SOUTHWOODS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
On Staff since 2012
Phone: (630) 752-5124
Email: karen.rice@honeyrockcamp.org
Education
- B.A. in Elementary Education, Wheaton College, 2012
About Karen
I born and raised in beautiful San José, Costa Rica to wonderful missionary parents. The first time I moved was to Wheaton, Illinois at the age of 18 to attend Wheaton College and experience new and crazy things: four seasons, snow, and US culture. There, I studied Elementary Education and discovered that, while I will always be an educator, the traditional classroom may not be for me.
I obviously grew up in a Christian home and in the church, knowing the gospel from a young age. In early middle school, I knew that what my family believed did not match up with the behaviours and beliefs of many of my peers at school. After much thought, I came to the undeniable conclusion that God existed and had created me purposefully, knew me in my sinfulness and how underserving of His love I was yet loved me perfectly, gave His life for me so I can have life and adopts me as His child. These convictions led me to live a very different lifestyle than most of my classmates throughout high school and then leading me to Wheaton College and HoneyRock. It is an ever-exciting journey to see the Lord’s faithfulness in pursuing me and leading each step of the way so that He may use my life to glorify Himself.
I grew up outdoors (it was always warm out, which made it the place to be) and to some extent have camp in my blood considering that my dad worked with CCI Latin America for a time and I grew up going to camp regularly. During my sophomore year at Wheaton, I strongly sensed the Lord leading me to do the SLS program at HoneyRock to which I reluctantly agreed. That summer completely changed my life in how I viewed community, gospel, the ministry and myself. It fundamentally changed the trajectory of my life. Since then, the Lord has kept on bringing me back to HoneyRock during the summer-and now as a permanent employee in the office -in addition to growing my passion for experiential, outdoor education. Working in the Southwoods (Wheaton College campus), I get the joy of constantly interacting with college students during formative years of their lives, encouraging students to be in creation, enjoying their Creator and being involved in ministry, while every once in a while (and during summers) getting to enjoy the greatness of the Northwoods!