Introducing
the Class of
TwoThousand
andThirteen
MIR AND A CL A I R E P H E L P S
Miranda was born in Bryan, College Station,
Texas on September 19, 1995. She has lived
her entire life in Texas, and has also been
homeschooled since the very beginning. Miranda participated in her homeschool co-op,
REACH, as a Secretary for the Student Council two one-year terms in a row. She also
volunteered and greatly enjoyed her job as
a TAG (Teen Art Guide) for the McNay Museum of Modern Art in San Antonio. While
working for the museum, Miranda’s passion
for the arts flourished and she now is seeking a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a studies
focus in Visual Communications. Thanks
to her receiving the Leadership Scholarship
among other academic rewards from her
chosen college, this education will soon be
fulfilled as she is thrilled to attend the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the fall semester of 2013. She can only explain her life
as a testament to God’s unending grace and
love, and aspires to show this through whatever plans He may have for her.
AB B IE R EN E E HE LE N A KE E LE R
Abbie was born and raised in Littleton, N.H.
She has three older brothers, who are married. So far she also has two little nephews
and an adorable niece. She has two of the
most amazing parents who have encouraged
her and comforted her through all of her
“mental breakdowns,” which she claims to
have a lot of . After graduating, Abbie plans
to try to find a job in journalism. If she enjoys
that line of work she might take a few college
courses. She says she really would like to be
done with homework though and just get out
there and work.
PATIENC E MA R I E T Y N E
Patience is a New Jersey native and the big
sister among James and Josephine Tyne’s
five children. An avid reader of history and
literature, Patience also enjoys singing in
choirs, playing Celtic music on her bagpipes, practicing Spanish with her hispanic
friends, dabbling in architectural drawings,
and debating world views with people from
different faiths. Outside of school, Patience
delights in regularly organizing social activities with friends from different circles
to go ice-skating, explore New York City, eat
Spanish food, make jewelry or see a movie.
Patience loves the Lord and has brought joy
to her family by her steadfast virtue and garrulous personality. Next year, Patience plans
to study History and Spanish and someday
possibly pursue law or architecture.
K AT H RY N A N N BO GART
Kate was born in Augusta, Georgia, in March
of 1995. She is the oldest of three; she has a
16-year-old sister and an 11-year-old brother.
She has been homeschooled all of her life,
and has appreciated the wonderful opportunities it has given her. Kate previously attended Northeast Bible Church before moving
to Albuquerque, N.M. for two years. She was
blessed, and able to return to San Antonio,
and graduate with her friends from Junior
High. Over various moves, Kate has been able
to find many things that interested her. She
has played soccer, tennis, and was a sprinter in track. She was elected REACH Student
Council President in her Junior Year, and volunteers at the McNay Art Museum. Through
every move, Kate continued in AWANA,
and earned the Citation Award in May. Kate
had leading roles in local productions of the
Jungle Book, Broadway in a Box, and On the
Worst Day of Christmas. This fall, Kate will be
attending Dallas Baptist University, pursuing
Masters of Business Administration with a
concentration in Management Information
Systems, with an Academic Honors Scholarship, Christian Leadership Scholarship, and
the AWANA Citation Scholarship.
BL IS S A L E THE I A AV R A
Bliss was born in Lake County, Oregon, but
presently resides in South Asia with her family where they serve the Lord through community development. She enjoys writing and
playing guitar. Next year Bliss will attend
Columbia International University in South
Carolina and get a degree in teaching and
counseling.
M ADISO N NO E LLE MACMAT H
Madson was born December 22, just outside
of Chicago. In the fall, Maddie will be leaving
her Georgia sun and returning to the Windy
City, attending Wheaton College. Maddie has
always had a love for traveling and she has a
heart for the world and spreading the Gospel.
In April, she was able to work alongside several long-term missionaries in Hinduism-saturated India. Mission work has captured her
heart. Maddie plans on getting her B.A. in
communications or international relations
from Wheaton College, and pursuing higher
education in theology or applied linguistics to
prepare her for full-time ministry. Although
she could not be more excited for college,
Maddie will never forget the amazing experiences that Veritas afforded her. The smiles
and laughter that Mr. Etter and Mrs. Stublen
gave her during difficult classes, as well as
the knowledge gained from academic challenges presented by Dr. Collender, Mr. Baker,
Mr. Jones, and others have prepared Maddie
for college and beyond. She is convinced she
is leaving high school with some of the best
friends in the world. With gratitude, she graduates alongside friends who have challenged
her spiritually, inspired her academically, and
never failed to make her laugh.
