TCSTribune.com

When it comes to hospitality one country that has it down is Spain, according to one of our own students, Brianne McCuistion. She went to Spain as an exchange student her junior year and was nervous about not making friends, but the friends she has developed have become close and very dear.

Brianne had a few surprises once she reached her destination in Villaviciosa, Astorias a city of 14,360 people, “I expected to use, ‘usted’, ‘senor’ and ‘senora’ (all formal titles used for those in authority) but they called their teachers by their first names as well as their parents. To me that was weird.”

Brianne had always expressed that she was interested in other cultures even as a child, but her desire to live out her interests came out on paper one day. “When I was a freshman my dad asked me to think about my future and what I wanted to do. I wrote a timeline out and I placed the option of going to Spain my sophomore or junior year. I like the language very much and the idea of staying in a different county really enchanted me,” said Brianne.

This led Brianne and her family to contact AFS, American Field Services, which is an organization that prepares school students for the different cultures, and prepares them for the exchange student experience. The organization does this so that the students can best represent their country.

Brianne loves being an exchange student, even though it was lonely at first. “I did feel isolated from my family. My year in Spain has been a wild ride. The first thing that hit me was the change in ‘family’. My family is extremely important to me; I love them very much and value their opinion. When they were suddenly gone I almost shut down. In Spain many people tend to yell, shout, scream and any other loud volatile sounds more than I am used to at home. Sometime I feel nervous or even scared to enter the house or leave my room,” said Brianne.

Despite the expense (almost $12,000), Brianne believes it was well worth the price. “Being an exchange student is an awesome experience. I have grown so much. The trip was totally worth it.”

Brianne gets back home July 2, 2010. Her family is excited that she is coming home now.

We all get excited about the Gold medal winners of the Olympics. Everyone tends to focus on wins, but not everyone looks at the great sacrifices that Olympians have to go through in order to be the best.

Shaun White, who won gold in Men’s half pipe, had an accident that nearly ended his career. White was 11 and performing at an exhibition with a skateboarder twice his age, and almost twice his size. White had a head on collision and he suffered a fractured skull and broken bones and told his mother he wanted to call it quits. But his mom would not let him quit, and White pushed through and became the Olympian he is today.

Lindsey Vonn, won gold in Women’s downhill and bronze in Women’s super g, had a crash in the 2006 Torino Games. Vonn suffered a horrific crash during downhill training that had some witnesses believing that her injuries could be career threatening. However, the diagnosis was not as serious as feared, and she was released from the hospital in time to compete in the downhill. Emboldened by the encouraging words from people, Vonn raced despite immense pain in her legs and back.

But nothing compares to the ultimate sacrifice, life itself. This year game supporters were saddened by the passing of Nodar Kumaritashvili who was fatally injured on February 12, 2010, during a training run at the Whistler Sliding Centre when he lost control in the final turn of the course and was thrown off his luge and over the sidewall of the track, striking an unprotected steel support pole at the end of the run. Yet, he wasn’t the only athlete to give his life for his sport, being the fourth athlete to ever die during the Winter Olympics preparations.

Kumaritashvili called his dad before the race and said “Dad, I’m scared of one of the turns,” but even though he was afraid of this turn he went on with the race anyway.

It’s apparent that you have to push past the pain, setbacks, fears, self-doubts, and even the fear to become a true Olympian athlete.

Randy Hopkins, our Turlock Christian Athletic Director, elementary PE teacher, and high school softball coach, is a godly man who is loved by all of the students here at TC. Little did we know that God loved Hopkins enough to make two of him.

It is a little-known fact that Mr. Hopkins has a twin sister who lives in North Carolina. Growing up as a twin had its fair share of memorable moments. Hopkins recalled a rather embarrassing moment from his childhood. “My aunt dressed us (my sister and I) in matching dresses for our birthday. We were only about five or six, just little tykes.”

Other than his one fashion indiscretion, Hopkins claims to be just like any other ordinary man; he enjoys playing golf in his spare time, and takes pride in spending time with his wife and children. But, in the eyes of many at Turlock Christian, Hopkins is far from ordinary. In fact, many would call him extraordinary.

Before becoming Turlock Christian’s athletic director, Mr. Hopkins taught 4th and 5th grade at the TC Elementary for 23 years. He has always been an athlete; in high school he played basketball and baseball. His focus turned to baseball, though, while attending college at both Merced Junior College and California Baptist College.

When asked how he manages to be the athletic director, elementary PE teacher, and high school softball coach all at the same time, Mr. Hopkins responded, “It is very difficult to manage, but with great people around you to lighten the load it becomes more manageable. Also, when you enjoy what you do, it becomes more like play then a job.”

It’s this positive attitude that renders Mr. Hopkins as one of the friendliest teachers on campus. He loves his job, and states, “I love working with kids and helping them realize that Christ comes first, and then family and others. It is also rewarding for me to see our teams compete and succeed.”

In his seven years as athletic director, Hopkins has seen and accomplished many things here at Turlock Christian. During his first year on the job, football and women’s soccer were initiated into the sports program. Later, volleyball, men’s soccer, and our golf team won section titles, and one year the TC football team boasted a 10-0 season.

“It has been a thrill to be able to be part of an athletic program that has had great success over the last ten years,” says Hopkins.

