July 2021
Christian Heritage Academy is pleased to introduce our new Middle and Upper School Principal, Mr. Joseph Torgerson. He joins Miss Joan Okamoto, who has recently been named the Early Education and Lower School Principal. Together they look forward to providing strategic direction for the academic, spiritual, physical, and emotional development of CHA’s students for the 2021-22 school year.
A lifelong learner and world traveler, Mr. Torgerson grew up in Hong Kong and Taiwan in a missionary family. He moved to the U.S. for college and graduated with a B.A. in history from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn., and then earned his Master’s in Education from the University of Missouri.
Mr. Torgerson spent nine years teaching high school humanities at college preparatory schools in St. Louis, Mo., and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. In Taiwan, Mr. Torgerson moved into administration, working as a professional learning coach and for three years as a K-12 principal. Most recently, Mr. Torgerson spent two years doing Ph.D. coursework and working in Student Life at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill. He currently resides and attends church in Libertyville with his wife and three children.
What fuels his passion for education, and working with teens, in particular?
“The middle and high school years are such a transitional time in life,” Mr. Torgerson said. “Students are exploring who they are, what their vocation might be, and why they exist. In an educational environment where creativity and exploration are fostered, they can better understand the world and God’s purpose for them in it.”
Having “heard that the CHA students are incredible,” Mr. Torgerson is eager to get to know them. He looks forward to joining them in service as they put what they are learning into action for the kingdom of God. With his love of the outdoors, athletics, and music, you may well spot him alongside a CHA field or court, or perhaps collaborating with students on a new worship piece in chapel.
Mr. Torgerson especially looks forward to helping the CHA community move forward together after more than a year of pandemic challenges, and begin to reintegrate some of the things that had to be paused and modified because of it.
May God bless his ministry at Christian Heritage Academy!