D ANIE L D OMI NI Q U E SA N TO R O
Since beginning his homeschooling journey
in kindergarten, Daniel has shown an aptitude for math and a keen interest in building.
In 2005 he joined a Lego robotics team. Daniel then heard about the VEX Robotics team,
Driven Bolts, and has been working with
them since 2009. While a member of the
team, he has competed in the VEX Robotics
World Championship in 2010, 2011, and
2013. During 2010 Daniel helped mentor his
younger brother’s FIRST LEGO League team.
For the past two years Daniel has been a
cadet on the Colts Neck First Aid Squad and
was nominated to First Lieutenant in 2012.
He studies the Isshinryu style of karate under Sensei Mike Scott, who promoted him to
purple belt in March 2012. As a dog handler
since February 2011, he has been training his
Golden Retriever, Indy, in agility. Daniel enjoys
traveling and has visited Argentina, Canada,
France, Italy, and many states within the U.S.A.
In his spare time, Daniel enjoys writing fan
fiction, playing trading card games online, and
designing video games. For the last three summers, he interned for Black Rocket at Brookdale Community College in their video game
design camps. Daniel plans on pursuing a career in game design/computer science.
B R IAN EDWARD CURRI GAN
Brian was born in Santa Rosa, California
on December 31, 1994 to loving parents Dr.
Barney and Robin Currigan. Brian has two
brothers and two sisters. He has lived in
Marble, Washington since 1995 and attends
Marble Community Fellowship. Brian was
homeschooled through third grade and
educated at the Marble Elementary School
through grade seven. He has attended the
Veritas Press Scholars Academy since eighth
grade. Brian has enjoyed participating in
football and baseball at Northport High
School. He has served on his church sound
team for six years. Since age 10 Brian has
been active in the Boy Scouts of America
and in 2013 he achieved the rank of Eagle
Scout. He has been playing piano since he
was six years old and he is currently teaching himself guitar. Brian apprenticed in
welding for four years with a gifted metal
artist. He is interested in sports of all kinds,
music, and various outdoor activities. Brian
has a great sense of humor and loves comedy. He has been accepted to attend New
Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho.
He hopes to one day join the police force.
MITCHE L L MY UNG K IL A L EST IN E
Mitchell was born in Daejeon, South Korea
and lives in Middletown, Rhode Island. He
is the son of Bill and Laurie Aseltine. He has
an older sister, Amee, an older brother, Alex,
and a younger sister, Carrie. Mitchell was a
four-year Varsity Soccer letterman at Middletown High School and made All State Division III 2nd Team as well as being a member of the Newport Daily News All County
Boys Soccer Team. Mitchell is an artist and
has greatly appreciated his instruction under Mr. Spirduso for the last three years via
VPSA and Schola Artium. He plans to continue his studies in Art, specifically in the
field of Entertainment Design.
SIER R A M ACKE N Z I E BRE WE R
Sierra was born in Southern California, and
has had the privilege of being homeschooled
with her two sisters, and parents, with whom
she is truly blessed. Sierra has always appreciated the flexibility and freedom to pursue
“everything.” She’s enjoyed music, leading
to performing arts and piano teaching; and
has had the opportunity to perform in several Shakespeare productions. Her life verses
are Jer. 29:11-13, and Is. 43:1-7. Future goals
include becoming a godly home-keeper with
a mission to help others have an applicable
Biblical worldview through her music, writing, and personal interaction with young
teens and children, including mission work
in India and inner-cities; and, if the Lord
wills, someday becoming a wife and mother as His refined vessel. She loves to worship
God through music, writing, and photography. As new doors open, her heart’s desire
is to faithfully surrender to Jesus, seeking
first His kingdom and righteousness. Sierra
would like to thank you her Abba-Father, for
all He has worked in her life and the blessings, which He bestows upon her daily…to
her ‘Marmee’ and Dad, for always encouraging and directing in His path… to her sisters,
with whom she can’t imagine life without.
