Chapel Facilitator and Middle School Social Studies

• 2006 – BA in History from Wheaton College, IL
• 2008 – MA in History from University of Maryland with a Focus on Modern Middle East and Religious Minorities
• 2014 – MA in Teaching from University of Maryland, Teaching Certificate in Secondary Social Studies.

My name is Evan L. R. Hays, and I get to wear a number of hats here at CELA. I teach middle school social studies, a range of middle school electives (Leadership, C.S. Lewis Literature, Civics), lead chapels every other week, lead the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip, lead the middle school team, and oversee some of our excellent educational technology. I cherish the unique opportunity to teach at the only school I know of at which academic excellence, comprehensive Christian values, and strong leadership are crucial to every aspect of the educational process. Combined with that, the facilities at CELA are second to none, and provide us all an opportunity to impact countless children for Christ for decades to come.

In terms of my own background, I grew up in Maryland in a Christian family. My father just retired after 40 years as a pastor, and my parents planted the church I grew up in.  They taught me to love Christ and love learning. I have been an educator since 2006. I graduated with a BA in History from Wheaton College, IL in 2006. My experience at Wheaton taught me to integrate my Christian faith and learning into every aspect of what I do. The bible and theology classes I took there inspired a lifelong interest in studying my Christian faith. I also studied abroad for a semester in Cairo, Egypt in the spring of 2005.  My time in Egypt was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which taught me a lot about Christianity, Islam, and history. After college, I began tutoring students of all ages in English, TEFL, Social Studies, test preparation, and college counseling at C2 Education in Germantown, MD. At the same time, I worked toward completion of my MA in History at the University of Maryland. My focus was on the modern Middle East, with a focus on religious minorities. I completed my MA in 2008, and immediately took the full time position of Head Tutor at C2 Education. I worked in that capacity, where I also trained new tutors and wrote curriculum, until 2014. During that time, I also completed my Master’s in Teaching at the University of Maryland and received my teaching certification in secondary social studies. In the early spring of 2014, I moved to Milwaukee. Since living in Milwaukee, I have tutored, substitute taught, and taught U.S. History for one year at Hope Christian High School before joining CELA for its inaugural year. I am committed to education through the lens of Christianity, and I see CELA as a natural progression from my own education and the education I have provided to thousands of students over the last 15 years.

As for my personal life, I met my wonderful wife Amy in college, and we were married in 2007.  We met in history classes and in history honor society, so she has been there with me every step of the way in my educational and professional journey. We helped put each other through grad school in history in Washington D.C, and learned a lot about living life together and supporting each other over the 10 years of our marriage. At Thanksgiving of 2015, we welcomed our son Jackson into our family, and then in May of 2018, we welcomed our daughter Lily. We are very excited about their education being right here at CELA! Amy is also writing what I know (as her editor) will be an excellent children’s novel. We have been involved in Anglican churches in various leadership capacities for the last 15 years and have helped plant 2 new Anglican churches. Most recently, we have been a part of St. Michael’s Anglican Church in Delafield, WI.

As for my hobbies and personal interests, I love hiking, reading, board games, and sports, especially Liverpool Football Club.  My favorite books, that I will keep re-reading until I die, are Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, and Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. One of my passions is helping young people love reading and lifelong learning the way that my wife and I do. Even though I grew up in the Washington D.C. area, I love Wisconsin and have been coming here to visit my wife’s family since 2006. I see myself teaching and living with the CELA family for decades to come. I love working with students and look forward to developing mentoring relationships with them to help them to grow in faith and learning.  I believe my background, education, and experience have uniquely prepared me for this job, and I feel extremely blessed to be able to use the gifts that God has given me in the learning environment of CELA.

For more about my professional background, please check out my profile on linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/evan-l-r-hays/3/243/b42. My email address is Evan.Hays@celaedu.org.

» Why I Love Working at CELA