Wheaton 

College in May with a double degree in 

Cultural Anthropology and Spanish after 

returning to the USA from seventh months 

living, working, and researching in Peru. She 

spent the summer outdoors as a director 

of ropes courses and wilderness treks at a 

summer camp in Maine. Abby and another 

classmate recently released a podcast, Dis(- 

claim), and Abby will soon begin volunteering 

as an Outreach Ambassador for a newly 

developing blog project in Chicago. 

Officer Candidate) program in March of 

2015. His first orders were to finish his degree 

in Mechanical Engineering at Cedarville 

University which he did on May 6, 2017. 

He reported to OCS (Officer’s Candidate 

School) on June 4 in Newport, RI. 

Joe Kabalin just graduated from the University 

of Alabama with a BS in Mechanical 

Engineering. He is going on to pursue a 

Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering 

at Georgia Institute of Technology. 

37 James Riley See Ann Marie Kadnar’s ‘12 

entry. 

42 Kaity Venters just graduated from Saint 

Mary’s College Cum Laud with a B.A. in 

Global Studies with a concentration in Chinese. 

She is currently working as Marketing 

Associate for Acco Brands. (Lake Zurich, 

IL) 

2014 

Zach Alvarado is currently in the Philippines 

working with British American Tobacco. 

He is the head of digital marketing for 

their flagship vape brand, Vype. 

Adam Kohlan just completed his third year 

at Belmont University where he is studying 

Marketing. 

43 Jimmy Kuroff is studying Nutrition and 

Food Sciences at University of Cincinnati. 

This summer he interned with alumni Adam 

Atallah ‘07 in CHCA’s Sports Performance 

Training Program. 

44 Anna Mirlisena started interning for 

Thistle Farms, a Nashville-based, non-profit 

organization whose mission is to heal, empower, 

and employ survivors of prostitution, 

trafficking, and addiction. She is in her final 

year of college at Belmont University pursuing 

a BA. 

Casey Ochs is studying communications 

management and psychology at the University 

of Dayton. 

Caroline Schutte is attending the University 

of South Carolina where she is pursuing a 

B.S. in International Business & Marketing. 

She will be spending 2017 studying at the 

University in Santiago, Chile! 

summer stock theatre in Cleveland/Akron. 

On campus at Kent State, she has been cast 

in three mainstage productions: “Thoroughly 

Modern Millie”, “Into the Woods”, and 

“Kiss Me Kate”. She was recently awarded 

the 2017 Charlotte Braun Scholarship for 

Outstanding Performance in Dance. This 

summer she made her debut performance 

with the Warsaw Federal Incline Theatre as 

‘Kitty’ in “The Drowsy Chaperone”. 

Joshua Eckert is attending The Ohio State 

University were he is pursuing a degree in 

Materials Science and Engineering. He is 

actively involved in the Greek community 

where he is the founding father of Theta Chi 

and was elected as executive board member 

of both the chapter and the school’s Intrafraternal 

Council. 

46 Gabe Hoyer is a Junior at Belmont University 

in Nashville Tennessee where he is 

earning a BFA in Musical Theatre. During 

his short time in Nashville, he has had 

many unique opportunities. One of these 

occurred fall ‘16 when he was cast in Nashville’s 

“Evita” where he joined several Broadway 

actors (Eden Espinosa, Ben Crawford, 

Anthony Crivello) in this breathtaking production. 

This summer he performed professionally 

at The Lost Colony in Manteo, Outer 

Banks North Carolina. November 10-12, 

Gabe was recently seen in the leading role 

of Tevye in Belmont University’s production 

of “Fiddler on the Roof.” 

47 Zach Hoyer is a Junior at Wittenberg 

University in Springfield, Ohio where he is 

majoring in Environmental Science with a 

minor in Music. He is a member of the renown 

men’s A Capella group The Wittmen 

Crew and has performed in venues and 

competitions throughout the area. He continues 

to play his bass trombone as a member 

of the Symphonic Band. He returned to 

the stage this spring as Dan in Wittenberg’s 

musical production of Next to Normal. This 

summer Zach lived in Springfield where he 

interned at the National Trail Parks and Recreation 

District, a position offered through 

Wittenberg University’s Hagen Center for 

Civic Engagement. 

48 Audrey Koob is studying at Miami University 

pursuing a degree in Finance. 

Wes Braden graduated in 2016 with a BA 

in Business/Economics from Wheaton College 

and is currently working as an Associate 

Account Strategist for Google in Ann 

Arbor, Michigan. 

Kevin DeGroft was sworn into the Navy as 

part of their NUPOC (Nuclear Propulsion 

2015 

45 Merrie Drees has just completed her 

sophomore year as a BFA Musical Theatre 

candidate at Kent State University. In the 

summer of 2015 she was the understudy 

for the part of “Penny” in Hairspray at Porthouse 

Theatre - Kent State’s professional 

49 Allie Kuroff headed to Hertford College, 

University of Oxford this fall to begin a year 

long study abroad experience. She was chosen 

to be enrolled as one of a few Visiting 

Students at Hertford. She will be studying 

with faculty in the archaeology, anthropology, 

and music departments. 

47

Reflection on My Summer 

2015 

Olivia Schwan 

“God is so good. This summer, he’s decided 

to include me in his Mazatlán, Mexico 

story, and I could not be more grateful. 