VAL ENT I NE S OP HI A H O F F M AN
Valentine was born in Los Gatos, California,
and moved to the small town of Reedley,
California, when she was five years old. She
currently lives on a mandarin farm with her
parents and three younger brothers: Soren,
Isaak, and Wolfgang. When she is not busy
with school, she enjoys debate, piano, ballroom dancing, and a good book. Above all,
Valentine loves the Lord, and is thankful to
Him and to her wonderful teachers for nurturing her these past 17 years! She asks that
you continue to pray for her as she continues her education at California Polytechnic
University, San Luis Obispo, in the fall as an
Agricultural Business major.
M Y L E S G AGE E M LUM
Myles, born June 5, 1995, was brought up
in the bright city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Ever
since he was a wee lad, Myles has loved animals. To this day, he loves to draw and photograph them. He was able to improve these
crafts over all four years of high school with
his beloved art teacher, Mr. Spirduso. Myles
says of high school, “Veritas Press is truly one
of the greatest blessings God has given me.
I’m so thankful to have been able to study
under and work with such wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ.” One of his favorite
classes was Omnibus, which ignited his love
for debate and reasoning. Myles now wants
to pursue this passion after high school and
major in English, humanities, or philosophy.
He then wants to proceed to law school. He
believes that he is being called to go out and
defend others through law. Myles is ready
for this new adventure.
IS ABELL E A NNE BU HR
Isabelle was born in the heart of the Rockies in Laramie, Wyoming. She grew up on a
cattle ranch outside the city with her three
siblings, Claire (14), Jordan (13), and John
(12). Isabelle’s family has since moved the
ranching operation to Northwest Nebraska,
where Isabelle loves to work with her horse,
a black gelding named Jet Rebel. She is very
proud of Jet, and says that no horse can
touch him when he feels like running. So far,
that’s true. Isabelle loves to read just about
anything and everything, and thoroughly
enjoys writing Omnibus papers. Some of
her hobbies include writing several different
stories at a time and getting them all mixed
together, raising sheep, playing piano, and
drawing with pencils or charcoal. This fall,
Isabelle will be attending Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where she intends
to major in Classical Studies with a minor in
Creative Writing or Journalism.
K AT H E R IN E MO N T GOME RY
Kate was born in Denver, Colorado, while her
mother was stationed at Fitzsimmons Army
Medical Center. For most of her life she has
lived in California, in the mountains near Yosemite. She loves the outdoors, rides horses,
plays guitar, and is an avid soccer player. She
played soccer in California in the highest club
divisions and was awarded a scholarship to
Youngstown State University in Ohio, where
she will play goalkeeper. While attending
Youngstown, she will study European languages with plans to pursue Intercultural Relations and a Vatican City internship, thanks
to her Latin studies at Veritas Press.
When she is not at soccer training, she is
debating theology with her sister and Omnibus
classmates, playing Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, or Times of Grace on her electric
guitar (without the amp), or working with her
beautiful horse, Alluring Score. Her favorite bible verses are James 2:18 and Ephesians 2:8.
What she will miss most about Veritas
Press are the wonderful teachers she had the
privilege to learn under, in classes from mathematics to Omnibus. If she is graduating this
year, the credit most certainly goes to her Calculus teacher’s limitless patience and effort in
assisting her very non-mathematical mindset.
S AMUE L E R I C T I TU S
Samuel was born in Oklahoma City and lives
in Upper Red Hook, New York, with his two
beautiful sisters and his parents. He lived
for six years in the post-communist country
of Croatia, where his parents served as missionaries at an ecumenical seminary before
returning to the pastorate in New York last
year. He attended the local Croatian schools
before being homeschooled and joining the
Diploma Program at Veritas Press his sophomore year. He speaks Croatian and plans
to spend the summer in Croatia working as
a youth leader at his local Croatian church
and serving as a camp counselor encouraging missionary kids in the region as they deal
with the challenges of living abroad and interacting with their Balkan host cultures. He
plans to attend a Reformed college in the fall.
When he is not reading his Veritas materials,
he enjoys writing, taking walks and learning
to play the organ.
C H E RY L A N N CO LE MAN
Cheryl Ann was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and lived in St. Augustine for a little while
with her parents and younger sister, Andrea.
Then God blessed her with the opportunity
to live and be raised overseas as a missionary
kid starting at the age of seven. She grew up
travelling and moving constantly, until God
called her father to become the pastor of a
church in south Florida a year ago. Veritas
Press has been a huge blessing in her life
and provided stability throughout all the
transitions. As well, Cheryl Ann says her
parents have been hugely encouraging and
supportive and pressed her to do her best.
