Lori DeJong has a BA and a teaching credential from California State University Stanislaus and an MA in school administration from St. Mary’s University. A language arts teacher for thirty-three years, she specialized in teaching all aspects of writing to junior–high students and consulted in staff development training on practical language arts strategies. As a Christian teacher in a public classroom, she trained children to live an upright life despite their circumstances. Her own two children grown, she counts it a great blessing to have been a part of students’ lives for one or two years.