Karin Fast will be Bethany’s first third-grade teacher. She comes to Bethany after seven years at the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and Goshen College with a BA in elementary and special education. Karin’s interests include the arts, directing school plays and incorporating singing into her lessons. Karin and her husband David are new to the Goshen community.
Jared Leaman will be the middle school Language Arts teacher. He was a mentor teacher and taught language arts and social studies at Goshen Middle School. He earned his Master of Arts in Education from Indiana Wesleyan and is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite High School, Hesston College, and Eastern Mennonite University. Jared and his wife Addie (’05) attend College Mennonite Church and have three children Sophi, Ryne and Brooklyn.
Vanessa Adcock is our new Enrollment Director. She is a graduate of Bethany (’02) and Goshen College. Her experience includes admissions work at Rhinelander Children’s Center in New York City. Vanessa serves on the board of Eighth Street Preschool and volunteers with Model Elementary PTO and in Bethany’s advancement office. She is an active member of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Church. Vanessa and her husband Dan have two children, Olivia and Elliot.
Christa Janzen will be the grade 3-12 art teacher. Christa comes from Heartland Community Schools in Henderson, Nebraska. She has helped students display and organize their work for art shows and festivals. Active in her church and community, she was the chair of her congregation’s Bible school committee. She is a graduate of Central Christian High School (OH) and Bethel College (KS) and majored in art education with certification in special education. Christa and her husband Scott, have two daughters Norah and Sadie.
Eric Dyck Hilty began as Advancement Associate for Bethany in April. His primary responsibilities are alumni relations and annual fundraising. Eric and his wife Heidi are members at Sunnyside Mennonite. A graduate of Goshen College, he has extensive teaching and administrator experience at international schools in Burkina Faso, India and Russia. He enjoys trying new cuisines, traveling, gardening and walking. He is excited to hear stories from the past and share stories of the present with the growing Bethany community.
Sumer Schlabach joined Bethany as the Marketing and Communication Manager in May. She has several years of experience in graphic design, photography and videography and worked in marketing at Lippert Components and Nuway Construction. Sumer and her husband Jared attend First Baptist Church of Goshen and have three children attending Bethany, Josiah, Jayden, and Saghan. Sumer enjoys gardening and spending time with family.
Michael Walker is joining the faculty community and will teach English 9-10 courses and Yearbook. Michael is a 2017 graduate of Goshen College where he was an NAIA scholar athlete in baseball. As a ministry leader at GC, Michael was responsible for fostering a welcoming spiritual atmosphere in the care for the emotional needs of peers. For the last four years Michael has been teaching 10th grade language arts and coaching at Tinora High School in Ohio.
Caitlin Lanctot will take over the receptionist duties beginning as Robin has been promoted to Administrative Assistant. Most recently Caitlin was the office manager for Silverwood Mennonite Church. She also has five years of experience teaching art at Parkside elementary. Along with husband Andrew (BCS '00) Caitlin will have two children at BCS this year, Lily and Jack, and one future Bruin in Henry. In her "spare" time, Caitlin is a professional artist creating and selling original metalwork and jewelry. You can check out her work on instagram at @shedreamsincolorscaitlin.
