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- Community
Stacy Tchouanguem
My journey to Houston and Saint Constantine College has been a pure example of God's exceedingly abundant grace.
Having lived in Massachusetts for as long as I did, I would have believed I'd stay there the rest of my days. Midway through college, that assumption no longer made sense. I knew that eventually I would have to leave. This I would have to quickly became I must. Years after graduating college and gaining a solid set of skills through various job titles, Massachusetts started to feel like a 90s choker. Remember the jewelry that was worn around young people's necks, sometimes multicolored and other times black? It's there, snug to the neck and at times a little too snug. This is what Massachusetts started to feel like: it was too tight, and I needed to get it away from me. It no longer seemed to be my future. This wasn’t about dear lifelong friends or even my family; it was the state itself.
Like many, I have a slight controlling streak that the Lord has had to work out of me, trial and trial again. Moving to Houston, despite my conviction to do so, would only be at His pace and in His time. If I had rushed it in any way, I would not have had the opportunity to do what I’m doing now, with the people I’ve come to cherish so dearly.
I received information about the Resident Director position at Saint Constantine College on a providential Wednesday in July. I sent in my resumé and prayed. I did not know what would come of it, but asked the Lord for an interview. Two amazing interviews later, I received the position. The following week, I packed my car and moved to Houston. I calculated how many hours there had been from knowing about the prospect with SCC to actually receiving the job: it was under 24 hours. Exceedingly abundantly above all I asked or thought. I drove into Houston and cried. I cried to be experiencing how amazing God was, is, and will always be.
Having been at the school a little over a year now, I’ve seen how God has kept His word with me. Since leaving my college, I knew something was not up to par with the education systems I had witnessed and worked for. Students were not seen as students, they were numbers, test scores, and plaques to hang. Morally, it tore me apart. I swore I would never work for another school again.
Then I heard about The Saint Constantine School. From the philosophy of play to the principle of no technology for students, I saw leadership and teachers agree that kids need to be kids. They need to be educated well, play hard, and rest even more. Our TSCS students fill me with joy. I see them play during recess and hang out with the goats. I see them tending our garden with curiosity and appropriate fear. I marvel at their talents and see how they are fostered. This community is life-giving. It is hard work.
I am grateful that the Lord trained me in Massachusetts the way He did. At this stage of my life, I can truly say my career is my vocation. I do this work because it enables me to give my gifts as much as possible to those around me. More importantly, it teaches me day-in and day-out through my students, my faculty peers, and at times, a few goats.
I am so grateful for and “to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Having lived in Massachusetts for as long as I did, I would have believed I'd stay there the rest of my days. Midway through college, that assumption no longer made sense. I knew that eventually I would have to leave. This I would have to quickly became I must. Years after graduating college and gaining a solid set of skills through various job titles, Massachusetts started to feel like a 90s choker. Remember the jewelry that was worn around young people's necks, sometimes multicolored and other times black? It's there, snug to the neck and at times a little too snug. This is what Massachusetts started to feel like: it was too tight, and I needed to get it away from me. It no longer seemed to be my future. This wasn’t about dear lifelong friends or even my family; it was the state itself.
Like many, I have a slight controlling streak that the Lord has had to work out of me, trial and trial again. Moving to Houston, despite my conviction to do so, would only be at His pace and in His time. If I had rushed it in any way, I would not have had the opportunity to do what I’m doing now, with the people I’ve come to cherish so dearly.
I received information about the Resident Director position at Saint Constantine College on a providential Wednesday in July. I sent in my resumé and prayed. I did not know what would come of it, but asked the Lord for an interview. Two amazing interviews later, I received the position. The following week, I packed my car and moved to Houston. I calculated how many hours there had been from knowing about the prospect with SCC to actually receiving the job: it was under 24 hours. Exceedingly abundantly above all I asked or thought. I drove into Houston and cried. I cried to be experiencing how amazing God was, is, and will always be.
Having been at the school a little over a year now, I’ve seen how God has kept His word with me. Since leaving my college, I knew something was not up to par with the education systems I had witnessed and worked for. Students were not seen as students, they were numbers, test scores, and plaques to hang. Morally, it tore me apart. I swore I would never work for another school again.
Then I heard about The Saint Constantine School. From the philosophy of play to the principle of no technology for students, I saw leadership and teachers agree that kids need to be kids. They need to be educated well, play hard, and rest even more. Our TSCS students fill me with joy. I see them play during recess and hang out with the goats. I see them tending our garden with curiosity and appropriate fear. I marvel at their talents and see how they are fostered. This community is life-giving. It is hard work.
I am grateful that the Lord trained me in Massachusetts the way He did. At this stage of my life, I can truly say my career is my vocation. I do this work because it enables me to give my gifts as much as possible to those around me. More importantly, it teaches me day-in and day-out through my students, my faculty peers, and at times, a few goats.
I am so grateful for and “to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).