Episode Show Notes

From alumni to current SFC parents, Colin and Carrie Sinclair (‘01) join us for a life-giving conversation about the power of community and their foundations of faith sparked at SFC. You’ll find yourself encouraged, refreshed, and inspired by their story.

Mike Siciliano, High School Dean of Students, has a long history with Sante Fe Christian, sitting in several roles including alumnus, US history teacher, and football coach. As a student, Siciliano felt he had teachers and coaches who personally invested in him and made a huge difference in his life. Now, he tries every day to continue that legacy for current SFC students, live up to the standard his teachers set for him, and have a lot of fun.

Colin Sinclair, alumni and current SFC parent, first came to SFC when he was in sixth grade and it was at Santa Fe Christian where Colin made the decision to follow Jesus. From Santa Fe, he played football and studied business at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. This November, it will be his 17th year in the ministry with FCA.

Carrie Sinclair, alumni and current SFC parent, first came to SFC when she was in first grade and went all the way through 12th grade. After graduating, Carrie went to UCLA where she studied physiological science. Since then, Carrie and Colin reconnected, got married, and had three kids.

Highlights

00:00:27 – Introductions

00:01:04 – When Mike met each guest

00:03:09 – Guests’ memories of SFC and how it has played a role in their lives

00:12:37 – What transpired in the years since graduation

00:16:23 – What factored into the decision to consider sending their children to SFC

00:22:54 – Thoughts about being part of the parent community

00:27:13 – Relationship between guests through the years

00:32:04 – Aspects of faith learned in terms of their walk or foundational things they took with them after leaving SFC

Transcript

Mike Siciliano [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of our Eagle Perspective Podcast. I’m Mike Siciliano, Dean of Students in the High School. Everyone makes fun of me, because I start a lot with, “Two of my favorite people.” Full disclosure here, we’ve known each other for 30-plus years. Let’s just get that out there. Really for real, two of my favorite people.

Carrie Sinclair [00:00:25] A whole lifetime.

Mike Siciliano [00:00:27] In the weddings and all of that stuff. We’ll get that bias out of the way at the start. I’m joined today by Colin Sinclair and Carrie Sinclair—formerly Carrie Hague when she was a student here—two of our fantastic alumni. Guys, thanks for being here.

Carrie Sinclair [00:00:43] Thanks so much for having us.

Colin Sinclair [00:00:44] Thanks, man. We’re stoked to be here. Honored. Go, Eagles.

Mike Siciliano [00:00:48] Totally a moment we envisioned as sixth-graders here at Santa Fe Christian. Remind everyone. I know you guys are a part of what some people would say is the best class in Santa Fe history. That’s just purely objective. What year was that again? 

Colin Sinclair [00:01:02] 2001.

Mike Siciliano [00:01:03] 2001.

Colin Sinclair [00:01:04] Yeah, buddy.

Mike Siciliano [00:01:04] I love it. Man, before we get into your journey, and just so people know, both graduated from Santa Fe, are now obviously married, and have kids that are currently enrolled at Santa Fe. It’s obviously played a big part in your story at various points. We’ll get to that. First, I have to note, there’s so many memories here at this table. Carrie, you and I met in fourth grade. I think we first met through student council.

Carrie Sinclair [00:01:36] I was going to say student council.

Mike Siciliano [00:01:37] What are your memories of student council?

Carrie Sinclair [00:01:40] I loved student council. I felt like we had so much fun. I remember the—what are they?—Robert’s Rules of Order.

Mike Siciliano [00:01:49] Yep, and impeach Anne! As middle schoolers, we learned Robert’s Rules. By the way, we would both run for class president all the time, and I always ended up as the vice president. I’m just gonna say that.

Carrie Sinclair [00:02:00] I feel like… didn’t we switch off? I feel like we were always…

Mike Siciliano [00:02:04] I’m so glad that’s how you remember it. I’m pretty sure I was the vice president the entire time, which was the right choice. Then Colin, sixth grade, right?

