Welcome, Mrs. Culp!

Kate Culp, Humanities & CTE Teacher

Tell us about yourself.
Hi, I am Kate. In quick summary I am a Light + light lover, story seeker, word collector, truth chaser, little man mama, home maker, laughter lingerer, life liver, wonder-filled wife (all with fiber and froth in my fingers, preferably). As a English teacher and photographer, I love zooming in and out of life, finding grace, beauty and Truth through these lenses. All my various roles and interests are knit together by my most important identity, child of the King.

Tell us the story of how God brought you to work at EC.
EC has been part of my story since 1985 when I walked into Mrs. Sanders’ kindergarten classroom, a butterfly sticker identifying my cubby.Thirteen years later I graduated and continued on to Calvin College, spending a semester in Nairobi, Kenya, and leaving with an English degree and developing world studies minor. Jan Lucas, principal of the high school at the time, called me the summer after graduating and brought me back into the EC classroom as a teacher. For four years I taught a variety of courses, including several levels of English, Humantities 1, and served as a class dean for a couple of those years. I “retired” from teaching at the age of 26, after having our first son, and stayed home to raise our children as our family quickly grew to include three boys. Those years remain precious to me and I decided to pick up a camera and started telling our family story through images, which grew into a professional photography career for the last five years. I stepped back into the classroom last year, co-teaching a Digital Media class with Adam at the school he was employed by in PA. Looking through the lens of faith in all that I do has been something embedded in me through years of Christian schooling, and I am excited to be back at the place that has always been home for me — the Eastern Christian classroom.

Why Eastern Christian?
One of my favorite things about EC is the way that God’s overarching story is emphasized and permeates ALL of learning. Christian education is not simmered down simply to moral living, but an opportunity to dig deep into the world around us and consider how we can get our hands messy to truly live out faith. Students at EC learn that faith cannot be compartmentalized, and ALL of life exists to glorify God. EC teaches that no matter what field a student pursues, there is Kingdom work to do.