MARK SCHULDT REFLECTS ON GIVING TO BEAR CREEK
I
had the great fortune of marrying into The Bear Creek School community and in the process receiving an unlooked-for and unanticipated blessing. When I married my wife Emily in 2013, she had already been working for the school for some years, in addition to having significant longtime friendships with members of the school community. So, I came to know the school first through friendships and only later as an employee. I must say that I owe my career as a teacher to my wife and her friends within the Bear Creek community. After the financial crisis of 2008, the ministry world for which I had prepared with a Master in Divinity from Princeton had been seriously shaken financially, and there were very few jobs for an aspiring pastor. Emily suggested that I would
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MODUS VIVENDI – Spring 2021
make a good teacher and that teaching could be God’s ministry through me. After consultation with Karen Blankenbeckler, a family friend and the school’s V.P. for Academic Affairs, I decided to give it a shot and went back to school for a Master’s in Teaching. I began teaching history at Bear Creek in 2015 and have never looked back. Teaching has opened a door for my best strengths to serve young people and families for God’s kingdom in the world. The Bear Creek School has become a significant center point for God’s work in my life. I have enjoyed being able to see the school from the outside first, then later from the inside as a teacher. That perspective has allowed me to appreciate better what the school does for the community of students, families, faculty, and staff.
My diverse experience with other ministries, secular organizations, and schools has given me the perspective to know just what a unique and special place Bear Creek is. In all those experiences, I have seen God’s work and providence, but I have never worked with an organization as effective as Bear Creek at pursuing its mission. It was truly a no-brainer when it came time to enroll our oldest son for preschool. I have had the pleasure of teaching seniors at Bear Creek, and every day when I am in conversation with those seniors, I find myself thinking, “I want my sons to be like them.” Students leave this place able to think clearly and make wise decisions. It strikes me how rare those qualities are in our broader culture. The ability to weigh ideas, hold things in tension, reserve judgment, consider
