Ever since sixth grade, Hannah (Larios) Potter (’24) dreamed of becoming a teacher. So, when she was offered a fourth-grade position at Asheville Christian Academy (ACA), the same school where she had completed a full year of field experience in college, it felt like an answer to prayer, even if her true goal was teaching middle and high school math.
However, just after attending her first staff meeting that summer, Potter returned home to the life-changing news that her husband, Caleb (’24), had been accepted into optometry school at Indiana University.
“That was absolutely crazy,” she recalled. “I told ACA thanks so much for the opportunity. I would have loved to work there, but I was moving.”
During an apartment hunting trip to Indiana, Potter stopped by Lighthouse Christian Academy (LCA) in Bloomington to introduce herself in regards to an open math position. Her visit turned into an hour-long conversation with the head of the school and the principal. Though the role ultimately went to a more experienced candidate, the school asked if she would consider stepping into their open kindergarten position instead.
“I almost immediately said yes, which is insane,” Hannah admitted, “but I felt so much relief and assurance from the Lord that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
After much prayer, she did accept the job, but her first semester was marked with tears and questions why God had placed her in a kindergarten classroom when her heart was set on teaching older students. By fall break, though, everything changed. The newly hired math teacher unexpectedly resigned, and the school asked Potter to step into the role she originally desired. Within a weekend, she became the head of the math department at the small, Christian school, teaching high school students and living out the calling God had been preparing her for all along.
“It’s a crazy story, but God is good,” she said. “I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to do.”
Now in her second year at LCA, Potter’s course schedule includes pre-algebra, geometry, and algebra II. While math fills most of her schedule, discipleship is at the heart of her teaching.
At LCA, she leads her homeroom class during DEN (Discipleship and Educational Needs) time, guiding students each Wednesday in intentional Bible study. Last year, she also introduced prayer partners in her math classes, helping students connect faith and learning in meaningful ways.
“On Mondays, students would find a partner and spend five minutes just talking about life, and on Fridays, they prayed together,” Potter explained. “I had many of my students come to me towards the end of the year and tell me it was really impactful and they enjoyed doing that.”
For Potter, moments like that make all the long days worth it.
“I love being at a Christian school where I can pour Jesus over these kids,” she said. “Aside from math, just having those relationships with students where they can come to me with problems going on at home, their walk with God, depression, or whatever it is, is super sweet and rewarding. I’m able to be there for them, and they can trust me with that.”
In addition to her classroom and spiritual leadership, Potter is in her second year coaching LCA’s cross country team. Drawing on lessons learned from her own running days at Montreat, she has shared her team’s verse with her athletes: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
“Coach Lewkowicz would always tell us to rock Philippians 2,” Potter said. “It always reminds me that ultimately we’re here on Earth to bring more people to Jesus and love on people.”
Looking back, Potter can easily see how God has directed each step of her journey, beginning with her decision to attend Montreat College.
Her family returned to Black Mountain, North Carolina, during her middle school years when her father, Jose, accepted the role of Director of Athletics at Montreat College, following an earlier tenure as head cross country and track and field coach for the Cavaliers. Growing up on Montreat’s campus felt like home, yet her plan was to attend Indiana Wesleyan University to pursue both academics and running. That changed when Coach Jason Lewkowicz invited the three-time state cross country qualifier from Charles D. Owen High School to take an official visit to Montreat.
“It just felt like the Lord said, ‘This is where you’re supposed to be,’” Potter remembered. “Staying ended up being the best decision. I met my husband and my best friend. I have super sweet relationships with my professors. It wouldn’t have been the same if the Lord hadn’t told me to stay.”
Potter entered Montreat as a biology major, convincing herself that becoming a pediatrician would allow her to make a better living while still working with children. After just one semester, she realized God was leading her back to teaching.
“The Lord will provide the money,” she remembered thinking. “I was being called to education, so I started taking classes, and I graduated in three years. I took many of the elementary courses and graduated with an educational studies major. I filled in all my electives with as many math courses as I could take.”
Dr. Amy Flagler, the Director of Teacher Education at Montreat College, helped Potter in pursuing her calling and helped shape a pathway uniquely suited to her journey into secondary math education.
“She was so open to letting me adapt everything to middle and high school,” Potter gratefully remarked. “She really understood what I needed to do to grow, and she helped me do that. She was such a great mentor.”
In addition to preparing Potter for the classroom, Montreat also deepened her faith. Coming to college as a standout cross-country runner, the college competition (and two hip surgeries in college) humbled her and drew her closer to God.
“I realized that I wasn’t living a life for God. I was running for my glory, and it wasn’t bringing other people to him or bringing him glory. It was all about me,” Potter admitted. “Being at Montreat and being on a team of Christians and experiencing a community at a small school where I could talk to my professors, my coach, my teammates, and my classmates about God really helped my faith grow a lot.”
While Hannah and her husband, Caleb, are now settled in Bloomington (sharing life with Luka, their Cavapoo that they’ve trained to ring a doorbell when it needs to go outside), she knows their time in Indiana will likely not be permanent. Caleb’s optometry program will eventually take them into rotations and, ultimately, wherever God leads him in his career. Although Hannah loves teaching, she’s honest that she doesn’t plan to remain in the classroom forever.
“Since I was a kid in kindergarten, I wanted to be a mom when I grew up,” she said. “My mom has been a huge role model to me. I’m the oldest of four siblings, and we have a really close family. I just want to have children and stay home with them someday.”
Until that season comes, Potter is pouring her heart into her students and trusting in the truth that both her present and her future are being carefully shaped by the hands of her heavenly Potter (Isaiah 64:8).
“No matter how crazy the task at hand is or whatever is in front of me, God has it all planned out,” Hannah reflected. “I’ve grown a lot in patience and understanding, knowing that even though so many things are out of my control, He’s always in control and always has my best interests at heart. I can really understand that now because I’ve seen it and I’ve lived it.”