Colin Sinclair [00:02:18] Sixth grade.

Mike Siciliano [00:02:19] You were just talking as you as we were sitting here about Miss Richardson’s sixth-grade class and my earliest memories are that I asked you for money pretty much every day for the snack machine. 

Colin Sinclair [00:02:28] Yeah. Thankfully, the price of a Coke in 1995 was cheaper than… 2022

Mike Siciliano [00:02:33] Do you remember the particular candy that I would tend to buy?

Colin Sinclair [00:02:36] I don’t remember the candy you bought.

Mike Siciliano [00:02:38] Shock Tarts. 

Colin Sinclair [00:02:39] Shock Tarts. That was Smartie Shock Tarts.

Mike Siciliano [00:02:42] Do those still exist?

Carrie Sinclair [00:02:43] I was going to say, back when they had actual candy.

Mike Siciliano [00:02:47] Candy in the vending machine. It was like 55 cents.

Colin Sinclair [00:02:49] Well, I didn’t remember the candy, but I do remember that at the end of sixth grade in the yearbook when you wrote like everyone did, “Have a nice summer,” you also included a $20 bill to pay me back. Which, if you think about inflation, 20 bucks now…

Mike Siciliano [00:03:09] Well, I hope you invested it wisely, but the truth is you probably just gave it back to me in small increments the next year. I think that was a genius move on my part because you felt like, “Wow, I got reimbursed, and I feel good about this.” There’s no way that the amount you gave me was anything close to 20 bucks. It had to have been way greater than that. I’m pretty sure I got the better end of that deal. All right. We could have a whole podcast on our memories. But before people move away, tell us a little bit, each of you. Carrie, let’s start with you, about your Santa Fe journey—when you came here, and what you remember, and how it’s played a role in your life. 

Carrie Sinclair [00:03:49] I came here when I was in first grade. Which, I think it was ’89. Started here and went here all the way through 12th grade, which was not the original plan. I think that my parents were planning on having me go to somewhere else for high school, but at that point, I had been at the school for eight years and had really incredible friendships and I wanted to stay, so stayed here all the way through. Then after graduating here, I went to UCLA for college and studied physiological science and had a really neat experience at UCLA. Moved back into town, Colin and I reconnected, and got married, and kinda pivoted a little bit in my career and worked in graphic design for years. And now I have three kids. 

Mike Siciliano [00:04:52] You didn’t actually date in high school. We’ll come back and get to that. When you think back to your time at Santa Fe, what are some of the standout either memories that you had or things about it that stick out in your head—years later looking back, “I didn’t realize how significant that was or how important that was”?

Carrie Sinclair [00:05:09] For me, it really comes back to the people. The experiences I had here were incredible. I got to have some really neat athletic experiences and academic, but really, the friendships that I have… Clearly, I have a lot of people from high school who are still a very significant part of my life today 20 years later, and teachers who are still in my life, and who are in my kids’ lives now, and my whole family’s lives. I didn’t realize how unique and special that was until after I left, really, and got to college, and would talk to people about summer plans or taking phone calls from high school teachers, and having my friends be like, “You what?” 

Mike Siciliano [00:06:06] They think it’s weird.

Carrie Sinclair [00:06:07] They think it’s bizarre.

Mike Siciliano [00:06:09] “You talk to your teacher from high school from tenth grade?” 

Carrie Sinclair [00:06:13] I just thought, “Of course.”

Mike Siciliano [00:06:15] Doesn’t everybody? 

Carrie Sinclair [00:06:18] The fact that I was excited to go home for summers and I was excited to reconnect with high school friends, I think that was very out of the ordinary. That’s when I started to understand my high school experience was high school, middle school, elementary school. The whole experience of Santa Fe was unique and special. 

Mike Siciliano [00:06:40] Who are some of the teachers that stand out to you or that you stayed connected with?

