Join us as we celebrate Houston Christian Varsity Football’s historic victory in the 2024 Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) football championship, where we defeated Trinity Valley 21-12 to claim our first-ever state title. The Mustangs had made it to the SPC-3A championship the previous year but lost in a heartbreaking double-overtime game to Trinity Valley. This year, we returned to face the Trojans again in the final and emerged victorious in a defensive battle.
Head coach AJ Eisenman praises his team's defense, which held Trinity Valley to just two touchdowns, and highlighted the strength of their offensive line. Despite the absence of star player Greg Guidry, who was injured before the game, several players stepped up, including Mac Barrow, Noah Chang, and quarterbacks Ron Reis and RJ Evans. The team also adjusted their offensive strategy, placing a greater emphasis on the passing game, which allowed senior receivers Bennett Mallory, Kirby Orth, and Anderson Jones to play key roles.
For our coaching staff and team, the win was a deeply meaningful achievement, as it marked not only a long-awaited redemption but also the first state title for Houston Christian since our founding in 1998. We want to emphasize the importance of the team's culture, faith, and resilience in reaching this milestone. The victory is a culmination of years of hard work and a validation of the program’s development. Congratulations, Mustangs!
On October 25th, we hosted our Distinguished Leaders Speaker Series and welcomed Jean Becker and Melinda Lamoreaux. Jean and Melinda shared behind-the-scenes stories about a couple driven by service and love. Our community discovered so much about President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, with whom both Jean and Melinda worked in tandem as Chief of Staff and Operations Manager, respectively.
Jean and Melinda shared some of the most interesting and unexpected moments of the Bush Family Legacy. Our students learned lessons of leadership from Melinda, who serves as Houston Operations Manager of The George and Barbara Bush Foundation. Jean captured our audience with stories of compassion, humor, and love. Both Jean and Melinda have strong ties to Houston Christian High School; Jean has been instrumental in the development of The George and Barbara Bush Center for Scholars and Leaders as an Advisory Council member. As our Bush Foundation Liaison, Melinda offers access and resources that are key to moving the vision of The Bush Center forward.
In honor of her service, we proudly presented Melinda Lamoreaux with the Distinguished Service Medal on Friday, October 25, 2024. What a blessing it was to have her daughter, Leslie Lamoreaux-Mann ‘13, in the audience.
The George and Barbara Bush Center for Scholars and Leaders touches every student at HC through special events, programming, and opportunities such as this. We are incredibly grateful for our partnership with Jean Becker and Melinda Lamoreaux.
Houston Christian High School is excited to announce the formation of the Future Lawyers of America club, a new offering this school year. All HC students were invited to participate in a Lunch and Learn session with Justice Harvey Brown, Adjunct Instructor, who works with our club leaders to bring in speakers and panels that further enhance real-life experiences. At the inaugural meeting, Justice Brown was joined by Jeff Voncannon, prominent Houstonian, business leader, and former HC Chairman of the Board, who discussed the symbiotic relationship between law and business. We are excited for this great new opportunity for our students!
Last week, we were delighted to welcome four Taiwanese undergraduate university students to our campus. These students aspire to become teachers and are pursuing education as their field of choice. Dr. Lee, a professor at Soochow University in Taiwan, has been organizing visits for his students to HC since 2014. Out of the four students, three are focused on English, and one is interested in pursuing a career in humanities. Dr. Lee's objective was to expose them to different teaching styles, and what better place than HC with our exceptional faculty? We see this as another way we steward our God-given gifts to invest in others. HC leading the way!
Our Distinguished Scholars Program students recently unified for a day of service to others. The Bush Center partnered with Plant it Forward, a non-profit organization that empowers refugees to develop sustainable farming practices. Scholars learned about urban agriculture and growing sustainable food and even enjoyed a lunch visit to one of Plant it Forward’s farm-to-table partners. We enjoyed growing together through outreach, service, and community!
Our Senior Distinguished Scholars delivered their research thesis presentations in the engaging and informative style of a TED-Ed Student Talks Event last night. The scholars covered a diverse range of topics, delving into areas such as AI and Nuclear Fusion, the fascinating powers of Dopamine, and the intricacies of building an ethically sustainable city. We eagerly anticipate seeing the potential opportunities that these compelling TED-Ed Talks may unlock for our Scholars as they embark on their applications to esteemed universities nationwide! It is truly a blessing to see our students explore God’s gifts through academics.
Join us as we welcome our new Director of Development, Matt Benton! Click here to read our latest community communication about our Development Team. Go Mustangs!
