Carrie Geels

Professional Biography:
I attended Messiah College in Pennsylvania and graduated in 2001 with a B.S. degree in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science.  Upon graduating college, I completed two Environmental Education Internships in the Chesapeake Bay area and northern Michigan. In January 2002, I moved to California to begin working at Mission Springs Outdoor Education in Scotts Valley, where I worked for three years.  Following Mission Springs, I worked at Twin Lakes Christian School in the Santa Cruz area for two years, working as a teacher’s aide developing the science program and teaching it as well. I then began teaching at San Jose Christian in 2006, and simultaneously I have been earning my California credential and masters degree in teaching, which will be completed in December 2008. I am continually filled with excitement to be given the opportunity to serve, grow, share, and be challenged in this community.

Personal Biography:
I grew up in York, Pennsylvania in a family of five. My older sister and her family currently live in Florida, and my brother is getting his PhD in philosophy at the University of Massachusetts. My parents continue to live in Pennsylvania. My husband, Jeremy, and I have been married since 2005, and we live in Felton, which is near Scotts Valley.  He is originally from Iowa, and we worked together as naturalists in the outdoor education department at Mission Springs. Jeremy now works full time as the director of the outdoor education program. When I’m not working or attending graduate classes, I enjoy running with friends through the amazing redwood forests that surround our home, and finishing runs with a quiet morning of coffee and reading. I love being outdoors, whether it’s hiking, running, or sitting on the beach watching the ocean. Jeremy and I enjoy living in community with others, sharing meals together, and continuing to learn what it means to live simply.

Christian Philosophy of Education:
As a Christian educator partnering with families and churches in our community, it is my desire for students to understand, first, the extent of God’s love for them through Jesus, and second, that creation is being restored, and each of us is called to be an integral part of that restoration through stewardship and responsibility in consuming less and living simply. As followers of Christ, it is vital to understand not only our connection to creation, but the rest of the world’s connection to it as well. Our daily choices impact the world around us—humans and the rest of creation. I desire for students to be able to connect to every part of God’s creation and to take what they are learning in a classroom to the next level of impacting their families, church, neighborhoods, community, and ultimately, the world as they grow in the knowledge of who God is and make decisions upon that foundation.