Carrie Sinclair [00:06:46] Mrs. Ellis, in eighth grade English.

Mike Siciliano [00:06:50] The best.

Carrie Sinclair [00:06:52] The best. She is actually a part of our story, too.

Mike Siciliano [00:06:59] Just to clarify, too, for our audience, we have a Mrs. Ellis now, who is our middle school assistant principal. She is the daughter-in-law of the Mrs. Ellis that we had. 

Carrie Sinclair [00:07:08] Kathy Ellis. I still have a hard time calling my former teachers by their first names. 

Mike Siciliano [00:07:13] When you come work here, you get used to that, by the way. It takes a bit, but you do get used to that eventually.

Carrie Sinclair [00:07:17] Mr. Salyer I saw on campus the other day, and I called him Mr. Salyer. He said, “You’re making me feel ancient. Can you please call me John?” I tried, but I had…

Mike Siciliano [00:07:29] For me, it was Mr. Jelnick. I can call him Mike now, but it took a good three years of working here before that was a comfortable thing. 

Colin Sinclair [00:07:36] I just saw him at church, and he said, “Colin.” I said, “Mr. Jelnick.”

Mike Siciliano [00:07:42] It’s in you.

Carrie Sinclair [00:07:45] Kathy Ellis really took… There was a group of us that she took under her wing and we hung out together on campus, off-campus. She took us skiing on a mountain Sierra trip, I think when we were at high school or had just graduated. She has been really intentional about our relationship and development. She and my mom got to be close friends, too. Just really unique. Again, relationships with teachers. I had so many teachers here. Mr. Kim was my chemistry teacher in…

Mike Siciliano [00:08:29] 10th grade.

Carrie Sinclair [00:08:30] I was going to say high school, 10th grade. Now his daughters and my son’s third-grade class, which is wild… All of the teachers that I had just really intentionally poured into me as a student, as a person, just cared about who I was becoming and my life. That really made a huge difference.

Mike Siciliano [00:08:55] Awesome. Colin, how about you? When did you get to Santa Fe? Same question. What are the standout memories or moments of impact for you? 

Colin Sinclair [00:09:04] I came here in sixth grade. My parents sent me to Santa Fe in sixth grade. I was shy. I did not know anyone other than one guy named Todd Massey. Todd had come the year before. It’s the only guy that I knew. For me, like Carrie said, it was the people that stood out to me. I met you, and I met other guys, and…

Mike Siciliano [00:09:33] I immediately started taking advantage of you and asking for money.

Colin Sinclair [00:09:38] Right. I just remember as a shy sixth-grader being amazed at the type of people that took an interest in me as a student and as a friend, and then ultimately going to chapel and making a decision to follow Jesus. It was really the way that I saw and observed the type of people that were here. Now that I’m able to think back on, as a sixth-grader what I was experiencing, I can articulate it a lot more now. It was just really the hands and feet of Jesus that were being lived out through education, through coaching, and through friendships. Came here in sixth grade. And like Carrie, actually, heading into high school my parents said, “Hey, would you want to go to La Costa Canyon?” because we grew up right by La Costa Canyon. And I thought about it…

Mike Siciliano [00:10:38] It was brand-new back then, too. It was two years old.

Colin Sinclair [00:10:42] Brand-new. I really thought about it. And I wanted to play baseball at the time in college. So, I was thinking, “Well, maybe I go to La Costa and play baseball there.” I just thought about the relationships that I had here at Santa Fe both from the teachers, the coaches, and then my buddies. I was just like, “Why? Why would I go to La Costa? There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than Santa Fe.” Like Carrie, graduated 2001. Teacher-wise I think back to Barb Latt, Miss Latt in seventh-grade math with you, Friday morning chocolate chip bagels. I think about Debbie Culley and having us over to her house as a group to do study sessions and have pizza. It’s one thing to care about your students from 8 AM to 3 PM, but then to invite them to your house at night, are you kidding me? To invest in you because they care about you as a student and as a person. Clark Gilbert was here, and he had a big impact in my life going to Wheaton and playing football there. Mr. Jelnick, Mr. Salyer, Mr. Kim. There’s so many names.

