LCS Senior Spotlight: Nathan Dery

Nathan Dery is a senior who began his time at Lansing Christian School in kindergarten. He shares how his time at LCS has been academically, socially, and spiritually formative.

Senior Nathan Dery pursues each opportunity with excellence. Nathan is known for the positive attitude and inspirational growth mindset he brings to each endeavor. Academically, Nathan has taken the opportunity to be challenged in several Advanced Placement (AP) classes at LCS. In AP Chemistry, he studied kinetics, thermodynamics, and organic chemistry. “It was challenging, but an obstacle that we as a class made it over,” he recalls. “Because of this, we grew as students.” He is currently taking AP Spanish and AP Biology. He appreciates that his AP Spanish teacher, Senor Shofstall, is always willing to stay after class to help him; because of this, he loves learning Spanish. In AP Biology, Nathan has been able to dive more deeply into his favorite subject, science. Nathan loves learning about DNA and genetics, an area he is considering pursuing in the future. 

“I wanted to experience everything LCS had to offer before I left,
and I am so glad I did.”

Nathan shares that his classes have contributed to his growth far beyond just academics. “I have slowly been growing in my confidence when talking with people. Especially in the past year, I have been able to confidently challenge myself to be more outgoing, which has helped greatly in my public speaking and relationships in general.” When asked what has contributed to this growth, Nathan credits his Communication and Culture class. “Communication and Culture has been a real push, specifically standing in front of people to give speeches or just talk. There was specifically an improv speech I had to give that didn’t go perfectly, but it was good to challenge myself and risk it. It was exactly the push I needed, and helped my confidence a lot.” Nathan appreciates that LCS is an environment that not only helps him succeed but also provides a place to safely fail. “I even look forward to the failures now,” he explains, “because I know through them, there is always something to learn.”

Sports are a significant part of Nathan’s experience at LCS. He participates in swimming, track and field, cross country, and tennis. In swimming, he has received numerous awards. One of his highlights this year was placing second overall in his division for the 100m freestyle. Nathan began participating in track and field in middle school, and in high school decided he wanted to focus more on throwing shot put and discus. He says, “My track and field coach, Mark List, has always gone out of his way and spent extra time to support me and a few others in throwing shot put and discus. These two events did not have much equipment or coaching before my teammates and I decided to give it a shot a few years ago. Coach List has spent an extensive amount of time researching and teaching us from the beginning, making us feel extremely loved and cared for.”  It was recently, just at the start of his senior year, that Nathan added tennis and cross country to his sports experience. “I wanted to experience everything LCS had to offer before I left, and am so glad I did.”

Being at LCS has allowed Nathan to develop and build his faith over many years. He says, “Growing up in a Christian atmosphere is a huge advantage for growing in your faith. A couple of years ago I was feeling disconnected from God, and my Bible teacher, Mr. Anderson, was a big influence on my faith. We had one-on-one chats where I asked a lot of questions, and he redirected me to God. He encouraged me to go to God and ask HIM those questions. LCS has helped me through ups and downs but has ultimately let me develop a relationship with God that is stronger and deeply rooted in who I am today.”

Nathan’s favorite thing about LCS is that it is more than just a school – it is a community that feels like a family. He shares, “Every day that I walk into school there is always an atmosphere of camaraderie and just simple friendship that runs deep between each and every person, making school truly seem like home.”

When asked about his plans for the future, he speaks about his passion for engineering. “Engineering has always fascinated me. I love the sciences, specifically biomedical engineering and chemical engineering. I’m also interested in the field of prosthetics, so I’m considering the possibility of using engineering to contribute to the development of prosthetics in the future.”