Amorah Nelson
Co-Director of Academics / Teacher
Amorah Nelson earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Biology and minor in Chemistry at Seattle Pacific University. During her years at SPU, she spent two summers conducting marine biology research. Later, she obtained her Master of Science in Biology at Western Washington University. While at SPU and Western, she instructed upper level biology lab classes. The results of her research work at SPU and WWU have been published in scientific journals. She was an adjunct professor for SPU in 2006. Amorah is a certified teacher through ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).
Amorah has been teaching at Hill Creek for 19 years and has been in a leadership role for 15 years. Through this time, she has been richly blessed by all of her students and her interactions with the parents. This school is truly a ministry for her. Amorah’s teaching style is concrete sequential and she teaches using a direct instruction approach. All of her classes incorporate labs to add the hands-on, creative experience. She has high standards for her students and is very willing to spend extra time with students who ask for assistance.
Amorah is blessed to be a wife and a mother of two girls and a boy. When time allows, she can be found outside trying to create a beautiful garden. Above all, she is grateful to the Lord, who has blessed her beyond measure and has led her to this career and to this school.
Teachers
Brandy Vizmanos-Garcia
Brandy Vizmanos-Garcia received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education with a major in History and minor in Political Science from the University of Arizona in 1998. She also earned a middle school endorsement at that time. Brandy later earned her Master’s Degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Emotional Behavior from the University of Arizona in 2002. She worked in the public school system for 9 years and has been running Calvary Heritage Learning Center an affiliate of Academy Northwest for the last 14 years. She has had the great pleasure of working at HCC for the last 8 years.
Brandy has consistently taught history and English over the last 23 years. She taught middle school for 22 years, but she has now moved into just teaching high school classes as her own children have progressed into their secondary level education.
Brandy and her husband, Ed, have been married for 20 years. They moved to Washington State from Tucson, Arizona 19 years ago. They have homeschooled their children for over 13 years. Their son Kyler is 18 years old, and he graduated from high school in June 2021. Their daughter Sydney is 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. When Brandy is not taxying her children around to their various activities, she loves just being home. She looks forward to working in the yard, watching a good movie, or reading a book.
Tim Drumm
Tim Drumm grew up near Houston, TX where the Lord saved him late in his teenage years and placed him under theologically sound biblical teaching at a local church. At that church, Tim married the love of his life, Katie, in 2007. They are blessed with four children: Luke (born 2010), Elizabeth (2012), Phoebe (2015), and Jack (2018).
Tim graduated from The College of Biblical Studies Houston in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Christian Leadership and a minor in Bible. He then went on to graduate from The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, California with a Master of Divinity. While in seminary, he completed training and certification as a Biblical Counselor with ACBC.
Tim has worked with students since salvation and is passionate about teaching them the truth of the Bible and encouraging their growth in Christ. During the past 15 years, Tim has been actively involved in campus FCA meetings, teaching Sunday school classes, church administration, coordinating conferences & camps, serving in & then leading youth ministries, and teaching as a professor at The Master’s University. He loves to teach, preach, and mentor students.
Shortly after graduating from seminary, Tim and his family relocated to Mount Vernon in August of 2018 to take his dream job! He currently works as the Pastor of Student Ministries at Emmanuel Baptist Church where he oversees the junior high, high school, and college ministries. Tim & his family are so thankful to be part of the church family at EBC.
Christina South
Christina South has a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Southern Oregon State College and Washington State teacher certification for secondary mathematics. Christina has been involved in the education of students for more than 25 years–home schooling, teaching classes to various groups, tutoring, classroom teaching, and coaching speech and debate students. She taught in Christian schools for eight years before becoming a home schooling parent. Classroom instruction included English, math (primarily Algebra 1 and above), Bible, study skills, drama, personal finance, life skills, and Spanish. Whether in the classroom or at home, Christina enjoys the challenge of making instruction meet the individual needs of her students.
Christina and her husband have six children–two biological and four adopted. She also has four wonderful grandchildren. When there is a quiet moment, Christina enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and spending time outdoors.
Alora Schubkegel
Alora Schubkegel earned her Associates degree in Pre-Nursing from Skagit Valley College in 2019. Since then, Alora has worked in the medical field as a Certified Medical Assistant and Medication Aide in Stanwood, Washington and Newberg, Oregon. Alora is currently excited to shift her focus and give back to the homeschool community in her new role as a teacher at Hill Creek Christian.
