Terry Menendez, the beloved AP Seminar and Genres and Themes teacher, has been teaching at Carmel Christian for 11 years. She not only is a brilliant, talented teacher, but she also has such a kind-hearted personality and leads her life with grace and compassion. The journey that Menendez walked has shown God’s plan for her, with each step being incredibly important for the development of her character and her future. 

Menendez grew up in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the small area of Yarmouth and Harwich. Her childhood was one out of a storybook; she and her family lived within walking distance from the beach. She reminisces about the times when she and her siblings would ride their bikes to the beach or to the candy shop,  enjoying the simplicity of their lives. However, their lives took a turn when she reached 7th grade.

At this point, her father owned a business and decided it was time for him to sell it and move on. He found a new job located in Concord, N.C. so the whole family packed up and moved to Concord. Menendez recalls her first few weeks in North Carolina, as she states, “When we first moved to Concord, I would ask my parents to walk with me to the beach, and they told me that the nearest beach was 3 hours away. I couldn’t even understand how that could be possible!”

 She stayed living in North Carolina and attended Mount Pleasant School until her senior year of high school. She went back to Massachusetts in the summer and lived with her grandmother. The rest of the family followed in September for the start of school. Although people thought that moving back to Massachusetts during her senior year would have been a challenge, Menendez picked right back up from where she left off. She was a part of the band during her middle school years in Massachusetts, and she joined again her senior year. Through the band, she formed core relationships that made the move simple and comfortable.

After graduating high school, Menendez, once again, moved away from Massachusetts to attend Liberty University. This was the most drastic change of her life; she had grown up her entire life in public school, but she decided to attend a private, Christian college. It was a massive adjustment for her, and during the first couple of weeks that she was at

Liberty, she says, “I called my mom and told her I wanted to come home, and that I hated my college life. My mom told me sternly, ‘This is real life now. You’re not going to come home; you’re going to push through.’ This was probably the best piece of advice anyone could have given me at that time in my life.” Taking her mother’s wise advice, Menendez decided to change her perspective on her next four years at Liberty. That simple phone call with her mom changed the trajectory of Menendez’s life. 

Not only did Menendez begin to make friends with good and kind people, but she also grew to know and rely on the Lord. One of Menendez’s closest friends ironically lived on the same hall as her every single year, and they ended up getting an apartment together. At the end of each year, this same friend would attempt to convince Menendez to come work at her camp, Skyview Ranch, in Ohio with her.

Finally, after some convincing Menendez agreed to work at the Skyview Ranch. Little did she know that she would meet her husband, Keith, that summer. 

After college, Menendez quickly dove into the world of education and began her teaching career. She has been teaching for a total of 25 years in a variety of different settings. While spending seven years at Sun Valley, one year at Mint Hill and seven years at Queen’s Grant, these different experiences taught her many valuable skills and lessons that she carried with her to Carmel Christian. Menendez reflects back on her time at each school, stating, “Sun Valley was my favorite school to teach at because it had such a variety of kids with so many different personalities, gifts and talents. Because of this, each student needed something different from me, and it taught me, before I was able to be a mom, that the importance of having a parental figure goes far beyond the elementary ages.” 

Menendez’s decision to begin her career at Carmel Christian was clearly a part of God’s plan. At this point in her life, she already had four children: Vincente, Gabriella, Michaella and Isabella. She decided for numerous reasons that it was time for a change in setting. She was in her seventh year teaching at Queen’s Grant Middle School when she decided that the Lord was calling her elsewhere. This charter school wanted to have all the classes across the country on the exact same level, so they required teaching the same lessons and testing nationwide. Menendez responded to this by thinking, “Every group of students is completely unique, so you just can’t have a cookie-cutter lessons for kids all over the country. I wanted to be at a place where I could adjust my teaching style to students in order to benefit them as much as possible.” Menendez found Carmel, which was exactly the place she was looking for. She was also thrilled to be able to freely express her faith and beliefs, which was incredibly important for her.

Menendez enjoys many different aspects of working at Carmel, including her relationship with the students as well as the teachers. She absolutely adores her “second-floor teachers,” as they call it, and they have a bond that Menendez says she could have never found anywhere else. During her six years working in the Carmel middle school, she explains that the middle school teachers helped her through job loss and family loss; they are the Carmel family that everyone so fondly talks about. Along with Menendez’s adoration for the community she shares with her colleagues, another part of Carmel that she values greatly is the ability to share the love of God. She states, “I want students to understand that, in the eyes of God, we are all equal. I hope that no student that walks through my classroom feels any different. I want to share how special my relationship is with Christ, but I also want my students to know God has an individual plan and loves each of them just as much.”

Menendez’s impact goes well beyond the walls of her classroom. One of her students Grace Lyerly, remarks on the impact that Menendez has had on her time at Carmel. She states that Menendez “has been a great source of light and joy throughout my high school years. She has led me to a stronger relationship with Christ and helped me to see growth in my faith.” Her fellow colleague and friend, Alex Fox cherishes the friendship that the two have built in their time working together. Fox states, “[she] is one of the most loving individuals! Whenever I need a friend she is there with a smile, a hug, a prayer and yummy baked goods! I am so thankful to not only call her a colleague but a friend!”.

Menendez has been an incredible addition to the Carmel Christian community. Her love for her students, the subject she teaches and the Lord is so evident in all that she says and does. Her classroom has been a safe space for many students to confide in during hard times, and her kind words have encouraged and healed both students and teachers. Everyone is truly blessed that the path that the Lord had for Menendez led her to Carmel.