Liberty Christian School Blog

This month’s Liberty Christian School Community Spotlight features class of 2012 alumni Bethany Lucas. Bethany, a recent high school graduate, has a passion for learning foreign languages and plans for pursuing this passion in college and beyond.  Here is what she had to share with us.

Q. In what grades did you attend LCS?

A. I attended Liberty Christian School from 6th through 8th grade.

Q. What have been your education and/or work experiences since you graduated from LCS?

A. Since LCS, I have attended high school at Chapelgate Christian Academy for four years and graduated from there this past May.

Q. What LCS teacher had the most influence on you and why?

A. All of the teachers at Liberty Christian School have had a huge impact on my life, but I would say Mr. Tibbels had the greatest impact. Under his teaching, I was able to develop and improve my writing skills.  He also encouraged me to challenge the status quo and try to positively change any situation.

Q. What is a favorite LCS memory of yours?

A. My favorite LCS memory would be the 8th grade Costa Rica missions trip I went on in 2012. I loved every minute of that trip. The ziplining and snorkeling were awesome, but the best part of the trip was making connections with the children of La Carpio and teaching them English and sharing the Gospel with them.

Q. What is an accomplishment that you are most proud of in your life so far?

A. There is no particular accomplishment in my life that I am most proud of to be honest. If I had to pick an event in my life, I would say earning my second degree black belt in Shotokan karate on May 25, 2013.  After I passed my exam in Philadelphia, I became the highest ranking minor at my dojo.

Q. What types of ministries and leadership activities have been involved with since graduating from LCS?

A. At Chapelgate I was class vice president my junior and senior years as well as vice president of the National Honor Society at my school.  This summer, I will be involved in World Relief as a volunteer.

Q. What are your plans for the next few years now that you’ve graduated from high school?

A. I will be attending the University of Maryland College Park and I will major in Arabic Studies and minor in Spanish.  I am considering adding either Government & Politics or Community Health as another major.  During my time at UMD, I plan on studying abroad in Spain and Morocco.  I also hope to get an internship either at a government agency or a language institute within the next few years.

Q. What inspired you to pursue studies in Arabic?

A. There are multiple reasons I became interested in studying Arabic.  One, learning foreign languages is a passion of mine and I wanted to learn a language outside of the Indo-European language family.  Also, I find Arab culture and its people so fascinating and I want to explore it in every way possible, and the language and its structure is so important to begin understanding the culture. Additionally there is a gross misunderstanding and misconception about Arabs and their culture. I hope that learning about the Arab world will help me educate others into seeing the beauty of their culture and not the bad that so many people associate with Arabs.

Q. What do you envision yourself doing 5 years from now?

A. Five years from now, I will have graduated from UMD and have my bachelor’s degree. I’m not sure where or what I will be doing exactly. I plan to either live in Washington DC working for the government or a language institute, attending graduate school, or living somewhere in Spain (preferably Barcelona or Seville). I would like to travel to South America and the Middle East within in this time period. I also believe that my faith will be stronger in this time, and I hope to have shared the word of God with others that I meet.