Mike Siciliano [00:11:58] We all did a Bible study with Coach Wright, Randy Wright, our basketball coach, for a number of years in our 20s.

Colin Sinclair [00:12:05] Coach Wright, coming in senior year and basketball, and then the investment that he’s put into our lives. Doing Bible study for a decade with him.

Carrie Sinclair [00:12:17] Just the way that they… Randy and Julie came to a million baby showers, and bridal showers, and weddings, and first birthday parties for our kids. They just really were—and are—part of our lives.

Mike Siciliano [00:12:37] You went on to play football at Wheaton, Colin. Tell us a little bit about after that and what you’re up to now.

Colin Sinclair [00:12:43] From Santa Fe I went to play football at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Played for a guy, Mike Swider, Coach Swider. Really, what I experienced at Santa Fe from the coaches and the teachers when I went to Wheaton, I experienced more of that. Played football, played wide receiver, studied business, but when it came time for a career, I just really reflected on who had impacted me and how. I kept coming back to the teachers and coaches. I thought I would have gone into education and been a teacher and a coach, but God had a different plan. I got a phone call from an organization called Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This was back in ’05. This guy, Jay [phonetic] Stowe, called me, and he said, “Hey, Colin, this is Jay Stowe with FCA.” I said, “Hey, Jay. Can you remind me what is FCA again?” He said, “Oh, it’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes.” It was just getting started out on the west coast in the early 2000s. In 2005 in the late summer, I accepted the position. Then it was a Santa Fe Christian family that I called and said, “Hey.” They were like my second parents here. I said, “Hey, would you host a fundraiser for me? God’s calling me to sports ministry with FCA.” It was the Santa Fe family that hosted the fundraiser. You and I were doing a Bible study for their daughter, class of 2006. We did a Bible study at their house. That same home that we did the Bible study at, they hosted the fundraiser. And then November 15, 2005, it’s my first day in the ministry with FCA.

Mike Siciliano [00:14:36] You’ve been doing that ever since.

Colin Sinclair [00:14:38] Ever since. It’ll be 17 years November, and I still absolutely love what I get to do. I love waking up every day and walking with Jesus and being like, “Where are we going, what are you doing today, and how do I join you in your work in this world?” 

Mike Siciliano [00:14:55] Awesome. Well, we’re grateful that you do it. I mean, you’ve done it with a lot of our kids over the years, as well. So, thank you. And then Carrie, we didn’t get to all of your career stuff. So you graduated. Obviously, you guys reconnected. You went on to a career in graphic design, right? 

Carrie Sinclair [00:15:13] Yes, so I pivoted into graphic design shortly after we started dating, I guess. Studied physiological science in college. I loved it. I still am just fascinated by the study of the human body and the way God designed it. Really looking at that and seeing just the fingerprints of a creator. But career-wise, I kinda tried a lot of different things that related to it. Didn’t find a really great fit. I had always loved art, and design, and the organization of information, and communications. So went back to school and studied design and then started to work in that field.

Mike Siciliano [00:16:01] Awesome. And you’re still doing some of that.

Carrie Sinclair [00:16:03] Still doing some of that. Kinda put a pause on it when our third kid was born. Was working part-time with the first two. Then when Nolan came, it was just a little too many balls in the air. He’ll be in kindergarten next year, so I’m going to have a lot of time. 

Mike Siciliano [00:16:23] So, good transition. You are next year going to have three kids enrolled at Santa Fe. There’s obviously lots of school choices, and the landscape is totally different now even compared to when we were in school. There’s lots of good options out there. Obviously, you decided to have your kids here, but what were the things that made you ultimately say, “Hey, Santa Fe, we for sure want to look, and this is what we’re hoping to find there?”