She has been accepted to Liberty University
in Virginia and hopes to attend this fall, after returning from a summer mission trip to
France. Cheryl Ann plans to major in Nursing, and minor in Family and Consumer Sciences. After university, she hopes to return
to the mission field. She is incredibly excited
about life and can’t wait to watch God work.
AL EX AN D R A MA R I A H Y O U SSEF
Alexandra was raised in San Diego, California, and currently resides in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. With a strong interest in
screenwriting and film studies, she hopes
to study Directing and/or Psychology in college. Her hobbies include writing, drawing,
and acting. There are many significant memories she has of Veritas Press, such as taking
Film and Worldview class, Spanish class,
and Fiction Writing, where her passions for
those subjects grew, and taking Omnibus
classes of course, with teachers like Mr. Etter
and Mr. Davis, who made learning fun. She
enjoyed learning how to debate, write well,
speak well, and grow in her faith while forming long-lasting friendships.
AN DR E A J O Y CO LE MAN
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Andrea spent
the first six years of her life in the oldest
town in America, St. Augustine, before moving overseas for the next nine years as missionaries, where she and her family lived in
various places of Europe and North Africa.
Her family returned to Hollywood, Florida, in
2011, where her father is now pastor of Sheridan Hills Baptist Church. Veritas Press has
been a huge blessing throughout the high
school years, and Andrea can’t thank God
enough for all of the amazing teachers who
have poured so much of their lives into all of
the students. This fall she plans on taking
classes with Liberty Online, and will Lord
willing go to Liberty University in the fall
of 2014 to study a combination of Criminal
Justice, Psychology, Foreign Linguistics, and
Military Studies. Andrea’s ambition is to either become a forensic psychologist, a hostage negotiator with the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, or a member of the United States
military reserve force, but she’s still keeping
her options open to whatever direction God
decides to lead her. First and foremost, she
says she wants to honor Him and follow
whatever plan He has in mind.
AIDEN MCKE NZE Y K AN E
Violist Aiden Kane was born in Texas, where
she first learned what a violin was and began learning to play one. When she was six,
she moved to Maryland, where her parents
decided to homeschool her. When she was
eleven, her parents discovered the awesomeness that is online schooling, and she began
her studies at VPSA. Around the same time,
Aiden discovered the awesomeness that is
the viola, and began to play a violin strung
up as a viola. Her passion for the viola grew
over the years, and she has since bought a
real viola, and attended amazing places such
as Itzhak Perlman’s summer music institute
with it. Most recently, she has relocated to
the Colburn School of Music in California
where she attends the Academy program.
Aiden would like to thank her many music
teachers over the years: Kay Mueller, Suzy
Perelman, Linda Fiore, Michael McLean,
Ronda Cole, Dan Foster, and Paul and Gina
Coletti; as well as her VPSA teachers, for
their support. She would especially like to
thank her mother, father, and brother—
Adrienne, Martin, and Zubin— for believing in her talents and fostering her abilities.
Aiden plans on attending the Colburn Conservatory in the fall.
M E L B A M IL LS P E ARSO N
Melba was born and raised in Aspen, Colorado, where she now resides with her
parents and two younger brothers. After
graduating from VPSA, she plans to attend college to study classical violin performance and science in preparation for
medical school. She hopes to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. She enjoys spending
time with her family and friends, reading,
learning, dancing (classical ballet), playing
and listening to classical music, and spending time outdoors. The past four years at
VPSA have built an incredible foundation
for Melba, and she is excited to see what the
Lord has in store for her future.
OL IV ER MUR D OC H M C L E O D
Oliver was born in Los Angeles and resides
with my family in the house where he was
born. His family has a wonderful Hollywood
hillside home where they have had awesome
air-soft wars and friend-gatherings in the
amazing tree-house his father built. Oliver
is the youngest member of the family of five:
his father Dr. Neil McLeod, his mother, Nancy, his brother Roddy, and sister, Maran. The
family attends a phenomenal church, Grace
Community. Oliver enjoys travel, challenging backpacking/trekking opportunities,
anything tech, figuring things out—especially thinking of different ways to solve problems, 3-D model design, tennis, martial arts,
and reading for leisure. After graduation, he
will spend the month of June in France and
will attend Hillsdale College in the fall.
