Dawn Snellenberger interviewed Class of 2014 alumnus Alex Clark. Alex is currently serving as a student teacher at CCS as he finishes his last requirement to graduate from Liberty University to become a secondary level teacher of history.

You may have noticed that a familiar face returned to our campus this fall. Alex Clark, from the CCS class of 2014, has been student teaching under the supervision of Mr. Jim Kirch. He is student teaching in our high school history classes this semester while fulfilling the final requirement for his degree in Social Sciences with licensure from Liberty University. Alex is scheduled to finish his degree and graduate in December (2018).

Alex began attending Cornerstone as a homeschooler during his sophomore year. During that year, he participated in our Homeschool Partnership Program by joining our English and Chemistry classes. He then enrolled at CCS as a full-time student during his junior and senior years. Initially, Alex was wary of attending "school" because he had always been homeschooled. He was concerned about what it would be like, especially for someone with a more reserved personality. Soon after starting, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his classmates were kind and inclusive, and there was even an emphasis placed on having a personal relationship with God.

After graduating from Cornerstone, Alex began attending Liberty University (LU) in Lynchburg, Virginia. He recalls the transition to LU as "shocking" because of the sheer number of students at the school (45,000 undergraduates!); however, he appreciated still being able to receive an education in which Christ was at the center. He felt well prepared for the rigors of college. In fact, he felt like he was more prepared than many of his classmates, particularly in the areas of writing and history. He entered college with the skill set that was expected of him as a freshman entering college. After changing his major twice, he settled on a degree in Social Sciences, plus a licensure to teach at the high school level.

Alex has enjoyed his student teaching experience under the supervision of Mr. Kirch. He thinks it is great being able to gain hands-on knowledge from being in the classroom. He hopes to teach history in either a public or private school, to earn his Masters of Education, and to eventually work at the college level.

He also has other exciting plans for his future! He recently became engaged to Abby Maruca, a fellow CCS alumna from the class of 2015. They reconnected over an Alumni Christmas Chapel at CCS a couple of years after they both graduated. I guess God is still using CCS in the lives of our alumni!

Are you an alumnus or know someone who would be willing to be interviewed? Please contact Dawn Snellenberger at dsnellenberger@contactccs.org to share your story with her.

Dawn Snellenberger interviewed Class of 1996 alumna Joy (Williams) Press. Joy is married to Mr. Keith Press, our high school science teacher, and she currently runs a daycare out of their home so she can also care for their newest family addition.

When chatting with families, we hear comments about how special the CCS community is. Few people, however, have had the extended exposure to the school’s community like Joy and Keith Press!

Joy (Williams) Press began attending Cornerstone in the ninth grade after previously attending public school. She recalls her days at CCS fondly. She felt it was a safe haven for her, and she appreciated the strong biblical worldview it gave her. She found that her knowledge of the Bible and experience of being with other believers from various churches was a true asset when she went away to college. Cornerstone prepared her to think biblically, and she had a greater appreciation for the larger Body of Christ after going to an interdenominational school where people sometimes differed doctrinally.

Keith also attended CCS while he was in Grades 5-9. Even though they both attended CCS during some of the same years, their paths did not cross until after they both began teaching at the school. Keith accepted a teaching job in the McLain building where he taught math and science, and he coached soccer. At the same time, Joy was serving as a middle school teacher and cheerleading coach.

While working among the CCS community, they fell in love and eventually married in August 2006.

In the next few years, they both had job changes, but the CCS community continued to play a significant role in their lives. Joy moved from a teaching position to becoming the assistant principal, and Keith left CCS to work in the chemistry field, only to return once again to CCS as a teacher. It was while Joy was serving as the assistant principal that God planted the idea of adoption in her mind.

One of Joy’s responsibilities was to give tours to prospective parents. She began to meet several families who had already gone through the adoption process. While it seemed like a lofty (and expensive) goal, she and Keith could not get past the undeniable tug of adoption on their hearts. They decided to take the first step in the process by completing a home study. Shortly afterwards, they received a check for $2,000—the exact cost of the home study! They knew God was indeed leading them forward.

With a mixture of fear and faith, the Presses decided that Joy needed to step away from her administrative position at CCS and open a home daycare in preparation for when their own baby would come home. For anyone who has ever gone through the adoption process, you know it can be grueling! There were difficult moments while they waited, such as when Keith needed major back surgery in the fall of 2017. But Joy and Keith trusted God for a miracle and relied on their community for help.

On August 15, 2018, Joy and Keith were selected to become the parents of a baby girl, who was expected to be born within a week’s time. In quick order, they bought airline tickets, packed, set things in place to bring a baby home, and wired the last of the funds for the adoption. Once again, their community—consisting of people from Cornerstone, their church, family, and friends—rallied to help them. By the time they boarded the plane to pick up their baby, all the funds had been miraculously wired to the adoption agency.

Joy and Keith are now the proud parents of Rachael-Lynn Alissa Press, who was born on August 22. They are doing all the things new parents do: adjusting to being a family of three, taking turns sleeping, and standing in awe of the miracle God performed in their midst! In one of Joy’s recent Facebook posts, she said, “THANK YOU for all of your prayers, love, and support on this journey. We are so amazed by the community that we are a part of." Their CCS community rejoices in what God has done on their behalf!

Are you an alumnus or know someone who would be willing to be interviewed? Please contact Dawn Snellenberger at dsnellenberger@contactccs.org to share your story with her.

Dawn Snellenberger interviewed Class of 2016 alumna Abby Clark. Abby is currently a junior majoring in business at Cairn University, which is a Christian college located near Philadelphia, PA.

Not many college students can say they experienced a summer like Abby Clark did this past summer! While other students were busy with summer jobs, Abby was busy serving in Kenya, Africa. She had the unique privilege of traveling there and working with three different children’s homes connected to a ministry called Chariots for Hope. Unlike a regular missions trip, this opportunity allowed Abby to provide practical business help to these overseas children's homes, while sharing the love of Christ with the children she encountered. As a business major at Cairn University, this internship combined her love of foreign missions with a chance to use her expanding business knowledge in analyzing profits, losses, and areas for growth of different generating-income projects used at the children’s homes. In this way she was able to put her faith into action and bless the people she encountered there.

While Abby reflected fondly on her experience, she admits that when she first learned about the opportunity, she didn’t feel like it made much sense to her. However, after thinking and praying about it, she felt the undeniable tug of God on her heart. For her, this experience was the culmination of a desire God had placed within her back when she attended Urbana Missions Conference during high school. At that time, surrounded by 15,000 other students, Abby found herself praying specifically for oppressed people groups in Kenya. It was then that she felt God calling her to minister to people in Kenya. It wasn’t until she began telling me about her summer experiences that she was reminded of God’s call several years before!

As Abby reflected on her time spent at CCS, she recognized it as a wonderful opportunity to grow in her faith. She felt it was a good environment to learn from her teachers as they walked out their lives of faith before her. Now that she is in college, she is challenged to walk out her faith in even greater ways than before. Obeying God by stepping out and serving Him in Kenya is one way she is doing just that. We rejoice in what God is doing in Abby’s life and delight to see how God will continue to use her to make a difference in this world for His Kingdom. Keep up the great work, Abby!

Are you an alumnus or know someone who would be willing to be interviewed? Please contact Dawn Snellenberger at dsnellenberger@contactccs.org to share your story with her.