Carrie Sinclair [00:16:49] When our oldest, Rylan, was going to go to school and start his kindergarten year, we started to have discussions about what we wanted for him. We ended up with him at our public school for his kindergarten year and then part of his first-grade year. Then COVID shut it down, and we were doing the Zoom school thing and that ended up being an interesting year for us. End of that year, we decided looking at another year of COVID and maybe Zooms and that was just not really working for our kiddos. We homeschooled for a year.

Mike Siciliano [00:17:40] You say we.

Carrie Sinclair [00:17:40] We. 

Colin Sinclair [00:17:41] I actually was the constable and the PE teacher.

Mike Siciliano [00:17:47] Oh, great. All right. Forgive my skepticism on the ‘we.’

Carrie Sinclair [00:17:52] We homeschooled them for a year. So that was Rylan’s second-grade year and Michaela’s kindergarten year. It was fun. It was a weird year for everyone. It seemed like a good year to just try it out. There were definitely some really amazing things about it, and there were some things that were hard. But I think what I got to see the difference of and what I think really made us consider Santa Fe again was the ability that I had to really teach the kids all the subjects from a biblical Christian worldview. It’s not just we’re teaching Bible now, and we’re learning a verse, but it’s how do you teach… You teach science through the lens of someone who believes that there’s a Creator who created us and created this world, and this is how we’re going to discuss this, and teach history through that lens. I think that changed my thinking of how I want our kids to be taught. I think at that point it was whether it’s by me or whether it’s in that environment, I just said, “I think now that we have experienced this, I don’t think we can go back to a place where they’re separate, where we’re teaching about the Bible and…” 

Mike Siciliano [00:19:36] You didn’t want just the Christian add-on. It’s all a part of God’s story.

Carrie Sinclair [00:19:42] Exactly. Especially because we’re learning about things, and I’m fielding questions from my kids, and I want to be able to answer those in a way that just infuses what we believe to be true about life and all aspects of life. As COVID did, it kinda shook up all of the things. It made us really take everything out and examine it. What are we doing? Why are we doing it? What are we prioritizing here? We sold our house and moved. We were like, “Where do we want to live? Where do we want our kids to go to school?” That brought Santa Fe back into the discussion. Of course, we both had such incredible experiences here that it rose to the top pretty quickly. Actually, pretty late in the game.

Colin Sinclair [00:20:42] I think everyone, anyone listening in the last couple of years, you probably asked the biggest questions, right? And I think for us, it was not what’s the matter but what matters most. What do you value most? The whole world was upside down. So I think for us as we stepped back, and we just really sought the Lord and thought through God, how do we be good stewards of what you’ve entrusted to us both—obviously, our three wonderful kids, our finances, our time. Then you step back, and we both reflected on the experience that we had at Santa Fe Christian. It was like, “Gosh, if our kids got to experience just even a percentage of what we experienced here from the relationships, experiencing God, and through the teachers, through the coaches, through everyone that they would meet on this campus,” we just came to a place where like, “Yeah, if there’s a way we could, that’s what we want for this year.” Now being here at the last few weeks of their first year, gosh, we’re both so thankful that we were here this year and that our kids—all three of them—have had an amazing experience. It’s been the similar threads that we experienced when we were here. It’s the way they talk about their teacher and the way their teacher prays for them, and sends us an email, and knows them by name. Then we see them in the community, and there’s just something that… There’s a spark that reignited that we experienced here. To see that has been worth any sacrifice that we’ve made—whether financial, whether time—to see our babies experience community the way that God intended it here. It’s been really cool.

Mike Siciliano [00:22:54] I’m inspired. One thing that came up as I’m listening to you guys talk. You both mentioned in your stories—and I know for me, as well—the power of the parent group and the role that the community played in our lives as kids. What’s it been like now being on the flip side of that? You are now the parents, right? What’s your mentality about the parent community, and what you’re trying to do, and getting to be a part of that?

