Meet Jennifer

I was born to a military family, and we lived in Texas when I came into this world. Our next stop was Germany, where Jay was born 17 months after me. After a brief time back in Texas, we landed in Columbus, Georgia. After my parents divorced, my father got out of the Army and moved to Florida.

School was always a good thing for me--I thrived, actually. Math was the first subject that I loved. I can remember sitting on the kitchen floor counting money to my mom while she made dinner. "Show me 87 cents," she would say, so I'd take out three quarters, a dime, and two pennies. "Show me a different way," and I'd take out eight dimes, a nickel, and two pennies. I also know that I didn't use the newsprint paper in first grade to draw a picture, but I wrote columns of numbers and added them together. My teacher checked my work with her calculator!

I lived with Jay and my mom in Columbus until I moved to Florida in seventh grade. I grew up in church in Columbus, but it was in Florida that I began to welcome God's presence in my life. Later, I developed a deep appreciation for belonging to a community of faith.

When I transferred back to Columbus in high school, the graduation requirements were different than those in Florida, so I made choices about what advanced classes I would pursue. Math was a no-brainer, but I also wanted to take more physics. By the end of high school, I'd studied physics for three years. My mom said about typing my college and scholarship applications, "I don't know what physics is, but I know how to spell it!"

I went to Mercer as a mechanical engineering major. After a year, I decided to co-op and work on an engineering team at a company in Columbus. While I was there, I figured that a 40-hour work week couldn't keep me busy, so I wanted to volunteer with a church youth group somewhere. I started working with Alan, and I discovered a knack for ministry after he taught me how to think like a minister instead of an engineer. My youth ministry days were rich, and I stayed at St John for a year while I worked in engineering. I came back to Mercer with a new major: mathematics. I just couldn't get up every day for 40 years and go to work as an engineer even though my year as a co-op student was fun. I had to declare a minor, so it was Christianity by default. I already had one of the classes because it's required at Mercer.

Rick was my teacher for Theological Research and Writing, and I knew on the first day that I was in over my head. But, he gave me compelling reasons to read every book in the course, so I stayed in the class telling myself that I had to know what was in those books even though I would be glad for a C in the course. I liked that class enough to take another one, and "the rest is history." I graduated from Mercer with degrees in Mathematics and Christianity including an honors thesis in ecclesiology.

Duke Divinity School was calling my name, and I started the program for a Masters of Theological Studies in August 2003. I had a deep sense that school, and more specifically teaching, is the way of my life, but I didn't see myself teaching theology as a career. It was my first love that came echoing down the corridors of my life: mathematics. Jeff Denny was the one who helped me see that teaching math could be significant (let's be honest: at the end of your life, no one will ask you if you can solve an equation or balance your checkbook). Jeff told me that he thinks he gives students in his math classes the tools to make better lives for themselves. That was the ticket for me.

About a month after the conversation with Jeff, he told me about a school in middle Georgia that was looking for an AP Calculus and College Algebra teacher. I applied for the job and was asked to join the faculty. I left seminary with my head spinning, but I have to say that I can look back and know it was a good decision for me.

So, school has never left me. The academic calendar will be the rhythm of my life.

Now, I am the Math Lab Director at Mount de Sales Academy, and I spend my days helping students understand the math that they are learning in their classes. I've taught for a few quarters at Central Georgia Technical College, and I hope to get back there again one day. For the past three summers, I've taught at the Georgia Governor's Honors Program in mathematics, and I can tell you that that is the most demanding and most rewarding work I've ever done. I also have done some private math tutoring in the last two years.

Last fall, I bought a 1300 square foot house in Macon, and I have learned a lot about plumbing in the process of owning this house. I've also learned some electrical things, too. I've rebuilt the workings of a sink and a toilet, and I've changed a heating element in my water heater. I like to watch the birds eat from the feeders in my backyard, but I really don't get along well with yardwork. (Cue the "Hallelujah Chorus" because I am marrying Keith Blackwell who knows all about yardwork!)

I am deeply committed to maintaining relationships with several close friends from the years. Some friends are more like family, and you'll be able to read some of those stories in future posts about our wedding party.

I am also deeply committed to the church. I believe in the community of faith as a place where people can once and for all belong and be welcomed.

Even though I don't formally do theology anymore, I do revisit ongoing conversations with people who became friends in theology classes at Mercer. Rick also keeps me on my toes with the broader theological conversation.

I don't read much, but I do have some favorite books. Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi, Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer, and Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin are books that I have read more than once. Let me tell you that it says a lot about a book and how much I like it if I've read it more than once.

What caught my attention when I first got to know Keith? I thought of a good friend from high school days (Joy) when I saw that he does horticulture. His interest in geography made me think of one of my favorite teachers (KayLynn). He is good at "handy man type work," which I relate to so well these days! He likes to read, listen to music, and watch movies. His family is very important to him. The first thing I laughed at was when he said that he spends a lot of time thinking about how every time he goes to fill up his gas tank, the price of crude oil reached a record high the day before. After that, I was impressed by his eagerness to talk to me and tell me stories. I am deeply attracted to Keith's intelligence, candor, sense of humor, and compassion. I was surprised to hear my head saying in early April, "if he asked me right now, I'd say 'yes.'" I had lots of conversations with myself about that confession, but it never changed. Keith did ask me to be his wife, and I gladly accepted his proposal! I look forward to loving Keith for the rest of our lives!