From left to right: Richardson, Farran, Good, and Chupp.
This year, Bethany gained four new staff members: Sam Richardson, Gary Chupp, Stacey Farran, and Sherry Good are all new to the Bethany community. We asked the new staffers to tell us a little about themselves.
Sam Richardson is the new Admissions Director. His job is to recruit new students. He is a 1996 Bethany grad; he graduated from Goshen College in 2000 and majored in Sports Management. Some of his previous jobs include Goshen College Admissions Director and construction worker for his father’s business, Maple City Builders. His wife, Leah, is an OB nurse at Goshen Hospital and is from Bluffton, OH. They have two boys, Will (6) and Max (2 months.) Richardson says that in his spare time, he likes to run and spend time outdoors, and if he could teach a class not currently offered at Bethany, he’d teach Marathon Training 101. His goal this year is to increase enrollment.
Also new to Bethany is Gary Chupp. Chupp is the Athletic Director, and he will also teach Psychology second semester. His job entails managing the coaching staff, as well as managing and scheduling sports events. Also a Bethany alum, he attended college at Eastern Mennonite University and Bowling Green State University. He has 15 total years of experience in college basketball coaching at both Bethel and Goshen College. Melissa, his wife, teaches elementary art at Chamberlain. Their children are Maddie, a fifth grader; Tyson, a second grader; and Cori, a kindergartener. He enjoys golfing and watching the Reds in his spare time. His funniest high school memory is putting a buggy on the roof. (He advises athletes, “[Do] as I say, not as I once did…”) He hopes to get state titles in every sport or get to know each student- “whichever comes first.” His favorite word is “snorcks.”
Stacey Farran teaches Beginning Strings, Middle School Orchestra, and High School Orchestra. She went to Glenbard East High School in Lombard, IL and has a BA in Music Education from Goshen College, as well as a MA in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. Though her first teaching job was at Bethany, she has held many teaching positions in suburban Chicago public schools. Her husband is Patrick Farran, who works in the Business Office here at Bethany. Her two kids, Johan (‘19) and Jordana (‘22) attend Bethany. She has participated in several triathlons and plays violin in the Maple City Chamber Orchestra. One of her most vivid memories of high school is doing a unit on taxidermy. She and her lab partner had to clean and stuff a dead squirrel. She says that she is surprisingly “low tech” and will need to get used to all the technology used at Bethany. Her favorite word is “opportunity,” and, using it in a sentence, she says, “I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that I am happy to be here at Bethany, and I’m looking forward to a great year!”
Sherry Good also teaches music. She is the band director for both the Upper and Lower Schools. She went to Concord High school. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Indiana State University and a Master’s in Music from Ball State. In the past, she has been a teacher, a substitute teacher, and a study hall monitor for various schools in the area. She has four sons: Justin (25 years old), Steffen (23), Tristan (20), and Logan (17). She also has a Siberian Husky named Amadeus. Good enjoys a variety of activities, from whitewater rafting, camping, biking, and horseback riding to reading, going symphony concerts, and seeing theatrical performances. One of her most embarrassing moments from high school is slipping and falling while playing in a halftime show with the marching band. If she could teach any class at Bethany, she’d want to teach History of Jazz/Rock Music. Her goal this year is to lead the band to a gold rating at ISSMA.
Now that you know a little more about Bethany’s latest staff additions, try to say “hi” to them if you see them around! Let’s make sure they feel welcome in our community.
~Rachel A. Schrock