Columbia Adventist Academy (CAA) welcomes three new faculty members this year.
Born and raised in Indiana, Anita Peterson attended church school from elementary through college at Southern Adventist University, where she obtained her bachelor's degree in math.
Peterson has taught in Pohnpei, the Bahamas and Korea. When her husband chose to attend law school in Portland, Ore., Peterson called 50 schools in the area looking for an opening. CAA staffers didn’t even know at that time that they would have an opening in her areas of teaching. But when the opening came late in the summer, she was swiftly hired.
“I am excited to be at CAA! Being here renews my faith in Christian education,” exclaims Peterson. “My goal is to be approachable, as math can be difficult. But because it is, there is a bigger sense of satisfaction when one gets it.”
Hailing from Tennessee, Chris Craig attended Adventist schools before entering college at Savannah College of Art and Design. He transferred to Walla Walla College and completed a bachelor's degree in communications, with a minor in business.
After graduation, Craig worked for the Oregon Conference as a communications intern and was later promoted to assistant director of communications. He spent the last year working as a retirement consultant for Lincoln Financial Group.
Craig has also been a part of the Appalachia Outreach trips in which several academies participate. During his last trip, he felt that he wanted to be more involved with the students that he only saw on the mission trips. So when an opening came at CAA, Craig took the opportunity to get more involved with youth. He is now CAA's financial officer, network administrator and yearbook teacher.
Chicagoan David Rowe attended Andrews University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish. He is also certified in history and math.
Rowe spent eleven years at Raymond Junior Academy in Wisconsin as principal and teacher of the upper grades. Rowe later served schools in Arkansas, Texas and Washington.
Rowe was looking for an opportunity to use his skills in English and Spanish and also to get back into secondary education. He had heard a lot of good things about CAA including the involvement of the students in many activities. CAA was a match of Rowe’s talents, and Rowe matched CAA’s needs.
New Columbia Adventist Academy faculty members are (from left) David Rowe, Anita Peterson and Chris Craig.
