Meet Our Staff: Mr. Derek Brover

We would love to introduce this month’s MOS (Meet Our Staff) feature, Mr. Derek Brover – a teacher passionate about seeing his students grow and succeed in all aspects of their lives.

Meet Our Staff: Mr. Derek Brover

We have been blessed with the amazing, Mr. Brover for 12 years now, and his love for teaching and his students are seen in the lasting friendships he creates with them. Before joining the Southlands family, he was diligently asking God for an opportunity to teach at a Christian high school and was soon offered a position here at Southlands as an English teacher. After a while, he made his way from the English department to teaching Bible classes. Looking back and reflecting on what makes Southlands Christian Schools unique, Mr. Brover shared that there is a major sense of camaraderie throughout the teachers and staff. Adding, that there is a universal desire to see everyone succeed while seeing their students become God-honoring, mature adults.

At Southlands, we have a three-day trip called “Spiritual Explosion” where we take our high school students on a retreat which have created lasting memories for Mr. Brover every year. He recalls laughing hysterically with both students and staff.

Thinking of a time when God moved on campus, Mr. Brover recalls the countless alumni that come back to share about the impact their teachers have had on both their spiritual and normal life. Although he didn’t always see this fruit while they were students, he realized that he was sowing seeds.

We asked Mr. Brover about what advice he would give to our students, and his answer was nothing short of pure wisdom:

“I would encourage them to humble themselves. Proverbs 1:7 says, ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ I think it’s easy for all of us to spend years spinning our wheels because we’re proud and unteachable. If we’d humble ourselves before God and others, we could grow and change. Students who humble themselves and are willing to ask questions and really learn from others are in such a great posture for learning and growing.”