An interview on faith and background with Upper School 9–12 Principal Dr. Terrez Thomas.
By: Andrew Michel ’26, Student Writer
In early April of 2025, CHCA hired new Upper School Principal Dr. Terrez Thomas, an experienced and respected educator with a strong belief in the school’s vision and a commitment to bringing excellence to CHCA. On a Friday afternoon in early October, I met with Dr. Thomas to get to know him a little bit better and to get a sense of the vision that he has for the school. I was struck immediately by both the firmness and excitement in Dr. Thomas’ tone: He carried an air of authority and purpose but wore a smile while speaking to students and walking the halls. We laughed about the long week almost behind us, and then he settled down to tell me about himself.
“This is going to be the longest response to any of your questions,” laughed Dr. Thomas.
His journey in education began when he graduated early from high school and, through the resulting job search, ended up as a teacher assistant at a public primary school. Dr. Thomas did not then have plans for a career as an educator. His eyes were set on engineering. Of this six-month job, Dr. Thomas said, “I was able to be mentored by an outstanding educator, she was a fourth grade teacher, and she kept telling me, ‘Hey, Mr. Thomas, I can really see God using you in this space of education.’”
The words were timely. It was his senior year when Dr. Thomas accepted the gospel and began following Christ. So, though initially resistant to the idea of working in education, he began spending time in prayer. And as his mentor’s words and belief worked in him, he changed his major to education and committed to learning as much as he could about the field. During his studies at Ohio University, he spent time in Chicago Public Schools as a robotics teacher, and, sensing a call to ministry, signed up for a mission opportunity in Honduras. The decision was simple, and the motivation was simpler: “I felt like God was telling me to go.” Cue Genesis 12.
On the flight there, anxieties crept in. He was signing up for something that he knew very little about. Still, he went. And during those two weeks, he served as a teacher and house parent at an orphanage. He returned on fire, passionate as an educator. Later, he received another opportunity to travel for a study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, where he spent three months student teaching. It was a unique experience, he said.
He graduated soon after, married, and then returned to Honduras for something of a more permanent position: three years as a high school math teacher. “Many stories,” Dr. Thomas told me, laughing, but turned quiet and serious. “That’s where I really saw for the first time the intersection between what I felt God was calling me to do and having a professional career.”
After having his son and coming home to the States, Dr. Thomas returned to the school where he had first been a teacher assistant. God had led him around the world, teaching and shaping him, before guiding him to that place where he had first received an unmistakable vocational pull. He began as a fourth grade teacher, moved his way up through administration, and has now been a principal for 13 years.
Outside of his role as principal, Dr. Thomas serves as a mentor principal with the Ohio Association of Administrators and as an adjunct professor at Xavier University, where he teaches graduate-level courses in educational leadership.
“Yeah, God is working in my life in so many ways. I think just being here is a full circle moment for me.” Dr. Thomas expressed his gratitude about finding a place in the CHCA community, a community that he feels God is using for so much good in his life, one that is welcoming and supporting him.
“Being here has been a breath of fresh air for me, being able to lead in a Christian space, be around other people, likeminded, and just support upcoming leaders … in making sure they’re able to live out their God-ordained vocation.” God is blessing Dr. Thomas with a school that makes space for his leadership, for the integration of his educational and spiritual gifts, and for opportunities to honor Christ through the work of guiding and mentoring. His leadership is driven by a Christian ethic that motivates him to support upcoming leaders and achieve not only scholastic but also spiritual excellence.
“What really drew me to this is that I said OK, if I’m interested in this, let me go meet with Dr. Nicholas. And I met with him, and he shared with me the mission, the vision, and just his heart for the work that we do here. And I knew after leaving that meeting that this is a place that I wanted to be connected with.”
This time last year, CHCA wasn’t on Dr. Thomas’ radar. He was comfortably settled in the public school system, confident that he was being called to be the light in a secular space. But after having heard of CHCA’s search, then meeting with Dr. Nicholas, Dr. Thomas sensed the power of CHCA to cultivate and nurture his gifts.
“The community has been so great to me … Families have been very welcoming to me, … the faculty have embraced me and helped me to learn the CHCA way, [and] students are very welcoming.”
He’s excited about the way the school year has been going so far. He reinforced what CHCA students and parents know—the uniqueness and joy of our school community. His experiences with faculty, students, and parents have only built on his growing excitement at the school, an excitement that will drive us into the future.
“My vision for the school is that we continue to have courses and programming that honor God and that are excellent … [Our] main thing is to make sure that whatever we do, we do it in excellence.”
Dr. Thomas’ background is sure and his vision solid. His confidence stems from experience, his determination from joy. As a Christian institution, we strive more for educational excellence, because we do so for the purpose of honoring God and serving others. Of faculty goals, Dr. Thomas said, “We continue to be who we are in Christ. … But then taking that a step further, is that we continue to lock arms with our students and continue to be the guides, cheerleaders, and inspiring students to take risks and pursue what God is telling them to do in their life.”
Dr. Thomas commented on the pep rally, led by Student Life Director Joe Metzger, earlier the morning of our interview, saying how he loved the energy. It’s all worth doing if we bring the energy.
“I think that statement summarizes who I am. If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it well.”
That’s the mindset Dr. Thomas brings to CHCA classrooms and extracurriculars. It’s the mindset that honors God with our talents and impacts the community for good. It is integral to the CHCA mission to equip students to learn, to lead, and to serve.
“My vision for the school is that we continue to have courses and programming that honor God and that are excellent …
[Our] main thing is to make sure that whatever
we do, we do it in excellence.”
DR. TERREZ THOMAS
Upper School 9–12 Principal
Before we concluded the interview, Dr. Thomas left me with some words of advice for my final year as a student here.
To CHCA student leaders, he encourages: Be in prayer. Ask God to show you how you can impact the community for good. Once you have that vision, find people who share it. Then go do it. Even if you’re afraid and uncomfortable and overwhelmed, God works to equip us for every obstacle. And do not forget that this work is a communal one. Lean on each other. Lean on the faculty whose mission it is to uphold and to encourage you. Lean on the God who goes before us and behind us, guiding our way.
