I was born in the tropical paradise of Kailua, HI, coincidentally at the exact time that I was zero years old. Several major things have happened since then, including a dramatic increase in height. I have a lot of scattered memories of Honolulu, where I lived for five of the first eight years of my life. My parents (who have the same first name, though spelled differently) are both music teachers, and during my first years I spent multitudinous hours in various rooms of musical rehearsal.
Honolulu is a far cry from Walla Walla, WA, where my family moved when I was eight years old. Shortly thereafter, our family procured a black cat, which I creatively named Licorice. I attended Clara E. Rogers Elementary School in the shadow of Walla Walla College (actually, the shadow would have gone the other direction, but I digress.), from 3rd through 8th grades. I then attended Walla Walla Valley Academy, where I hold the record for number of graduating credits accrued (358, in case you were wondering).
I had the opportunity to go on three short-term mission trips while I was a student at WWVA. These experiences helped prepare me for the next significant step (which will happen in the next paragraph). My academic experience, though, did not really help me clarify what I wanted to do with my life, but I enjoyed writing, as well as geometry, physics, music, graphic design, and working for my English teacher. When I enrolled in Walla Walla College in the summer of 1996, I semi-blindly chose a communications major.
Through two years of classes, I was planning to serve as a student missionary. When the time came, I ended up working as a taskforce dean at Gem State Academy in Caldwell, ID. I stayed in the states mostly because I didn't think I was qualified to be a teacher. But this experience completely changed the trajectory of my life, as I began to consider the field of education for perhaps the first time in my life. I believed that my relationship with God was coming into focus in a way that I had not experienced before. Coming back to Walla Walla, I added a religion major, and graduated after three more years of classes.
Upon graduating, in 2002, I experienced the interesting decision whether to follow a job opportunity or stay in town because of a girl. I chose the latter, which was a good decision (see next paragraph), and worked in journalism as a copy editor for an entire year. Toward the middle of this year, I started to realize that my job wasn't "where it was at." I decided to explore the possibility of going back to Walla Walla College yet again to pursue a Master's of Arts in Teaching. I made the leap in the summer of 2003.
In October of that year, I was able to instantly upgrade from having a girlfriend to having a fiancee. In the space of two months in the summer of 2004, we graduated, got married, went on a honeymoon, and moved to Salem, OR, where we were employed to teach at Livingstone Adventist Academy. Over the course of five years at Livingstone, I taught Bible, English, journalism, orchestra, drama, yearbook, praise team, and computer applications, and even helped out with a PE class. Oh, also I was the registrar for a couple of years. These were good (if rainy) years.
June 2009 brought a significant shift, though, in the form of my wife graduating from the University of Oregon, where she received a Master's in Music degree. We followed the Lord's leading to Indiana Academy, where I taught computer applications, history, Bible and music, and worked in the school library. These were good (if busy) years.
Life became even busier when our first daughter, Liljana Clare Koch, was born on Monday morning, March 7, 2011. (We found Liljana's name on the website Behind The Name, where we were looking at a list of Slovenian names. I am 1/4 Slovenian.)
In June 2011 we moved back to Salem with 3-month-old Liljana. I regained the position that I left at Livingstone two years earlier. It was spectacular to come back, and I love teaching at Livingstone. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to be a role model and build metaphorical bridges with the help of my students.
Our second daughter, Cadence Aurelia Koch, was born on Thursday, May 30, 2013. I was the class sponsor for the 12th grade that year, and I didn't go on the class trip to Costa Rica because Cady's due date window was the same time. It's a good thing I didn't go! (Her middle name, Aurelia, is the name for the tune of a hymn, "The Church Has One Foundation," #348 in the Adventist hymnal, and it means "golden.")
I enjoy teaching, but I would also be potentially interested in a variety of other pursuits, including deaning, college professorship, student services at the college level, and maybe even speech pathology. I really don't know what the future will bring. Stay tuned!
Honolulu is a far cry from Walla Walla, WA, where my family moved when I was eight years old. Shortly thereafter, our family procured a black cat, which I creatively named Licorice. I attended Clara E. Rogers Elementary School in the shadow of Walla Walla College (actually, the shadow would have gone the other direction, but I digress.), from 3rd through 8th grades. I then attended Walla Walla Valley Academy, where I hold the record for number of graduating credits accrued (358, in case you were wondering).
I had the opportunity to go on three short-term mission trips while I was a student at WWVA. These experiences helped prepare me for the next significant step (which will happen in the next paragraph). My academic experience, though, did not really help me clarify what I wanted to do with my life, but I enjoyed writing, as well as geometry, physics, music, graphic design, and working for my English teacher. When I enrolled in Walla Walla College in the summer of 1996, I semi-blindly chose a communications major.
Through two years of classes, I was planning to serve as a student missionary. When the time came, I ended up working as a taskforce dean at Gem State Academy in Caldwell, ID. I stayed in the states mostly because I didn't think I was qualified to be a teacher. But this experience completely changed the trajectory of my life, as I began to consider the field of education for perhaps the first time in my life. I believed that my relationship with God was coming into focus in a way that I had not experienced before. Coming back to Walla Walla, I added a religion major, and graduated after three more years of classes.
Upon graduating, in 2002, I experienced the interesting decision whether to follow a job opportunity or stay in town because of a girl. I chose the latter, which was a good decision (see next paragraph), and worked in journalism as a copy editor for an entire year. Toward the middle of this year, I started to realize that my job wasn't "where it was at." I decided to explore the possibility of going back to Walla Walla College yet again to pursue a Master's of Arts in Teaching. I made the leap in the summer of 2003.
In October of that year, I was able to instantly upgrade from having a girlfriend to having a fiancee. In the space of two months in the summer of 2004, we graduated, got married, went on a honeymoon, and moved to Salem, OR, where we were employed to teach at Livingstone Adventist Academy. Over the course of five years at Livingstone, I taught Bible, English, journalism, orchestra, drama, yearbook, praise team, and computer applications, and even helped out with a PE class. Oh, also I was the registrar for a couple of years. These were good (if rainy) years.
June 2009 brought a significant shift, though, in the form of my wife graduating from the University of Oregon, where she received a Master's in Music degree. We followed the Lord's leading to Indiana Academy, where I taught computer applications, history, Bible and music, and worked in the school library. These were good (if busy) years.
Life became even busier when our first daughter, Liljana Clare Koch, was born on Monday morning, March 7, 2011. (We found Liljana's name on the website Behind The Name, where we were looking at a list of Slovenian names. I am 1/4 Slovenian.)
In June 2011 we moved back to Salem with 3-month-old Liljana. I regained the position that I left at Livingstone two years earlier. It was spectacular to come back, and I love teaching at Livingstone. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to be a role model and build metaphorical bridges with the help of my students.
Our second daughter, Cadence Aurelia Koch, was born on Thursday, May 30, 2013. I was the class sponsor for the 12th grade that year, and I didn't go on the class trip to Costa Rica because Cady's due date window was the same time. It's a good thing I didn't go! (Her middle name, Aurelia, is the name for the tune of a hymn, "The Church Has One Foundation," #348 in the Adventist hymnal, and it means "golden.")
I enjoy teaching, but I would also be potentially interested in a variety of other pursuits, including deaning, college professorship, student services at the college level, and maybe even speech pathology. I really don't know what the future will bring. Stay tuned!