Hannah’s Highland Highlights HA STAFF OF THE MONTH LILLIAN LOPEZ!

Lillian Lopez has been a teacher for 16 years; She served as a math teacher at Highland Academy for seven years. After graduating from Highland Academy in 2002, she attended Union college graduating with her BS in Mathematics Education in 2007.

What have been some highlights in your career path, and what led you to become a teacher at Highland?

The 2022-2023 marks

Lopez’s seventh year teaching at Highland. When asked, she highlighted her first job teaching at Spencerville Adventist Academy, “because I was just so excited to be a teacher, and I was finally teaching at a wellrun professional school and [it had] an excellent community.” Another highlight for her in her career was teaching at a community college when her children were little. She said, “I just enjoyed teaching adults. It was pure teaching.” She continued, “The adults had the perspective of what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go.” She said it was “bridging the gap between what they learned in high school and what they needed to go on into college.” Finally, coming back and teaching here for seven years already “has given me the opportunity to give back because I felt like I received a lot as a student here… [and] it satisfies the urge to give back,” she confesses.

What was your favorite book as a child, and why?

Lopez loved and still loves “The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom.” It is unique because the female lead and her sister are Christian, so they have to grasp when it is right to lie when hiding the Jews, wondering if they told the truth God would provide.” They had to grapple with real-life issues that we face in Christianity and living in a sinful world,” she said. She still draws on lessons they learned in the concentration camp, “that God can bring good out of anything,” she mentioned. God gave Ten Boom a vision at the end of the book about what her life will be like after. Lopez states, “it has often led me to pray for a new vision when I am feeling bitter or stuck.

Okay, God, what is my vision? What am I doing now in my life? Where do you want me to go?” She also noted why this book is so unique to her because her mom would read the story to her family, one chapter every Sabbath evening. It gives her warm feelings.

How long did you and your husband date before getting married? And how many relationships did you have previously?

Lopez said that one day during dorm worship in college, she was paired with Antonio. Lopez’s sister to pray, and they prayed for Antonio Lopez. Later, she met A. Lopez: he was a freshman, and she was a sophomore in college. She said, “from that moment, he “knew” that she was the one, but she admits barely remembering when she met him. She took some time college was not very serious. off to be a student missionary in the Galapagos Islands, so, they were both juniors by the time she returned. He asked her to a banquet at Union College, and agreed to attend with him. They dated for nine months, and in their senior year of college, on December 31, 2006, they married. Before, Lopez said she had one and a half relationships prior. The half she explained was because his family did not allow him to date in high school, so on campus, they were dating but not off.The one in

If your life was a movie, what would you name it, who would play you, and why?

The title of her movie would be called, “Unreasonably Loved.” She mentioned how God has unreasonably pursued her. She felt loved all her life. “He has been pronounced… overwhelmingly sure He was there and cared for,” she admits. Who would play her is Sandra Bullock (actress from the movie The Blind Side) because not only is she pretty, but they have a similar body type.

If you could give a message to the students in a phrase, what would it be and why?

“There is an amount of God’s goodness in each of you,” she emphasized. She explained that she is here to help the students with growing this goodness. There are many things the students can do with God. Where is your favorite place to escape when you feel overwhelmed and need to talk to God? Lopez has a small house, so she says her favorite place to escape is “kneeling on the bathroom floor” or in her closet. She stays there until God brings peace to her overwhelmed mind. What was one time when God showed up for you? What kind of an impact did it have on you?

Santiago Avila is from Brazil, one is from Mexico and one is from Ukraine. This adds to the ever-changing culture of the student body, altering interactions and social dynamics even more than usual. Different cultures, languages, and opportunities have only enriched the school culture.

As seniors leave, first-year students come, and new students are added to other classes, each school year always brings a different mix of people, consequently changing interactions and social dynamics among the students. This transforms the school culture and makes each year a different and unique experience for everybody, especially those who witness these changes. This process is like a game of musical chairs, where each year, the chairs are rearranged, and the music starts again, forcing different people to interact with each other in a new way. This year what has led most of the change has been a wider variety of cultures represented by students.

The increase in the student population at Highland Academy has brought about a unique dynamic to student culture this 2023-2024 school year.

There has not only been a greater number of students enrolled compared to Highland Academy’s more recent past, but there has also been an increase in international students. Highland Academy boasts 13 international students this year with students hailing from multiple countries and speaking various languages. This year students from all over the world have joined the ranks of Highland Academy. Of the 13 international students, one is from China, several are from Korea, one is from Kazakhstan, several are from Colombia, one

This diversity in the school has provided a unique learning environment and created a bridge between the students and a global community. In terms of school culture, regardless of their origin, each student always brings a unique perspective to the campus. However, international students have undoubtedly advanced this aspect even further than usual. Walking down the halls of the school or dormitories, one can easily see students talking to each other or their parents in various languages. While this could be seen as a barrier, it has also encouraged new dynamics and raised opportunities among the students to learn new languages–even if just learning a few words or phrases, or using translators (whether another friend capable of translating or through an app on their phones) to improve communication and ensure a way to exchange ideas with other students that may not understand them without the additional effort. Students are working with one another helping them learn and understand English better and in turn, learning about other languages and cultures.

This is the case with students like Sofia, from Brazil, and Nikita,

Recently, she said two people she loved were fighting and wanted to try to help by intervening. She knew her feelings were hurt, and there was a miscommunication. She instead went to her bathroom floor and prayed. She said, “God brings peace and understanding.” After she had been praying for a little while, the shouting stopped. She said she was so grateful that God does things better than we could ever have imagined. She realized that going off and praying was the best decision she made in that situation because if she got involved, everyone would most likely get hurt worse, and it would be messier. She said she wants students to know that when you have a terrible situation, “go off and pray about it.” How do you keep your relationship with God consistent with a busy schedule like Highlands? “I don’t. He does,” was the first thing Lopez said. She described this as taking the pressure off of her. She told how she went outside the box of daily devotions because there are other ways to worship God throughout the day. She likes to be quiet whenever she devotes herself, and life is never quiet. She says she does not get to journal and pray scripture much, but she loves it. She is always praying for a student, family member, or staff member throughout her day in her head. She takes a chapter or two in scripture for her worship in the classrooms. She has the class reflect on it for around a week. This is how she spends some of her time worshipping God throughout her day. Lastly, God tells her, “Talk to me when you can, child.”