With the arrival of a new principal Brother Brandon Porter and a few new teachers, like Sister Melina Delis. Students and staff of Skyline Seminary are experiencing a shift not just in leadership, but in approach and vision of religious education. Faculty and curious students are watching to see how these changes will deepen faith, make their connection closer, and tell them what Seminary means in today’s high school experience.
“I think the most rewarding part of teaching Seminary is seeing youth take charge of their own relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s really fulfilling when a curious young man or young woman wants to grow closer to Christ and then they do it and they see the benefits of it,” Seminary Teacher Delis said.
Skyline Seminary has changed their curriculum over the years. They’ve been focusing more on the questions students have instead of reading the scriptures and going over them everyday.
“Some of the big changes I’ve seen [is] […] we focused on coverage at some points where we’re […] trying to […] cover all of the scriptures versus maybe focusing a little deeper on fewer subjects,” Skyline Seminary Teacher Dylan Lamb said. “Also, these life prep lessons where we’re talking about finances and talking about emotional and mental health, […] but it wasn’t ever clearly spelt out in our curriculum.”
Skyline Seminary has gotten a few new teachers, and these teachers can help the students understand things that teachers who have been at Skyline Seminary for a while teach differently.
“I think that the new teachers that come, they always have […] [a closer understanding] where a lot of times they’re closer to the students’ age, and so they understand their world a little better,” Lamb said.
Since Skyline Seminary is connected to the school, the Skyline faculty and teachers can help their students emotionally and spiritually with the help of Seminary teachers.
“We feel super grateful for how kind faculty members and school administration has been to building a good relationship, and we hope that they see us as one more […] positive influence contributing to the campus community and […] helping as many students as possible. […] Belonging and having the best experience at Skyline that they can have,” Skyline Seminary Principal Porter said.
Seminary doesn’t just impact the students; it impacts the teachers, from simple things the teachers have learned or what the students have said.
“I think being a Seminary teacher […] makes me a better person in general. I had a student last week, he said some comment and again I was having a hard day and his words came into my head, that God is aware of you. He bore his testimony about that and then that came to my mind, and so I don’t think the kids realize that they’re blessing me so much,” Delis said.
Delis also said, “Turn to someone who knows what you’re going through. If you’re going through depression, talk to someone who has been through depression. If you’re […] struggling with sin then […] talk to someone who’s been through that. I think oftentimes we think turning to Christ is like separate then turning to other people like that should be enough, and the savior is always enough but […] we have to pair that with […] other people.”
