Evelyn Kennedy, our Victory Academy Director, was born and raised in Philipsburg Pennsylvania. She is the oldest of six children. She states, “When I was 15 years old; my parents became members of Riddlesburg Independent Bible Church in Riddlesburg, Pennsylvania. Although my mother’s faith in God was always strong, it was not until I was 16 years old that I truly came to know my God.

“Some friends of my family took me to a revival several miles from my home, where a missionary who recently came back from Taiwan was speaking about his mission there. It was there that the Lord spoke to my heart. I became saved that night.

“Through the years that followed, I went through many obstacles and peer pressures, as many teens and young adults normally do. My faith and trust in God kept me from falling into some of the traps that my friends and some close family members fell into.”

Before she graduated from High school, Evelyn had plans to study journalism at Shippensburg State University (Pennsylvania). However, her family had to relocate, so she lost her funding and was unable to attend. A year later she met and married her husband Sean and moved to Southwest Florida. The Lord blessed her with three great children.

Evelyn worked at Fort Myers Junior Academy; a private Christian school as a preschool teacher from 1993-1994, until she was in an automobile accident. She missed working with children, so after a couple of months recuperating, she decided to start a home daycare. She operated out of her home for the next 9 years, until her children were older. In 2003, Evelyn went to work for a small preschool in North Fort Myers as a prekindergarten teacher and assistant director. She worked there for two years until her mother became terminally ill. Evelyn took several months off to be with her. After she passed away, Evelyn went back to school and received a CDA in early childhood development from Edison College and took a job as a VPK teacher at another center in 2005. 

She was promoted a year and a half later as the assistant administrator. In July of 2007, she went back to school and will receive her Bachelors Degree in Social Science and Education, graduating from Ashford University Magnum Cum laude April 30, 2011. Because she will be unable to attend the ceremony, the church celebrated her graduation on Sunday, April 3, 2011 <See video below>.  She received my Director’s credentials from Tallahassee Community College in September of 2008.

Evelyn  was searching for a church home and a job as teacher at a Christian School so that she could fully serve God. When she came to Victory Christian Center and the Academy, she says, “It was as if I had finally come home. My church family at Victory as well as my God has truly been an inspiration to my family and me.”