Alora was homeschooled for the majority of her young life and attended Hillcreek Christian in highschool where she thrived in the strong christian community. During that time, Alora was a chapel leader for highschool girls and coordinated the first homeschool formal dance for the homeschool youth in the area. In addition to Hillcreek, Alora was involved in the Skagit Defenders Speech and Debate Club, SEA-TECH 4-H Club, and Special Friends Camp. As a result of these foundational experiences, Alora has a passion to engage the next generation of students (of all abilities) to embrace new opportunities, find community, and grow in Christ in all aspects of life.
Alora married her husband in the summer of 2020 and moved to Newberg, Oregon to continue his schooling. During that time, Alora and her husband adopted a cat named Ollie who is obsessed with dental picks and raiding Alora’s pantry for bags of bread. When Alora is not chasing Ollie around, she loves crafting cards, making music, adventuring out of doors, and finding fun facts to add to her collection of party tricks.
Sarah Slyman
Sarah Slyman received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion with a minor in Art from Palm Beach Atlantic University. After graduation, she was a full-time tutor in a public high school and later worked in a Christian Montessori School assisting in math and art for grades 4-6. She has always enjoyed her time in the classroom and also working one-on-one with students. Providing a quality education for her students and her own children has always been a priority for her.
Sarah and her husband, Patrick, have been married for 20 years. They are both from the east coast, moving here from the Boston area seven years ago. In addition to homeschooling her two teenage daughters, Sarah is a pastor’s wife and enjoys a very active role in church life. She also runs a home business making designer eye patches for children and adults. Working with children and teens has been a big part of Sarah’s life. She spent many summers on staff at Christian camps, teaching Sunday school, directing children’s church, volunteering on youth staff, training groups for mission trips, etc. She has a passion for people and a love for the gospel. When it is not raining, she loves to garden and travel with her family.
Dana Bitto
Dana Bitto graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 1997, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a major in English. She taught 4th grade at Twin City Elementary for seven years while earning her Master of Education with an emphasis on Literacy Development from Western Washington University in 2001. In 2003, she and her husband welcomed twin boys, and thus began her homeschooling journey. She has gained many insights while homeschooling her four children over the last 12 years. Dana has developed a new perspective on learning differences, such as dyslexia, while focusing on sharing her love of high-quality literature and history. She has been involved with various homeschooling enrichment opportunities in the Skagit Valley, including Friday School.
Dana began the next chapter in her education career at Hill Creek Christian two years ago. Teaching middle school and high school level English classes has been a wonderful way for her to share something valuable and worthwhile with her students. She finds pleasure in researching, developing and implementing classes that help students grow in understanding their place in God’s World. She views learning as a lifelong endeavor. Dana looks forward to teaching classes that are both engaging and challenging, preparing students for learning beyond the classroom setting.
Elizabeth Gunn
Elizabeth Gunn graduated from SVC with her AA-DTA in June 2018, where she simultaneously worked as a writing consultant and co-editor for the Cardinal Newspaper. After she graduated, she took a gap year to live in North Africa. While there, she worked at an English language learning center and studied Arabic. In March 2020, Elizabeth returned to school and graduated in 2022 from Western Washington University. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and a minor in culture and religious studies.
Elizabeth was homeschooled and attended Hill Creek Christian while in high school. She has taught at HCC for one year and has enjoyed returning to her roots. She is passionate about teaching students about writing, introducing them to good literature, and giving them the tools to succeed in other areas of their lives through the foundations of English. An avid reader and writer, teaching English has been such a joy for Elizabeth. She loves sharing her love for ELA with her students, and has a desire to see each of them grow in their various skills.
In February 2021, Elizabeth married Walker Gunn. The two of them live in Mount Vernon and attend church in Sedro Woolley. When they’re not working, they enjoy exploring new places, going camping, rock climbing, reading books, visiting family, and having games nights.
Alicia Bettger
Alicia Bettger earned her ATA in Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management at Skagit Valley College. She spent the years following working in various kitchens throughout the county until she chose to be primarily at home with her children. Since then she has continued to cook for events, small parties and shares her knowledge with others whenever the opportunities arise. She is currently attending Grand Canyon University with the goal of completing a Masters in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on Trauma.
Alicia lives in Mount Vernon with her husband and 4 boys. She loves to create with many mediums food, watercolor and acrylic paint are her favorites. Her garden is a new hobby. She also loves hiking and camping when the weather warms up.