The Distinguished Scholars Program Classes of 2026 and 2027 have recently shared the results of their literature reviews on a wide range of topics. In their presentations, the scholars effectively demonstrated their research skills and knowledge, providing valuable insights to our staff, students, and community members.
The Bush Center at Houston Christian High School has proudly partnered with the TED Community and will feature our senior students within the Distinguished Scholars Program during our TED-Ed Student Talks Night on September 9th. We invite you to join us as we hear our senior scholars present their theses and research in a TED Talk format.
Leadership is in HC’s DNA: Last week, our group of 149 freshmen took part in our annual Passport to Lead Ceremony, where seniors encouraged them to make the most of their time at Houston Christian and take on leadership roles. The freshmen received their Passport to Lead T-shirts and were personally greeted by the seniors. We are looking forward to seeing the seniors leading the campus this year, and the freshmen participating in clubs, fine arts, athletics, and all that Houston Christian has to offer! It was a great opportunity to gather all 540 students and explore how our Mustangs can be leaders both on campus and in our wider community.
Head of School Leanne Messer and Director of The Bush Center Mindy Dickerson recently attended the First Lady’s Book Club Event featuring Jean Becker. Book Club is hosted by the Ladies for Literacy Guild of the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation. Jean discussed her newly released book “Character Matters and Other Life Lessons from George H. W. Bush” in conversation with Khambrel Marshall in the Parish Life Center of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. Jean Becker, Former Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush and New York Times bestselling author of The Man I Knew, shared touching and pivotal life lessons from a leader who left a mark on people’s hearts and souls. We are so honored to have a strong partnership with Jean Becker and the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation. Congratulations, Jean, it is an incredible read!
Today was an exciting and memorable day at Houston Christian High School as we celebrated our students’ accomplishments and their acceptance into prestigious fine arts college programs across the country. We gathered together to recognize and honor these talented individuals who have worked tirelessly to pursue their passions and excel in their respective fields of study. It was a joy to witness our Mustangs sign with top colleges and universities, knowing that they will continue to represent our school and community with excellence. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and look forward to seeing the amazing things they will accomplish in the future. Congratulations to the following:
Layla Borghese – Manhattan College – New York, NY – Musical Theatre
Nate Braquet – Norwalk Conservatory - New York, NY – Musical Theatre
Joey Delongchamps - Belmont University - Nashville, TN - Music Performance
Kyle Helberg – University of Houston – Houston, TX – BFA Graphic Art Design
Karli Kapche – Rice University – Houston, TX – Visual Art and Bioengineering
Kian Ritchie - Southern Methodist University - Fort Worth, TX – BFA Theatre
Yianni Rokas - Samford University - Homewood, AL - BA Music
Dr. Isabel Bilotta, Head of Learning and Innovation at Deutser, recently worked with our Distinguished Scholars Program in a lunchtime seminar. She shared her Ph.D. research and publications, which center on fostering belonging, enhancing performance and well-being, and developing effective leaders in organizations. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to hear a practicing researcher discuss her work, which closely aligns with the work of Brené Brown in her book Dare to Lead, our DSP common reader for this school year. Thank you to Deutser for sharing Dr. Bilotta with us!
Teacher leaders from around the United States gathered at Houston Christian High School for the Emerging Christian Leadership Conference in February 2024. Keynoted by Dr. Matt Thomas and Dr. Jay Ferguson, the Conference focused on growing leaders through panel discussions and breakout sessions. Attendees utilized embedded reflection activities to capture key phrases, book recommendations, and communication strategies. Participants created a plan focused on action steps with a timeline for the completion of activities. Houston Christian High School and The Bush Center for Scholars & Leaders loved hosting all of our future teacher leaders!
To learn more about the Emerging Christian Leadership Conference, please visit our conference webpage.
At Houston Christian High School and The Bush Center for Scholars & Leaders, we strongly believe that experiential learning from leading experts gives our students real-world connections and empowers them to shape the future. In partnership with executives, our students worked together to make a positive impact on our community through collaboration last week during the Executive Innovation Experience event.
Under the guidance of Maria Oden from Rice OEDK and Kim Krieger, COO of BPx, students from the Distinguished Scholars Program collaborated with a partner executive to identify areas for growth on campus. They then went through a design thinking process to come up with possible solutions, iterated on those possibilities, and ultimately presented their findings to the Houston Christian Leadership Team.
We truly appreciate the time and effort our experts contributed to this collaboration. The executives were glad to see future leaders grow, and our students valued the experience as they networked, challenged each other, and developed new skills.