I’m currently interning with Back2Back 

Ministries, a global organization dedicated 

to holistic orphan care and addressing 

each child’s spiritual, physical, social, 

emotional, and educational needs. On a 

day to day level, my time is split between 

leading work projects at the homes and 

spending time with these kids. But on 

a larger scale, my job is to listen to the 

Lord and be obedient to him until each 

and every orphaned child knows they 

are loved by a Father who loves better 

than anything we know on earth. While 

interning here is amazing, it doesn’t happen 

without a solid team of supporters 

or the people who connected me with 

Back2Back in the first place. The first 

time I ever heard about this organization 

was in my 7th grade history class 

at CHCA with Steve McCollum, who is 

now with Back2Back staff. Watching his 

enthusiasm about tackling the orphan 

crisis around the globe as a 13-year-old 

rocked my world, and that’s a huge reason 

why I’m in Mazatlan this summer. I 

could talk about this great ministry all 

day long, so if you’re interested in getting 

involved, talking with me about it, 

or more information feel free to read 

my Mazatlán blog at www.oliviaschwan. 

wix.com/mazatlan or email me at olivia. 

schwan@gmail.com. Keep your prayers 

for these kids coming!” 

48 


Molly McBrayer worked this past summer 

as an inventory planning intern at Takeda 

Pharmaceutical in Chicago, Illinois. This 

role will allow her to further develop her 

understanding of supply chain logistics. As 

a junior at Miami University, she will spend 

the fall semester abroad in the Netherlands 

at Maastricht University. She hopes to 

have the opportunity to travel throughout 

Europe and gain a more global perspective 

of both business and culture. 

2016 

Zachary Bell just completed his first year at 

Miami University. He is working for Baker 

Concrete in IT Support to grasp the large 

company view of this field. 

50 Vince Colyer completed his first year at 

the University of South Carolina where he 

is pursuing a degree in Business. He spent 

his summer as a merchandising intern for 

FC Cincinnati. 

Erik Kohlan completed his first year at 

Miami University where he is studying 

Marketing. 

51 Johnny Noyen will be starting his 

second year at Miami University where he is 

pursuing a major in Finance from the Farmer 

School of Business. He is also enjoying 

being a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon 

fraternity there. 

50 

51 

Phil Ochs just completed his first year at 

University of Cincinnati College of Music 

where he is studying Commercial Music 

Production. 

Chazz Powell enjoyed her first year at 

Washington University in St. Louis where 

she was very involved on campus through 

her business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, 

and being a campus tour guide. This year 

she is enjoying being a peer mentor as well. 

This summer she interned at a PR firm, 

FleishmanHillard, at their headquarters in 

downtown St. Louis. 

52 Kat Williams is a sophomore at Denison 

University majoring in Health and Exercise 

Sports Science with a concentration in pre 

med while also continuing her athletic career 

in basketball. She spent the summer as an 

intern with Joe Lucas and Adam Atallah ‘07 

at CHCA as an athletic trainer while also 

interning at Mercy Hospital with a Physician 

Assistant specializing in sports orthopedics. 

Her goal is to get into PA grad school and 

become a sports orthopedic surgery PA. 

52 

48


Breaking Out with 

Andy Garrett ‘09: Q&A 

BY SARAH ESLICK ROBINSON ‘09 

How did Breakout get started? 

We started Breakout with the realization that real-life 

interactions still carry a tremendous amount of value. It’s a 

counter-cultural way of thinking but we really dug into the 

creation story and tried to identify what we (people) are 

created for. We quickly realized that we were created to be in 

community, so we’re constantly looking for ways to create that 

and Breakout just so happened to fit the mold. 

How many locations are there now? 

Did you ever expect it to be so successful? 

There are 43 total locations. Successful? I guess that’s a relative 

term. Honestly, we are still super hungry to keep learning and 

growing. We’re having a ton of fun with it. 

What led you to this industry? 

Our mission statement is to “Create space for people to 

experience relational depth and communal wealth.” We’re 

really passionate about having deeper connections and hosting 

communities of people who see the value in that. Breakout 

aligned so we said ‘yes’. 

Do you believe God has changed you throughout this process? 

How so? 

Yes, there have been a ton of ways but I think the biggest one has 

been learning to trust [the Lord]. There are so many variables 

that go into running a business, and at times it gets stressful. It’s 

been amazingly freeing when those times creep up, to simply be 

able to say “I trust you” and to not feel like the success/failure of 

Breakout is on our backs. We want a lot more of that :). 

It’s such a blessing to be able to find something you’re 

passionate about and make a career out of it. What wisdom 

would you want to pass on to someone struggling with their 

purpose as far as their career is concerned? 

For me the fear of failing didn’t add up to the fear of asking ‘what 

if’ at the end of my life. I am so much more interested in getting 

a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ than never knowing. If you’re passionate about 

something, go get your answer. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring Entrepreneurs? 

Run into your fears, I guarantee that at the worst, you’ll learn 

something. 

I’m sure it was a leap of faith to jump into a brand new 

industry. What role did your faith play in all of this? 

Yeah, you never know what’s going to happen. I can honestly 

say there have been plenty of days where all we could do was 

invite the Lord to lead and work alongside us. I don’t know how 

people run businesses without a community of people pushing 

them towards the Lord. 

49

11525 Snider Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45249 

Have you visited chca-oh.org lately? 

Check out CHCA’s new website launched this past year!

Eagles Eye 2017

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