Doing Big Things: alumna Chrissy Schneider's path after college

Chrissy Schneider (GOV-IPP, ‘09) left her dream job three years ago to move closer to her parents in Alabama. Her mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and she wanted the chance to make memories while she was still active. 

“There’s no clear progression to Parkinson’s, so we could be status quo for the next 10 years, or a year from now she could be wheelchair bound,” Chrissy said. Parkinson’s affects movement and Chrissy’s mom has good days and bad days. Sometimes she feels sore and stiff, but for the most part, she enjoys a mobile life. They often work out as a family, and Chrissy leads yoga. 

Chrissy wants to foster her relationship with her parents by making fun memories while she can. So far, they revived their family tradition of gathering on Sunday nights to cook dinner and watch a movie or play games. They’ve also started doing a Quarterly Breakfast. “Every quarter, we pick out a new restaurant, try their brunch, and rate it.” Chrissy started this tradition with her parents and grandfather after her grandmother passed away two years ago, and now their extended family looks forward to joining when they visit. “It’s very simple but a very fun memory.”   

Before her mom's diagnosis, Chrissy worked at HSLDA, then moved to teach in Uganda. She prayed about staying in Uganda but felt the Lord leading her to move back to the U.S. in 2014. That’s when she found her dream job: Camp Highroad, a residential Christian summer camp where she eventually became Assistant Director. “Being outside, working with kids, working with people—a lot of different factors combined to make it a really good experience,” she said. Her mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s shortly after she started that job. “Let’s just see how things play out,” she thought. 

By January 2020, Chrissy knew she wanted to move closer to her parents. “It was bittersweet because I had known for 18 months that I was moving, but I didn’t tell people until December/January 2021.” Camp Highroad was just starting to get back to normal after COVID-19, but it was also good timing for a break. Coworkers threw her a farewell party with her favorite foods. People Zoomed in from all over the world. Her boss gave a little speech. “It was just a sweet reminder to me—the Lord really used that to show me what unconditional love looks like.” 

PHC prepared her for life in many ways. The extensive core stretched her to take classes she enjoyed but would not necessarily have picked. She learned how to think and ask questions. “The professors would help us to wrestle through the bigger thoughts about life,” she said.  

She also appreciated the habit of reorienting to Scripture through chapel, which students attend corporately three times a week and in small groups twice a week. “Being forced to reorient my heart away from the immediate and toward the eternal—that practice laid a really solid foundation so that when I was out living in the real world, that foundation has allowed me to continue pausing during the week.”

Chrissy grew socially and emotionally through PHC's community, and she left PHC with solid lifelong friendships. “The lessons that I learned personally and interpersonally are lessons that have stuck with me and given me a lot of confidence to know—this is how a real friend acts.” 

Growing up, Chrissy had no idea what she wanted to do after college. She thought about becoming a writer, a movie director, or even an astronaut. “I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I wanted to do big things.” After serving in non-profits after college and joining her parents in Alabama, she took corporate positions, first for Ingenium Business & Consulting Services, and now for a commercial real estate company. These aren’t the big jobs she dreamed of, but she can’t complain.  “Where I am today is so good, and the Lord’s plans are better than our plans.” 

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