Instructors
Mrs. Mary Amery
Mary is a homeschooling mother who is passionate about bringing knowledge, self-mastery, and virtue to her own children and others. Mary is wife to Michael and mother to Monica (a graduate of Belmont Abbey College, North Carolina) and Mark (sophomore at Benedictine College in Kansas). She has a BA in history as well as post-graduate work in education. She is an accomplished musician and enjoys reading, gardening, baking, running and strength training, as well as spending time playing games and traveling with her family.
Mrs. Samantha Aubart
As a homeschooling mother of four young children, Samantha enjoys spending time exploring the wonders of God's creation. She resides in Buffalo with her devoted husband, Samuel, and they can usually be found engaged in one of many DIY household projects. Samantha holds a BA in Psychology and Theology and a Master's degree in Social Work, but neither of those career paths compare with the fulfillment she receives as a stay at home mom. According to Samantha, her hobbies include: cross stitch, scrap booking, baking bread, gardening, and exploring good literature with her children. According to her kids, Samantha's hobbies are cooking and laundry.
Mrs. Katrina Gaspar
Katrina was raised as a “Cradle Catholic” in a small town in central Minnesota. Her high school experience was crammed full of academics, sports, and music (band, choir, and piano). At North Dakota State University, her future husband, Nick, found her among the small contingent of women studying engineering. She graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and worked as a Design Engineer until 2018. She then switched roles and became a domestic engineer (aka stay-at-home wife/mom) and started homeschooling officially in 2019. Katrina loves learning about and living the Catholic Faith, and is a certified catechist for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS). Nick and Katrina have 4 children, and are trying their best to raise future residents for Heaven!
Mrs. Jennifer Kellar
Home schooling nine kids for more than twenty years, Jen Kellar loves all things Catholic, child-related, classical, and deep. Her degrees are in Psychology and English, and she holds a Master’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation. She believes that through literature and the exploration of the world, the mind can be opened to new people and experiences! She is looking forward to this year’s discovery with the students at VIA!
Mrs. Robin LaFond
Robin is a daughter of God, wife, mother of six here on earth and three little ones in Heaven, and "Nonna" to four grandchildren. Their family began their homeschooling journey 15 years ago. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics with minors in Secondary Education and Business Management from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA, where she also continued to develop her gifts in piano and choral music. Over the years she has instructed various elementary school classes and subjects, as well as middle and high school Mathematics. More recently, she has taught piano lessons at VIA for 1.5 years and hopes to continue to inspire her students with the love of the truth, goodness, and beauty of the world of music.
Mrs. Julie Leighton
Julie Leighton is a mother of nine children (5 on earth and 4 in heaven) and a grandmother of four. She and her husband,John, homeschooled their five children for 18 years. Julie has a degree in Elementary Education and Studio Arts. Before homeschooling she taught at St. Vincent de Paul and St. Stephen‘s Catholic schools. Her passions include drawing, painting, teaching, and being a mother, grandmother, and wife to her adoring husband.
Mrs. Jenny Meyer
Jennifer (Jenny) Meyer is married with four children and a cat. She resides in Monticello where she's lived for the last 17 years. Her passions are prayer and the arts. She loves working with children and teaching them. Jenny has had quite a bit of dance experience in various styles throughout her life, but her all-time favorite is ballet. Jenny is currently in formation as a 1st year novice in the 3rd Order Carmelites, and likes to think she has great devotion to the glorious ever-virgin Mary, Mother of God. She also very much loves her Divine Son. Her life is very fulfilling and she feels so very blessed!
Mrs. Jenna Montedonico
Jenna grew up in a homeschooling household. She is the middle (and best) child of the Leighton family. In 2014, Jenna earned her B.A. in Theology and Catechists with a minor in Philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville. During her college years she had the opportunity to study abroad in Austria, to join a women’s faith community called Madonna of the Streets, and to serve as the president of the Students for Life club on campus. Jenna served in parish youth ministry for eight years but was promoted to "full-time mama" when her son was born. She and her husband Ben were married at the Church of Saint Anne in Hamel in July 2021. They are parents of twins, one in eternity and one on earth.
Mrs. Nichole Moudry
Nichole Moudry is a mom of 6 and Grandma to 2, who has been homeschooling for 10+ years. She graduated from Georgia Tech with an Earth and Atmospheric Science degree and worked for the U.S. Geological Survey and as a hydrologist for an engineering firm before staying home with her kids. Science is her favorite subject and she believes that the study of God's creation (and what we can and can't explain) helps us to draw closer to Him. She loves the richness of her Catholic faith, reading, hiking, and board games.
Mrs. Ana Grace Plotts
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, Ana Grace is a native Spanish speaker. She earned a Master of International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Master of Business Administration both from Arizona State University. She has traveled throughout five continents, visited 26 countries, and enjoys learning about other cultures. She is the mother of six children (one in heaven) and has been homeschooling for 16 years. She has been teaching Spanish in homeschool co-ops since 2017.
Mrs. Tina Scherer
Tina Scherer and her husband of 14 years have been blessed with three children. The family lives on a working farm with all its adventures and blessings. Along with homeschooling her children, she coaches HS volleyball, and 4H archery. She enjoys making beautiful and useful things from all God provides through gardening, sewing, knitting and crochet, tatting, and spinning fibers. She has been an avid knitter and crocheter for 15 years and enjoys teaching all about fiber arts.
Ms. Mary Schultz
Mary Schultz graduated with a BA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and was enrolled in a program for Music Performance with a vocal emphasis at St. Cloud State. As a homeschooling mom for several years and then having her children attend Catholic schools through university level at Thomas Aquinas College (one who graduated and another attending), she sees the essential nature of Catholic schooling in forming the whole person. As a Suzuki-trained teacher, Dr. Suzuki's philosophy seemed to dovetail well with Catholic theology; his guiding principle was, "Character first, ability second." Mary has been a lifelong lover of beauty in the arts; she has taken many voice lessons (but many more vicariously through her children's lessons!), enjoys drawing, sewing, gardening and has renewed her interest in piano through Suzuki Method training.
She has a passion for (excellent) chocolate, coffee, good Catholic podcasts/healing ministries and spending time with her family. She has 3 children, with one married and one grandchild (soon to be two).
Mrs. Terese Weber
Mrs. Weber earned her BA in education, and is certified in all three levels of Montessori Training: Level I (ages 3-6), Level II (ages 6-9), Level III (ages 9-12), and in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: Levels I and II. She has many years of experience teaching in public Montessori grade schools and Catholic schools. She is passionate about being in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium and The Children's House.
Mrs. Shelly Westrich
Shelly Westrich earned a Bachelor’s degree in Math with a minor in Quantitative Methods and Computer Science from the University of St. Thomas. She has been homeschooling her kids for over 20 years (since her oldest began K). She has been coaching and judging FLL Challenge level robotics for 10 years and tutoring FLL Explore level robotics for 5. She enjoys helping out at VIA working on the website and doing various other behind the scenes things. She enjoys reading and food preservation. She and her husband have 8 children and 3 grandchildren. She's slowly working her way of of a job. With 3 children married and 3 in college, she and her husband only have 2 left in their homeschool.