Danielle Mattson ‘89 lives in Tennessee and has five adult children: Sarah, Michael, Hannah, Sophia, and Angela. She also has five grandchildren. She is a certified nurse assistant for a private caregiving hospice, and she is also an assistant to an attorney. Ovidiu Toderic ‘89 and his wife, Lilly, live in New Jersey and have a son, Daniel (11). Ovi is a supervisory special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Michael Hernandez ‘95 and his wife, Lorie, live in Florida, and they have two adult children: Joel and Celina. Michael enjoys boating and works as an airline pilot. Claudia Ormrod ‘97 is a graduate of Word of Life Bible Institute in Recife, Brazil. She and her husband, Mike, live in England, and they have two daughters: Michaela (16) and Amanda (14). Claudia is a teacher and is working towards becoming an educational psychologist. At church, she is a youth leader, Sunday school teacher, and a worship team singer. Chad ‘98 and Leah (Hergatt ‘98) Clem live in the Capital Region of New York State, where Chad is the discipleship pastor at Starpoint Church. Pastor Chad is originally from Alabama. After graduating high school in central Florida, he attended Word of Life Bible Institute in Schroon Lake, New York. He then attended Liberty University and earned a bachelor’s degree in pastoral studies. He’s also a certified mental health coach. He has served the Capital Region as a pastor for 20 years. He and his wife, Leah, have been married since 2000 and have three amazing children. Chad enjoys all things gardening and Alabama football. Veronica (Gakuru ‘98 & ‘99) Marquis and her husband, Andrew, live in the Boston area, and they have two children: Sierra (10) and Eli (8). Veronica is a women’s health nurse practitioner. 2000’s Christi (Fredericks ‘00 & ‘01) Mack and her husband, Justin, recently moved from New York to Wyoming. They have four children: Jock (16), Adelaide (14), Gwen (12), and Hazel (2). Christi is the manager, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor at a local gym, Studio Thrive. She also is the owner of a virtual fitness class called Training with Christi. At church, she is a drummer in the worship band and a nursery worker. Randi (Vander Wiele ‘01) Stump and her husband, Graham, live in Schroon Lake, New York. They are the parents of four children: Wyatt (16), Keith (14), Fallon (11), and Craig (9). Randi is a stay-at-home homeschooling mom. Her family enjoys snowboarding and playing hockey in the winter. They volunteer at Word of Life in
the summer, helping run and organize the weekly Rodeo at The Ranch.
Timothy Lyttle ‘03 and his wife, Stephanie, live in the Southern Tier region of New York State. They have three children: Aiden (10), Zachariah (9), and Elijah (5). Tim works in mental health at the Greater Binghamton Health Center. He is involved in the men’s ministry at church. Michael Skaer ‘03 is married to Renee, and they live in Pennsylvania. Mike is a high school Bible and ESL teacher at Delaware County Christian School. Christie (Smith ‘05 & ‘07) Robbins and her husband, Nathan, are church planters in the city of Buffalo, New York. They homeschool their three children: Amelia (9), Margaret (6), and Haddon (4) and love to be involved in community activities. Rachel (Ruppert ‘06) Payne and her husband, Daniel, live in Tennessee. They have two children: Sarah (in heaven) and Maxwell (2). Rachel is a stay-at-home mom, and Daniel works for an outsourcing company. They recently bought their first home. Steve ‘08 and Sandy ‘09 Gerhart live in Florida, and they have four children and ten grandchildren. Steve is the pastor at First Baptist Hudson. Heather Elliott ‘09 lives in the Southern Tier Region of New York State. She works as an administrative assistant/office manager for a financial advisor. She is a published author of clean fantasy novels with a biblical worldview. Jessica (Craige ‘09 & ‘10) Sheridan is married to a fellow alumnus, Greg ‘08 & ‘10 , and they have two children: Aurora (10) and Joshua (8). They live in Pennsylvania, where Jessica is a stay-at-home mom, a worship leader at church, and a substitute teacher at a local Christian school. 2010’s Edward Huezo ‘11 is married to Ashley, and they live in Alberta, Canada. Edward is an associate pastor at Pathway Church – Cambrian.
“I have great memories of learning the Word of God from so many great profes-
sors, lecturers, and pastors. I made lifelong friendships that have lasted to this day. The year I attended Word of Life was the most foundational year of my life. The biblical princi- ples I learned at Word of Life Bible Institute have set in motion years of growing in the knowledge of, and love for, our Lord.” – Ovi Toderic ‘89 1990’s Paul Rickert ‘91 & ‘92 and his wife, Michelle, live in Maryland, and they have three children: Jacob (21), Sophia (20), and Chloe (17). Paul went on to Tennessee Temple University and Liberty University, and, in 1996, he went to the Police Academy. While a police officer, he attended grad school while Michelle was in law school. After Michelle finished her J.D., they returned to Liberty University, where Paul became assistant professor of criminal justice. In 2011, they moved to Shreveport, where Paul taught at LeTourneau and was assistant dean for graduate and professional studies. He completed his Ed.D. at Liberty in 2012 and then was dean for adult and graduate studies at Bryan College for a year. They moved to Maryland in 2016 to be closer to family after Michelle was in a car accident and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Paul now works for the University of Maryland-College Park in their College of Agriculture and Natural Resources as an area extension director. Dana (Brannen ‘94) Beetem and her husband, Don, live in Illinois. They have three children still living at home: Ricky (13), Caleb (12), and Elijah (12). Dana teaches fourth and fifth grade at Faith Bible Christian Academy. At church, where her husband is the lead pastor, she is a teacher for Awana.
Alumni Updates All the latest news from our Bible Institute graduates! 1970’s
Graham and Randi (Vander Wiele '01) Stump
also Word of Life Bible Institute grads: Paul, Sean, Katy, Carl ‘13, and Levi ‘17. Sylinda is a homemaker. Allen ‘79 and Darleen (Sawyer ‘79) Bacon live in North Carolina and have six adult children: Christine, Carolyn, Benjamin, Daniel, Candace, and Jonathan. They also have eleven grandchildren. Allen graduated from Liberty University in 2021 with a master’s degree in counseling and has started a counseling business called Great Expectations Counseling. 1980’s Cheryle (Riley ‘83) Hiking and her husband, Scott, live in Connecticut. Cheryle is a paraeducator for a transition academy.
She is involved at church teaching Sunday school, serving as part of the hospitality group, cleaning and scheduling cleaners, and helping with VBS. Suzette (Ramsey ‘86) Miller and her husband, Keith, have three adult children: Jonathan, Drake, and Aubri. Suzette is a special education teacher of students with severe and profound disabilities.
Craig Andes ‘73 recently completed his Ph.D. in organizational leadership from John Wesley School of Leadership at Carolina University. Craig and his wife, Sallyann, live in North Carolina. Bill ‘78 and Glenna (Storozow ‘78) Hall live in the Southern Tier region of New York State. They have three adult children: Will, Philip, and Megan. They also have two grandchildren. Sylinda (Birchard ‘78) Alfred and her husband, Martin, live in Pennsylvania, where they recently moved into a new log home in the “middle of the woods.” They have five adult children, two of whom are
“In 2021, God spared my life because of much prayer on my behalf. I was hospitalized
with COVID and resulting complica- tions. I was on a vent for 12 days, and the chances THEY gave me were very slim – BUT GOD!!!” – Suzette Miller ‘86
Ben ‘12 & ‘17 and Megan (Guiggey ‘12) Powell are missionaries with Word of Life in
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11 The Word of Life Experience
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