Full Circle: A Covenant Graduate Returns to Invest in the Next Generation
How CCA alumna Jackie Bixler is living out the Portrait of a Graduate
What does it look like when the seeds planted during a student’s years at Covenant Christian Academy take root and bear fruit?
Sometimes, it looks like a former student returning to the very classrooms and community that helped shape her. This school year, Covenant welcomed home Jackie Bixler, Class of 2011, as a fourth-grade teacher. Her journey from CCA student to college graduate, international ministry volunteer, and now educator offers a beautiful glimpse of what we pray for every Covenant student.
At CCA, our Portrait of a Graduate describes the kind of young men and women we seek to cultivate: authentic followers of Jesus Christ, wise and virtuous lifelong learners, servant-hearted leaders, and compelling communicators of truth, goodness, and beauty.
Jackie’s story reminds us that these qualities are not simply goals for graduation day. They are meant to shape a lifetime.
Authentic Followers of Jesus Christ
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)
After graduating from Covenant in 2011, Jackie attended Texas A&M University. Following college, she remained in College Station to complete a discipleship program through her church, intentionally seeking to deepen her relationship with God and discern His plans for her life. That desire to follow the Lord eventually led her across the world.
Jackie moved to Cambodia, where she spent more than four years volunteering with a Christian anti-human trafficking organization. Serving in an administrative capacity and taking on a variety of responsibilities, she devoted that season of her life to supporting a ministry caring for vulnerable people. When she returned to the United States at the end of 2021, Jackie continued seeking God’s direction. An opportunity to work part-time in a local public school unexpectedly opened the door to a career in education.
Her journey reflects a central desire of Covenant’s Portrait of a Graduate: that students would develop a genuine, lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ and faithfully follow Him wherever He leads.
When asked what she would tell her younger self, Jackie shared:
“Your relationship with God is the most important thing in your life. He loves you so much! Meet with Him every day, hearing His voice and doing what He says. Don’t forget to love and enjoy the people around you.”
Wise and Virtuous Lifelong Learners
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)
Jackie’s memories of Covenant include much more than textbooks and assignments.
She fondly recalls playing football at recess beside Tara Animal Hospital when elementary students still attended classes in portable buildings. As one of the few girls who joined the boys on the field, she embraced every opportunity to play. Basketball was another meaningful part of her CCA experience. She enjoyed competing alongside many of the same teammates year after year, culminating in a trip to the State Tournament during her senior year.
But some of her most lasting memories center on the teachers and coaches who invested in her. Jackie remembers Mrs. Chapman as someone who made learning enjoyable while taking time to connect with students beyond the classroom. “I felt seen and loved by her,” Jackie recalls.
She also remembers AP Chemistry teacher Mr. Laywell, whose engaging teaching style made even challenging material memorable. Years later, she can still recall his famous “Goggles” song! Her basketball coaches, Ray and Diana DeBord, modeled dedication, passion, and care as they helped lead the team toward the State Finals.
These experiences reflect Covenant’s commitment to cultivating lifelong learners who pursue excellence, develop resilience, and recognize their God-given abilities as gifts to be stewarded.
Today, Jackie brings those experiences into her own classroom, remembering not only what she learned from her teachers but how they made her feel.
Servant-Hearted Leaders
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (ESV)
One of the most beautiful threads running through Jackie’s story is how she experienced servant-hearted love as a student—and now desires to extend that same love to others. She recalls Mrs. Rudolph, Mrs. Brunk, and Mrs. Priest, who helped care for her and her brothers before and after school, long before Cougar Club existed.
“The way they loved and served my family was an incredible blessing. They met a huge need!” Jackie shares.
What may have seemed like ordinary acts of kindness at the time left an extraordinary impression.
Years later, Jackie carried a heart for service into her ministry work in Cambodia. Now, that same desire to serve has brought her back to Covenant, where she has the opportunity to invest in children during some of their most formative years. When asked what she hopes to give today’s students, Jackie points to the love she and her family experienced within the CCA community.
“Over the years, my family and I received generous love and care from teachers and the CCA community. I hope to see students both in the classroom and beyond, helping them to know and experience a God who loves them beyond understanding.”
This is servant leadership in action: receiving the love of Christ through others and allowing that love to overflow into the lives of the next generation.
Compelling Communicators of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
At Covenant, we desire graduates who do more than acquire knowledge. We want them to recognize truth, goodness, and beauty, communicate with wisdom and humility, and courageously influence the world around them for Christ.
For Jackie, returning to Covenant as a teacher provides a unique opportunity to put those qualities into practice. Having once walked the same halls as her students, she brings a perspective shaped by firsthand experience.
“Having been a student here, I feel like I can relate to these young men and women better and have an idea of what they might be walking through and experiencing,” she explains.
She also finds herself remembering what she needed from teachers during her own school years and allowing those memories to shape the way she approaches her students today. Through daily conversations, classroom instruction, encouragement, and example, Jackie now has the opportunity to speak into young lives just as her teachers once spoke into hers.
A Legacy That Comes Full Circle
Walking back onto campus as a teacher has been especially meaningful for Jackie.
“It definitely feels surreal in ways! Our time at CCA was very impactful for my family, and I have so many memories here,” she shares. “I’m very thankful that God opened the door for me to come back to CCA!”
The teachers who once encouraged Jackie, the coaches who challenged her, and the community members who cared for her family did more than meet a student’s needs in the moment. They were helping shape a young woman whose life would eventually touch others in classrooms, churches, and communities across the world.
Now, Jackie has the opportunity to plant those same seeds in the lives of her fourth graders.
That is the heart of Covenant’s Portrait of a Graduate. We are not simply preparing students for college, careers, or even graduation. We are partnering with families to cultivate young men and women who love the Lord, pursue wisdom, serve others, and faithfully reflect His truth, goodness, and beauty wherever He calls them.
And sometimes, in God’s beautiful providence, He calls them right back home.
