Last year Westminster started a new position to encourage new teachers called faculty fellows and one of the teachers who came out of this program was Colton Albers, a widely beloved business teacher, but the question remains how did he come to be a faculty fellow in the first place?

Albers finally shares his story about he ended up at Westminster:

“I was looking for a summer job… I heard they had a summer camp opportunity at Westminster and was hired on for the summer of 2020 to do camp Westminster and then we all know what happens in March 2020… I thought my time here [Westminster] was completely over,” said Colton Albers.

This is pretty typical. We have all had plans that just fell through and never came to fruition. That is what Albers thought as well. An opportunity ruined by covid like everything else. But Albers could not have foreseen what was in store for his future:

“The year goes by and then I randomly get a call from Westminster saying that they were going to try the summer camp again in 2021 asking if I would still be interested even though I had forgotten that I had even applied. I worked that summer of 2021 and it was there I fell in love with Christian education and I decided I wanted to end up at Westminster somehow,” said Albers.

Albers was a college student in love with marketing and if you had asked him at the time, he would never have told you that he saw himself as a business teacher at WCA in the coming years. All it took was one summer at camp Westminster to shake the future he had imagined for himself.

But this desire to teach was not new; it was simply rekindled:

“I had originally started college in business education, but I quickly switched into business administration and marketing.[…] I gave up the teaching dream because at that point I thought business was about making the most money[…] And then I thought, is this really what I want to do with the rest of my life?[…] What inspired me was a lot of my teachers in high school and my most impactful teacher was my business teacher who made me want to show up everyday and could see myself in that position later,” said Albers.

Albers had wanted to be a teacher for a long while but had been pushed away. He had been convinced that he needed to climb the corporate ladder and get that six figure salary. However, when met with what the corporate ladder would require of him, Albers chose to turn away and look towards his heart once more. Having been influenced so much by his highschool business teacher and to become a teacher that others could also look up to and likewise be influenced by his positive example.

According to Chase Borage, a senior at Westminster Christian Academy, Albers is more than accomplishing his goal:

“He’s the kindest and most welcoming guy in the room. Best personality and he’s just a wonderful dude. He loves to get his class doing something, rather than just taking notes which I really appreciate about teachers. He does a great job at getting stuff done while making it interactive and captivating.”

Albers has left a lasting impression on his students. Chase Borage is only one example of the many students who will go on and on about how Albers has been one of their favorite teachers throughout their highschool experience and acts as a role model for their character. If his goal was to impart the same desire to be in his class and learn every day as his business teacher had done for him, then Albers has done more than pass his goals with flying colors. Albers is a role model for every student as he shows how by following your heart will you find a way and ultimately succeed.