Staff Shoutouts

TEDDYMAX TALANOA | Program Director

Michael Rea, a high school chemistry teacher in California once said, “Education is about making you more human.” It was these words that launched TeddyMax into a lifelong journey of considering the purposes and practicalities of 21st century schools as a place where humans are formed in the likeness of Christ.

Being born the eldest son to a large immigrant household from the South Pacific Islands of Tonga and Samoa, TeddyMax found himself split between two different visions for acculturation in the United States: one of assimilation and one of integration. This was exacerbated by a childhood marked by multiple geographical moves that exposed him to populations of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. More than this, he was also introduced to various educational environments from the public school system to a classical homeschool program to private Christian schools. And yet, the earliest classroom TeddyMax can remember finding himself in was the living room of his grandmother’s apartment where she taught him lessons of faith and family.

This grew in him a passion to understand the role of education in human formation and sociocultural evolution, which led to his study of Psychology and Political Science during undergrad. Since graduating, he has gone on to work in the human services field providing therapeutic services to at-risk youth in urban contexts. He and his fiancé, Peyton, both feel a sense of calling to the New England region and dream of raising a family of prophetic storytellers who stand at the intersection of competing narratives around identity and vocation amongst rising generations, declaring truth, beauty and goodness over them. They are both involved members in their church, The Table Boston, and enjoy going to the movies, eating good food, and spending time in libraries.

LAUREN COLT | Program Coordinator

Lauren is a work-in-progress of the Master Artist, Jesus Christ. Joyful because of His care, she is stepping into her calling as an artist innovator planted at the intersection of art, faith, and politics.

At Gordon College, Lauren majored in Political Science, minored in Innovation & Social Enterprise, and delighted in visual art, choral singing, and theater. Alongside friends in the Global Scholars Program, she traveled Paul’s missionary journey routes through Corinth and served hot meals with refugees in Brussels. She spent an unexpected and formative semester exploring artmaking and the theology of Romans in Orvieto. Between the rainy streets of Tacoma, WA, the castles of Vicenza, Italy, the palm trees of San Diego, CA, and the bustling history of Washington, D.C., the North Shore of Massachusetts feels most like home. 

Lauren loves to research and create loveliness & order out of chaos. She could spend hours sitting down at a café with you, hearing about the things you love and delightedly discussing some of her favorite topics (currently: dystopian novels, live theater, personality psychology, and interactive museums!). Inspired by her four years with Heritage and work in the non-profit realm, she hopes to spend her life bringing beauty to broken systems and hurting people. 

JASON LAWRENZ | Course Instructor & Chaplain

Jason Lawrenz is the chaplain and Rhetoric School bible teacher at Covenant Christian Academy, a classical school that serves northeastern Massachusetts. His vocation as a minister of God's Word is attributable only to God's grace. On a December night during his senior year in high school, Jason went to bed planning to pursue meteorology and a career on television; he awoke the following morning with an unshakeable desire to study the Bible so that he might participate in cultivating the mind of Christ in future generations.

When he is not at Covenant, Jason can be found teaching theology at Gordon College, writing Sunday School curriculums for his local church, coaching his two sons' soccer and baseball teams, and working alongside his wife of 14 years, Robin, to open their home to friends and guests. When asked about their favorite meal of the day, each member of Jason's family would respond the same way: breakfast.