Colin Sinclair [00:23:26] I think in scripture you see the body of Christ when it’s working the way it’s supposed to function, with Christ at the head and many parts. I think what I’ve experienced, what we’ve experienced at Santa Fe from the parents’ side of it is that when there’s a group of parents that all have different giftings but a similar heart for their kids, which is that they would know God and make Him known, and experience authentic Christian community in an education like Santa Fe. It’s been amazing to have conversations with other parents that share the value that you do around what your desire is for your kids and the opportunity to be in an environment that reinforces what we’re teaching at home. Not an expectation that Santa Fe Christian is the only place that our kids are getting Christ or whatever, but that it’s just as we are raising them, and we’ve set up a purpose statement for our family, and we have values that we live by, we know as we drop our kids off and pick them up and as we’re a part of the various activities on the campus, that it’s being reinforced. Then to share that with other parents is incredible. Praying with other parents for not just our kids but for their kids and what their kid is going through, and what they’re experiencing, and what they’re facing, and to have those relationships through the other parents, for me, this year has been incredible. We’ve shared, seven dudes getting together and talking about life over a cup of coffee, Santa Fe dads. Also, lastly, we’ve gotten to know the Wallaces more and going on some family hikes together, and just talking about how we can invest in our kids’ lives not just this year but for the long haul.

Mike Siciliano [00:25:29] You’re talking about Jon Wallace, football coach. Works in our athletics office. Also a parent.

Colin Sinclair [00:25:35] Yeah.

Carrie Sinclair [00:25:35] With kids our kids’ age. Super special. It’s neat to have families that you know, the values align, and the worldview aligns, and are there to encourage you in your growth and walk with Christ.

Colin Sinclair [00:25:54] Yeah. I think one last thing that came to mind was talking with Rod Gilbert out of Men of SFC, and hearing his vision for the role of the parents at the school, and thinking through the last few years, and having him share the vision for parking and next year for dads to be leading the charge on all the parking study.

Mike Siciliano [00:26:23] The loop.

Colin Sinclair [00:26:23] The loop. Just to see him light up sharing about what it could look like if there were 50, 60 dads that were a part of the loop. I’m like, “That’s it. That would be so fun, to be here, and I want to be a part of that.” I think for the parents here, you feel that sense of you’re wanted to be a part of the community. That’s what stands out, it’s worth it for us.

Mike Siciliano [00:26:51] Well, speaking as someone who’s very insecure about his own parenting, I’m so glad you guys are here for my kids. Really grateful. Thank you in advance.

Carrie Sinclair  [00:27:00]  Love your kids. They’re so cute.

Colin Sinclair [00:27:00] Oh, Violet. I’m coaching Violet in soccer.

Mike Siciliano [00:27:05] That’s right. She came home, and she’s like, “I know what a real dad looks like.”

Colin Sinclair [00:27:11] Give me my Sweet Tarts, Shock Tarts.

Mike Siciliano [00:27:13] Exactly. Let’s talk a little bit about your story. I think in some way I’m going to know… I noted earlier that you didn’t date in high school, which is interesting. I think sometimes our parents hear about kids who dated in high school, they get married, and they think about who their kid might or might not be dating. It’s a little bit of terror of like, “I’m assuming this is going to end.”

Carrie Sinclair [00:27:39] It’s funny, because when people say, “How did you meet?” we say, “We met in sixth grade.” They’re like, “Oh, high school sweethearts.” We say, “Actually, no, we weren’t.” We didn’t date in high school. We were friends. Our class was 16, so everyone was friends. We were friendly, but we didn’t date. We just went our separate ways in college. This is going to really date us, but in college, we had instant messenger, no texting yet. We chatted on AIM a little bit in college but really lost touch for a while until we both moved back here. Back to Santa Fe again. Our class still does, every year, a Christmas party. A reunion Christmas party. So we reconnected at the Christmas party in…

Colin Sinclair [00:28:43] 2006.

