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Tiffany Caldwell

caldwell-tiffany.jpg“The CCO has impacted me in such a way that I actually think about things.”  Tiffany Caldwell, a 2004 graduate from Geneva College, describes herself as a doer.  Yet, she says, CCO staff members Kim Quist Gilmore, Michael Barbato, Scott Calgaro and others challenged her to think, to be critical, and to ask questions about what she was doing, and why.

Tiffany met an employee of Geneva College during her senior year of high school while working at Pine Springs Camp in western Pennsylvania.  CCO staff member Brad Frey volunteered his time at the camp as well.  When Tiffany entered Geneva, she met Kim Quist who invited her to attend church with her the first Sunday after her arrival.  Tiffany went every Sunday afterwards and attended a small group which Kim led.

Tiffany describes herself as being “pretty academic” when going into Geneva.  Grades were really important to her, and she was good at remembering facts for tests.  Her professors at Geneva and CCO staff, however, taught her to look at the big picture and ask, “Why am I studying?  How does this pertain to tomorrow?  How do I take the bad and change it?  The CCO vision taught me about going out into the world and making it better.”

As an athlete at Geneva, Tiffany was encouraged by CCO staff members to use her leadership skills to be a model of Christ to those around her.  CCO staff modeled effective leadership skills that demanded excellence from those around them.  Tiffany says that this attitude rubbed off on her and pushed her to strive to bring about Christ’s love on the playing field.  Thanks to countless conversations, dinners, walks, and games attended by CCO staff members, Tiffany was able to give unconditionally to the members of her softball team as CCO staff had modeled for her.

Tiffany attended the Jubilee conference all four years as a student and worked with the Jubilee committee encouraging others to attend.  She remembers hearing Tony Campolo speak during her freshman year and says that he “hit a heartstring.”  After hearing him, she knew that she was called to work in the education field.  Marva Dawn, another Jubilee speaker, challenged her to keep the Sabbath.  Tiffany says that from that moment on, she has always been conscientious about Sabbath-keeping.

Tiffany appreciated having had the opportunity to share the Jubilee experience with her sister.  CCO staff member Michael Barbato spent time getting to know her sister and investing in her, although she wasn’t even one of his students.  At the time, Michael had just been diagnosed with cancer.  Tiffany says that, to this day her sister remembers how special Michael made her feel.  Tiffany also remembers spending time at “The Loft” at the Barbato’s home.  There, Michael invited teachers, chemists, and professionals in other fields to talk with students about using their vocations as a “Monday pulpit.”

Tiffany’s Monday pulpit is the classroom.  Tiffany says that, without the influence of the CCO, she would not approach her job every day with the amount of love and energy she does.  After graduating from Geneva, Tiffany earned a Master’s in Special Education from James Madison University in Virginia.  After earning her degree, she worked as an emotional disturbances teacher in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  Many of her students came from very difficult backgrounds.  Some lived in housing projects and came from families in which at least one family member was in jail.  These were tough kids, she says, who didn’t know what love was.  She credits the CCO for showing her that, when she goes to work on Monday, she needs to love and serve those kids as Christ does.

When Tiffany was hired as a teacher, she told those interviewing her that if they hired her they were not just hiring a teacher.  She promised to invest herself in the community, something she learned from CCO staff and the community at Geneva.  Tiffany coached at her school and attended Little League games, high school football games, or whatever her kids were doing in the community.  She’s even been to court with her students.

Tiffany has recently returned to western Pennsylvania having taken a position as an emotional disturbances teacher at Ridgway High School in Ridgway, Pennsylvania.  There, she is looking forward to putting into practice the principles she learned at Geneva and through the CCO.  “Everyday I go to my workplace, to my community, church or a store, I look to transform those around me.”