Lori Smith
Math lori.smith@northstarchristian.info
Education
Grove City College - Bachelor of Mathematics
Lori grew up in a small town (Franklin) in western PA with a family who actively practiced their faith. Working with children and spending time with younger cousins took up much of her free time so centering on education as a career seemed like a natural choice. While starting with a focus on Elementary Education, she found that she thoroughly missed the challenge of higher mathematics which she had gained fascination in during high school. Lori started teaching in a public school after college, but it did not bring the joy she expected to find. After transitioning into business (Research Department at Blair Catalog) and serving in a customer service role within Houghton College Tech Department, Lori had the opportunity to return to the classroom at Houghton Academy. Here she found the energy and passion of combining two loves: working with youth and openly sharing her faith. While she left this position to work with adults seeking to improve their educational needs, she had the blessing of showing grace and God’s love to incarcerated students while also teaching them skills that had often seemed impossible for them to grasp. Lori greatly anticipates returning to the classroom at NCA within Christian education after a recent move to the Rochester area.
Lori finds great enthusiasm for learning which has led to her having more interests than she has time to fill! Spending time with family and friends contributes to depleting her available time but reaps dividends in so many more ways. Lori loves to read and play games/cards. Logic puzzles and critical thinking games provided a way to enjoy games individually, and they offer a fun way to show students a different way to experience mathematics and problem solving. Lori’s immediate family loved to travel and learn about new places, and this has continued with her husband as they have visited - in the countries of Vietnam, China, and Korea - students who have lived in their home. Bree, Nala (deceased), and Penny are Labrador fur babies that bring many smiles and devotion to Lori’s home and have allowed for raising two litters of puppies. Singing/music and taking long walks has occupied many hours throughout her life and allowed her to combine the interests of time with family/pets together with these activities. Lori has always enjoyed writing and hopes to one day publish a series of children’s books.