Carrie Sinclair [00:28:44] Yeah. We became friends at that point, really, again. I had just moved back to San Diego. I was trying to get my footing again with friends and church. I was like, “Where do you go to church? Can I come with you?” That started our…

Mike Siciliano [00:29:01] Colin was just so gracious, really, for your benefit. Brought you to his church. Was it North Coast Calvary, where you still go?

Carrie Sinclair [00:29:12] Yeah, which is still where we are.

Colin Sinclair [00:29:13] It was great. I’ll share my side. Sixth grade came in as a shy sixth-grader, didn’t know anyone, and met Carrie in eighth grade. We had a little eighth-grade crush on each other, which means you don’t talk to each other, and your friends kinda do. They say, “Hey, did Carrie…?”

Mike Siciliano [00:29:37] Which, at that point you still weren’t talking to very many people at all.

Colin Sinclair [00:29:39] That’s right.

Carrie Sinclair [00:29:39] We were both very, very shy. So, of course, we did not talk to each other, really.

Colin Sinclair [00:29:43] No cell phones, just through other people. In eighth-grade yearbook, I wrote something basically saying that I liked her, and I was going to date her at some point. Then…

Mike Siciliano [00:30:02] Do we have that yearbook somewhere?

Colin Sinclair [00:30:04] We do. We have the yearbook. Then in high school, we dated other people a little bit and then went away to our separate colleges. Did some instant message and then lost touch. We were both involved in things in college. I remember the Christmas party 2006. Walked in and I saw Carrie in the kitchen, and I was just like, “Wow, she looks great and I’d love to hear what she’s been up to.” We talked that night, and she just mentioned how she had moved back here. She was asking me, “Where do you go to church, and who are you hanging out with?” So that really started the journey to what became almost 14 years of marriage. We went to church. It’s been…

Carrie Sinclair [00:30:54] You were living with Santa Fe people mostly. You were at that time…

Mike Siciliano [00:30:58] We lived together. I moved to Colorado more than… TMI. I moved to Colorado right as you were moving back. When I left, it was like, “Oh, yeah, Carrie’s back.” Colin was going to come to visit me in Colorado, but then three months later it was like, “Hey, I’m bringing Carrie, and we’re dating.” Then you guys were out there, and I was like, “Wow, a lot changed in the three months that I’ve been gone.” You mentioned about accepting Jesus here in sixth grade in chapel. I can’t remember if you said it on camera yet, but you also… Was it first grade in chapel?

Carrie Sinclair [00:31:37] Actually, in the classroom with my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Woodworth. She was my first-grade teacher. She gave us the gospel just straight up. I prayed with her at recess. From the very start of my walk with Christ the teachers, and the families, and staff were…

Mike Siciliano [00:32:04] In addition to just coming to Jesus, you both spent a lot of years here. What are the aspects of faith that you learned in terms of your walk or foundational things that you then took with you? Obviously, people don’t graduate from here… Faith is a lifelong journey. Are there some key principles, or concepts, or things looking back like, “That really solidified for me at Santa Fe”?

Colin Sinclair [00:32:32] I think for me, I learned how to apply the good news of the gospel to all areas of my life. I learned what community looked like through reading God’s word. For me, it was the first time that I had experienced that community of reading God’s word of prayer. Chapel. I think the chapel was neat from the variety of speakers that you would hear share. I think it was the theme that they would share of God’s love in their life and various journeys, some that had gone far from the Lord and come back, some that had really horrible experiences. But there was this reoccurring theme of God’s love, and it was just reinforced throughout the years that we were here. I think it was really just the community aspect of what I learned about my faith was that it’s not meant to be done alone. I think that when I look back—I think about… I’m 39 now, and we spoke about our involvement here as parents—it was that Christianity is not meant to be done alone; it’s meant to be done together. And celebrating the various gifts that God has given you, and they’re different than other people, and that it’s a healthy place to ask questions, too, about your faith. I think I learned here, thinking back to my experience, that what was happening was there was the body of Christ moving in a direction that was different yet was able to lift me up and build me up, and cared most about my walk with him. Those are some things that stand out about my time.

