Faculty & Staff
Kathryn Bowser, Social Studies Teacher
Miss Bowser is from Buies Creek, NC, and was blessed to grow up in a Christian home with faithful parents. By God’s grace, she came to faith at a young age and cannot remember a day when she did not know herself to be a sinner and Christ to be her Savior. She was homeschooled K-12 before attending Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA, where she graduated with a B.A. in English. Desiring to be better equipped for service both inside and outside the church, Miss Bowser pursued a M.Div. at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC, where she later served on staff at her local church as their Director of Women’s Ministries. As she regularly taught women’s Bible studies, youth Sunday school, catechism classes, and discipled middle school and high school girls, the Lord made clear both a desire and an ability for teaching and discipleship. She then began pursuit of a Th.M. in Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, and is still in the process of completing that degree, now from NC.
Miss Bowser is excited about the opportunity to work at Academy31 and pour into the lives of young women, exploring with them the world that God has made through history and culture, and also encouraging them in their love for Christ, the Word, and the church. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching too much Duke Basketball, and hanging out with her lazy, generic brown dog named Watson.
Autumn Nootbaar, Science Teacher
Miss Nootbaar was raised in a Christian family in a small town in Northern California. She heard the gospel from a young age and came to know the Lord personally when she was eleven years old. Since then, the Lord has grown her in many ways and provided abundantly throughout her life. She was homeschooled up until high school and then attended a small private Christian school. There, she discovered a love for studying God’s design in creation through the field of science.
Miss Nootbaar has a B.S. in Biological Science with an emphasis in Life Science Education and is currently working towards an M.A. in Biblical Counseling, both from The Master’s University. Prior to joining the faculty of Academy31 for our school's launch in 2023, she spent the previous five years gaining experience as a tutor, Teaching Assistant, and homeschool Co-Op Teacher, while also competing as a college athlete and serving in student leadership as a Resident Assistant. She has a heart for mentoring young women because of the many older women who have mentored her throughout her walk with Christ. Miss Nootbaar enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, running, baking sweet treats, and playing board games.
April Rice, English/Language Arts Teacher
Miss Rice hails from Los Angeles, California, where she grew up in a Christian home. Homeschooled through 12th grade with the incredible experience of a classical high school education, she has always had a love of learning and literature. Miss Rice came to know Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior at the age of 17 and has been walking by grace, through faith, ever since!
Prior to joining Academy31's faculty for our launch in 2023, Miss Rice worked in education in a variety of capacities for eight years, most recently at a Christian school in Special Education. She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from California State University Channel Islands and is a Professionally Certified Educational Therapist. She has served in various capacities in both youth and college ministry through her local church and enjoys eating ice cream, visiting historic sites, and crocheting.
Melissa Wiedemann, Math Teacher
Ms. Wiedemann is a Tennessee native who was reconciled to her merciful Creator as an adult and was given a spiritual hunger and thirst for God’s Word and His will. She left the corporate world to grow in the knowledge and love of her Lord and Savior and has since been blessed to serve in international missions for over 20 years. By God’s grace, she has gained a wealth of experience working with students from a wide range of cultures, having served in various teaching and administrative capacities in China, Tibet, West Africa (Ghana and Liberia), and East Africa (Tanzania and Kenya). She also spent several years serving in Christian Education in North Carolina and is looking forward to returning to the area to teach at Academy31.
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Ms. Wiedemann holds a B.A. in Computer Science with a minor in Math from the University of Tennessee, an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida, and an M.A. in Theological Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in Oviedo, Florida. Ms. Wiedemann is passionate about Christian Education because it focuses on training the entire person for eternity. She especially enjoys mentoring young ladies and helping them to cherish the reality of the beauty of being an image bearer of God. Ms. Wiedemann enjoys being in God’s beautiful creation, worshiping with the family of God, and watching different sports.
Jana Wildy, Administrative Coordinator
Miss Wildy is grateful to have been raised by Christian parents and was homeschooled through a Christian curriculum for several years. She responded to the effectual call of the Lord and professed faith in Him at around eight years of age after understanding her fallen nature, her need for a Savior, and the gospel of Christ. Miss Wildy experienced the most spiritual growth and maturity in college, as the Lord led her to a faithful ministry, worked within her, and increased her knowledge and desire for Him. She seeks to love, serve, and glorify the Lord in all things and cannot imagine life without walking with Him.
Miss Wildy graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.A. in Communication. She has always desired to work with the next generation of youth and is especially excited to work at a school with women who have a passion for discipling young women in their walks with the Lord. She enjoys attending her local church and is eager to serve the Lord and the body of Christ in the Hospitality and Children's ministries. In her free time, she loves baking, cooking, photography, playing guitar, spending time with friends, being outside in nature, and reading various genres of literature.
Bernice Wilson, Operations Coordinator
Mrs. Wilson enjoyed growing up the youngest of five children on a dairy farm in rural North Carolina. Though she regularly attended church with her family and joined as a member at age 12, the Lord gave her His gift of saving faith and repentance unto salvation years later as an adult when a testimony of a changed life and the simple truth of John 3:16 shared at a women’s luncheon brought conviction to her heart. By God’s grace, He began cultivating within her a love for His holy character as revealed in the Bible, a hatred for her own personal sin, and a desire to live for His glory!
Mrs. Wilson is blessed to have been happily married to her husband, Duane, for 44 years. After receiving a B.S. in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Mrs. Wilson worked as a Registered Nurse before being a full-time mom to her two children, Jerry and Kimberly, and later serving alongside her husband and son as a licensed Real Estate Broker/Realtor in their family business. Having volunteered for many years in children’s, youth, and women’s ministries in her local church, Mrs. Wilson was excited to begin serving alongside her daughter in a similar capacity at Academy31 when our school launched in 2023. She loves growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through Bible studies, prayer, worship, and participating in discipleship and biblical counseling opportunities and continual training. Some of her favorite pastimes are being with family, reading, playing board games, and visiting the beach and mountains.
Kimberly Wilson, Founder/Head of School & Bible Teacher
Ms. Wilson is a North Carolina native who came to know and love Christ as a young teenager and has come to know and love Him more through many trials and transitions of life. Her journey has included 20 years of experience in formal ministry roles in the areas of teaching, counseling, missions, mentoring, administration, and curriculum development, both in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC, and elsewhere in places such as New Orleans, Haiti, and Southern California. She has had the great joy and privilege of ministering to children, teenagers, and women of a wide range of ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds and is particularly passionate about making disciples of young women.
Ms. Wilson holds a B.A. in Exercise & Sport Science from UNC Chapel Hill, an M.A. in Counseling, and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from The Master’s University, in addition to being a Certified Teacher with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and a Member of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Aside from her labor of love in launching Academy31, Ms. Wilson enjoys deepening her relationships with family and friends, growing in Christ and serving alongside fellow believers in her local church, following her favorite sports teams, being outside at sunset, playing mini golf, eating ice cream, and celebrating the present and eternal realities of God reigning on His throne!