You may know him as the stunt double to Tevin’s James Bond, but Chuck Boswell is the newest member to the Turlock Christian staff. Besides serving interim for the junior high school principal, he is our new college counselor taking the duties that former counselor Mrs. Dray once had. And although he’s just arrived onto our campus he’s no newbie.

“I started at Livermore high school, and counseled for six years. Then moved to Turlock and began counseling at Turlock High for 21 years. I have 28 years of experience.”

In the winter of his career Mr. Boswell says TC has ushered in a spring breeze. “I’m glad for the refreshing change that this school has brought to me. The thing I love the most is the freedom to express my faith with the students. To help them see the direction God wants their lives to go in.”

Mr. Boswell started out teaching psychology but in 1982 he was given the opportunity to become a High School Councilor. It was a call from God; ever since he began counseling he has impacted high school student’s lives in more ways then just academic. Those students that he has been able to express his faith to, and hopefully guide them, have had wonderful opportunities opened to them.

Yet, says Boswell, it’s relatively impossible to share ones faith in a public school setting. “I loved counseling at Livermore and Turlock High but the atmosphere is radically different. In public school you can’t make God the central figurehead in the student’s lives, to guide them towards the career God wants them to go into. The biggest difference has to be that, for the most part; the students here are more focused academically, and spiritually.”

With all of the benefits of going to TC, Boswell hopes to add even more to prospective graduates. “Academically I want to be able to provide more engineering and medical guidance and hands on practice, create a more hands on engineering club, and hopefully provide students with the chance to participate in outreach programs, such as feeding the homeless.”

But if you ask Mr. Boswell what career choice he recommends his answer will be, “Put God in charge. This of course is difficult, if God’s in charge you have less control of your life, you don’t always no what direction your life may go in. This may make students feel panicky, fearful, or apathetic. They may say, ‘Okay God, lead me where you will, you’re in complete control’, which isn’t bad, but when a student doesn’t do his work, and expects God to do it all, well there are problems.”

In the end it all comes down to one thing, says Boswell, “How do you feel about letting God take control of your life?”

Standing in front of the classroom, the teacher patiently waited for the student to answer. The student bit his pencil nervously. If he answered incorrectly, he would let his classroom down. He carefully responded.
“What is . . . the Panama Canal?”

“Timmy, that is correct! Five hundred dollars for your team!”

She tapped the board next to her, resembling a big screen TV the size of a white board, and a new question magically appeared.

What is this remarkable board allowing a classroom to play jeopardy and permitting the teacher to change what is on the screen with the touch of a hand? It is called a Promethean board, the newest in educational technology. The person we have to thank for ushering in this cutting edge advancement is Sherman Glenn, Turlock Christian’s new superintendent.

Sherman Glenn might be new to Turlock Christian this year, but it isn’t his first occupation involved with education. After graduating college, he taught elementary, junior high, and high school for eight years. Later he worked on staff at First Baptist Church as associate minister of counseling, in addition to running a counseling office in Modesto, California.

A private man, Glenn describes himself as a homebody who enjoys reading historical fiction, watching sports, and occasionally sailing on the open sea. He has two daughters: Heather, who is 39 years old, and Holly, who is 29 years old, and a grandson, Eli, ten months old. “He is really the delight of my wife and I. He has certainly taken our hearts. Being a grandparent is very fulfilling,” says Glenn.

Surprisingly, Glenn isn’t brand new to Turlock Christian (back in the 80’s he created our school mission statement) but declined the chance to come back as superintendent when first offered the position by then current superintendent, Jack Mayer. Mayer asked if he would reconsider. Glenn replied he would think about it.

After a great deal of prayer with his wife, Glenn says his thoughts changed. “God began to change our hearts to the point of when I was asked to put an application in, I said yes.” There was a condition however. Glenn told his wife that if it wasn’t unanimous, he wasn’t going to come. Later in the week, Mr. Nelson called Glenn to tell him the decision was in fact unanimous for him to join Turlock Christian.

Glenn feels as if everything he has done up to this point has prepared him for the position he is in now, but must undergo one challenge. “I am accustomed to having contact with the students. Now, I’m not around the students as much as I would like to be, but that’s the nature of the job,” says Glenn. Still, he has a plan to overcome this barrier. “I’m going to attend as many sporting events and meetings as I can.” Additionally, Glenn has met with some of the soccer and football players. “My door is always open,” he proclaimed.

Now what about those Promethean boards? Glenn explains, “The boards are electromagnetic; they’re like a whiteboard that is four by seven feet long. They have an electromagnetic field in front of them, with an arm coming from across the top that has an LCD projector attached to it. This projector shines back down on the board, so that anything commonly done on a computer can be projected to the class. If a teacher has a power point presentation, they can run it through. They can then tap the board with a stylus, and it will flip to the next page.”

According to Glenn, the boards should be installed shortly, first appearing in Mr. Erickson’s, Mrs. Johnson’s, Mr. Garman’s and Mr. William’s room, making TC the only school in the Stanislaus County that with Promethean boards.
Technology is great, but Glenn confesses to seeing something of greater value here at TC. “There is a passion for life, a passion for the Lord that gives students the ability to live life abundantly. At See You at the Pole, someone prayed, ‘Thank you God for the staff loving on us,’ and I thought, what a tremendous compliment from a student to a teacher, that they felt so loved on. It was almost as endearing a term that you would hear a student make to their parent. TC is like family. It’s that kind of thing that I look forward to becoming more a part of.”