Caty McGrew
Caty McGrew received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Washington State University in 2005. Caty then went on to Whittier Law School where she earned a Juris Doctorate in 2012. While at Whittier, she was active in the Environmental Law Society where she held the position of treasurer for one year. Caty received a Master of Science with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from Western Governor’s University in 2018, and is now working on a Doctor of Education degree through Grand Canyon University.
Caty began tutoring in math and science during the summers of her WSU school years and continued that work after graduating. She tutored in all levels of math, from addition to calculus, to all ages of students, from kindergarten to college. She also tutored in science courses, including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Anatomy and Physiology. She has been teaching at Hill Creek for five years and has worked as a Level 1 Educational Therapist through NILD.
Caty has two pets, a dog (boxer) and a snake. Caty also has a passion for all things Disney, especially Disneyland. Her other interests include traveling, movies, sports, outdoor activities, crafting, and reading.
Lisa Rollins
Lisa Rollins received a certificate of Biblical Studies from Emmaus Bible College in 1998. After completing her Associate of Arts degree at North Seattle Community College, she went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in General Studies with an emphasis in Elementary Education in 2005.
Aside from homeschooling her children for the last 11 years, Lisa has worked as a Spanish translator for Bellingham Public Schools, taught elementary age students in a homeschool co-op for two years, directed the homeschool group Classical Conversations for two years, and taught English grammar and writing for one year.
Ever since her exposure to the Spanish language through an inspiring high school teacher, Lisa was motivated to study abroad in Mexico, and continued to travel to Guatemala, Argentina, and Bolivia to improve her Spanish language development and to share God’s love with others. She is an exuberant teacher who works to target multiple learning styles in the classroom, and is excited to share her love for Spanish and other cultures with the students.
A hippie at heart, Lisa enjoys making soup, growing dahlias, and creating silly songs to entertain and embarrass her 5 children and her patient husband of 18 years.
Brittany Ericson
Brittany Ericson is going back to school to finish her AA degree she started as a teen in Running Start and then has plans to get her BA in History. History has always been a huge area of interest for her particularly the Middle Ages and the Silk Road. As someone who was homeschooled she has always sought to continue learning in every area of her life. Growing up in a home that housed many international students and had missionaries constantly visiting cultivated a diverse penchant for cooking (and eating) food from around the world in her and she is excited to bring this love into her teaching.
Since 2016 Brittany has homeschooled her children following her mother’s example of focusing on being outside and reading aloud. Learning about the wide variety of learning styles within her own children has led her to delve into Charlotte Mason, Classical and many other teaching methods. Over the past four years Brittany has tutored classes through Classical Conversations and discovered her love of teaching children besides her own. Her favorite part of teaching is bringing something to life that may have seemed dull or unnecessary to a child before that day, and believes cultivating a love of learning is as important as the learning itself.
Brittany has been married to Brandon (a former Hill Creek student!) for 13 years and they’ve been blessed with two daughters and two sons ages 6-11 years old. They run a family business on Camano Island and in their spare time they love to cook and eat good food together. Brittany is known to be reading 4-7 books at any given time, and attempts to keep plants alive in her spare time. Most importantly, she thanks the Creator of heaven and earth whose endless love and mercy have sustained her and her family in the good and difficult times.
Kyla Haas
Kyla Haas received her Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern College in 1990, with a major in Christian Education. Upon graduation she worked with Youth ministry at an RCA church for three years leading youth groups and planning retreats and other activities while sharing the gospel with young people. During this time, she also taught pre-school part time at Happy Hearts Christian school and enjoyed co-teaching young students. After marriage, in 1993, she continued her teaching job until the birth of her second son in 1997. Kyla went on to have four children which she enjoyed raising in the countryside and homeschooling. Three of them attended Hillcreek as part of their Highschool education which she found extremely helpful in preparing them for college level work.
Kyla lost her first husband, Jim Gibbs, to cancer, but has been happily married to John Haas for ten years. They have been blessed to travel and explore the world a bit over the past several years as they’ve gone to visit two sons living abroad and lived in an RV traveling for a year. Now that her kids are grown and launched, Kyla is excited to put some of her homeschool experience to work at Hillcreek. She especially enjoys working with younger children and watching their joy of learning grow as they process new things. She is passionate about helping students learn to read well and become lifetime readers.
Kyla enjoys travel, photography, gardening, stitchwork and reading. But her favorite activity is family time and being a grandma to two sweet boys.