Carrie Sinclair [00:34:26] I think for me, I had the experience of going here for 12 years and then going immediately to a very large secular university and studying science. For me, I think the foundational principle that really carried me through was the Bible. This is truth, and this is the plumb line standard for truth, and obviously, learning scripture, memorizing scripture. It’s crazy how that just comes back to you in times when you… I don’t know. You may not even really be thinking, but it’s in your subconscious. For me, I think being in a situation that felt so different from Santa Fe, I just had a foundation on the Bible and on biblical truth that was ultimately just unshakable and that was so valuable to me. Where there was so many ideas and professors saying different things about life and what is truth, and I was able to just say, “No, this is what I believe. This is truth, and this is how I view life.” That was something that was really foundational.

Mike Siciliano [00:35:58] It is amazing to me, the scripture thing. I’ve said this already, I think, in one of these podcasts. It comes up with alumni all the time. Those verses that was five minutes before the Bible test, and you’re outside trying to get it down, but it somehow sticks with you. It pops up in moments.

Colin Sinclair [00:36:17] I think one last thing that came to mind, Mike, was recently I ran into an alum that I hadn’t seen, I think, since graduating. It was actually his wedding day. I happened to be playing golf at the location of his wedding. He saw me walking, and he said my name. I said, “Oh, my gosh.” It’s great. “Hey, congratulations on getting married today.” He shared for the next few minutes about his foundation that he had at Santa Fe and that he had left that, and gone to college, and gone on a journey away from the Lord, but had come back to the Lord, and had referenced his experience here—the teachers, and the coaches, and the people, and what he learned about God here. While it was a long journey for him, it was his foundation here at Santa Fe and God that brought him ultimately back. He was just so excited to have a pastor marry him. And he wanted to sit down with me, and we’re going to grab coffee and just talk about that journey. I also just think that families that either… If there’s alum that have gone through here or maybe parents that have had kids that are listening to this that may not be walking with the Lord, the foundation that happens here at Santa Fe… lasts. Just to encourage them. 

Mike Siciliano [00:37:54] How many inspiring things are you guys going to share in this 30 minutes?

Carrie Sinclair [00:37:59] As many as possible.

Mike Siciliano [00:38:02] Well, we could probably go on for hours. But I can’t say thank you enough for coming in and sharing a little bit of your story. Obviously, excited, as our kids are here together now to get this part of the journey with you, too. Love you guys. You’re amazing. Thanks for coming in.

Carrie Sinclair [00:38:20] Thanks so much for having us.

Colin Sinclair [00:38:22] Yeah, thanks. I would say, to close—I know you’re the host—just to say that…  just to take one second and say—and I know anyone that’s watching or listening, even—Mike, thank you from the Santa Fe Christian alum, from the families. Being now parents here, thank you—seriously—for answering God’s call to be here and the roles that you’ve been in. Every single person I run into in the community that I mentioned Santa Fe Christian, I graduated with Mike Siciliano, if you had them as a student, they say, “He was my favorite teacher.” If they had you as a coach, “He’s my favorite coach.” Just know how loved you are and what impact that you’re making here at Santa Fe Christian. Thanks, bro.

Mike Siciliano [00:39:13] You are way too kind. I’m sure this will get edited out. Thank you. It’ll be a memory I take. I pay all those people to say those things. I’m glad that investment is good. Well, thank you both for being here. Thank you to those of you who are listening and watching. This has been another episode of our Eagle Perspective Podcast. We have more coming in our alumni series. If this is your first time, we have other episodes, as well. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and elsewhere where podcasts are found. You can always watch us on YouTube, as well. We look forward to seeing you back with us soon.