K A EL E E N H A LL MART I N
Kaeleen was born and raised in Connecticut.
She plans on attending Manchester Community College and then on to Eastern Connecticut University to pursue her Secondary
Teaching Certification in English Literature.
Kaeleen loves theatre, creative writing, and
the ocarina. Her favorite kinds of movies are
tear-jerkers and her favorite books are Jane
Eyre and Anne of Green Gables. After four
years with VPSA and countless classroom
memories, she is particularly indebted to
Mrs. Baker, Mr. Jones, Mr. Baker, Mr. Etter,
and Mrs. Owens for their passion, insight,
and humor.
GW END O LY N E L I ZA B ET H SVE U M
Gwendolyn enjoys bicycling, stamp collecting, wildlife rehabilitation, meteorology, geography, and being involved in her
neighborhood. A Canadian citizen, born
and raised in Wisconsin, it’s no surprise she
loves to travel and explore other countries
and cultures. She recently traveled throughout Europe and Turkey with her parents and
brother Timothy, experiencing many of the
sites, cities, lands, and works of art studied
in the Omnibus curriculum. Veritas Press
classes became part of Gwendolyn’s education in grade nine. Through the years, she
has enjoyed the excellent teachers and depth
of class discussions. Next year Gwendolyn
plans to study Biology and Theology, and
hopes to work part-time.
C O N N O R J A ME S N I SSLE Y
Connor was born and raised in Pennsylvania where he still lives with his parents and
four siblings. After graduating from VPSA,
he plans on attending Grove City College for
Computer Science. He enjoys spending time
with his friends and family, gaming, playing
guitar and soccer.
JUL IA MA R I E G R OT E N H U IS
Julia was born in Warrenton, Virginia and
currently resides in Madison County, rural
central Virginia. She is part of a family of five.
Her mother is an RN at UVA Medical Center and her dad is a soil and groundwater
specialist. Julia is the middle child and has
an older brother (22) and a younger sister
(16). Her two passions in life are music and
people. Julia is interested in psychology, anthropology, sociology, neuroscience, meteorology, and philosophy. She spends her free
time writing down her thoughts, playing the
piano, studying personality theory, and astounding the world with her nerdiness.
Julia is extremely grateful to all of her
teachers and would like to thank VPSA for
teaching her something not every school
does—how to think for herself.
L U K E A A R O N MART I N
Luke was born and raised in Lancaster County , Pennsylvania. He has an older brother, Jacob, and younger brother, Daniel. Luke has a
love for languages and has devoted the past
five years studying Latin and Greek. His hobbies include playing trumpet, soccer, competitive frisbee, and studying the martial art of
Krav Maga. Luke will be attending Hillsdale
College and furthering his studies in Latin
and Greek. Luke has been self-motivated,
honest, and shown integrity in all things he
has pursued. After completing six years at a
public school, Luke came home stating that
he would not continue and go to the middle
school next year. When asked what he would
do, he confidently said to his mother, “You will
homeschool me so I can learn.”
JONAT HA N D A NI E L W IL L IA M S
Jonathan was born in Southfield, Michigan
to Michael and Diana Williams and lives in
the small city of Lathrup Village, a suburb of
Detroit. He is the youngest of four children
and has two sisters, Dayna and Kimberly, and
one brother, David. His academic interests
include biology, Latin, and classical literature.
As for non-academic interests, Jonathan is a
historical reenactment snare drummer in a
Revolutionary War fife and drum corps and
in a Civil War reenactment regiment, practicing the historical style of drumming from
these time periods. Additional interests include collecting and building with Star Wars
Legos, reading, and playing the piano. In college, he plans to further his study of classical
languages, literature, and history, and ultimately he would like to pursue a career as a
physician and conduct biomedical research
in the field of neuroscience.
J U ST IN A R NO LD ABE N S
Justin was born on October 27, 1995 to Arnie and Jennifer Abens in Edina, Minnesota.
He is the youngest of four children. He lives
in Minnetrista, Minnesota where he enjoys
watersports, riding horses, playing the piano,
and hanging out with friends. Justin will be
attending New Saint Andrews College this
fall where he will get a degree in Liberal Arts
and Culture.
DIPLOMA
PROGRAM