Andrea Kreps

My educational background includes a BS degree in Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication (’ ‘03) and an MSEd in Curriculum and Instruction (’04), both from Purdue University. Initially, I wanted to join Purdue Extension as a 4-H Educator; however, when I graduated, no nearby positions were available where my husband and I lived. So, I worked as an instructional designer for several years at the Tippecanoe Eli Lilly Laboratory. When the lab was sold to Evonic, I found a new position at the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research as the senior research administrator. In this role, I am in many professional and voluntary capacities.

In 2011, my life changed forever when I became a mother. My husband, Gunther, and I decided it would be best for our family if I stayed home with our daughter, Annabel. We left West Lafayette and moved to Colorado for his job with Loveland Products, an agricultural fertilizer company. Two years later, we moved to Galesburg, Illinois, for another of Gunther’s “promotions.” The plan was to stay in Galesburg for no more than two years- but two years turned into seven. Enter my favorite scripture verse, Prov 19:21- “Many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it is the will of God that prevails.”
During my years as a stay-at-home Mom and substitute teacher in Galesburg, Illinois, I helped our home parish (Immaculate Heart of Mary) with its annual fund campaign by writing appeal letters and delivering the appeal address to the parish. I also helped collect and keep records of donations and pledges. While in Galesburg, our daughter attended Costa Catholic Academy, and I was on the committee that planned and executed the school’s annual auction and chicken dinner fundraisers.
Gunther’s career path changed again, and we moved to Rossville in 2019. Soon afterward, I was asked to join the board of the Learning Network of Clinton County. I have used my grant writing experience to help our team secure funding for the Summer Kids Workshop program, which offers experiential learning opportunities to students in Clinton County during summer break. We were recently awarded a $136,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment called “Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana,” which will allow the Learning Network to expand and improve its services.

I have been a member of St. Tom’s since I started at Purdue in 1999 (with a nine-year hiatus as we relocated multiple times for my husband’s career). My husband was raised as a “church-hopping Christian” and was always willing to attend Mass with me. We got married in 2003, and after our daughter was born in 2010, he reached out to Eileen Strater to help him convert to Catholicism and complete RCIA remotely. Gunther and Annabel officially became members of the Church at St. Tom’s on Easter 2011.
Through the years at St. Tom’s, I have fulfilled many roles: catechist, eucharistic minister, lector, parish council president, ESTEEM mentor, Day of Discovery marriage program coordinator,  Jubilee Christmas volunteer, and parish picnic coordinator. I have always been struck by the optimism emanating from St. Tom’s- leaving Mass. I feel confident that even in this post-Christian world, there are still people who want to know, love, and serve God in this life and be happy forever with him in the next.
Fr. Tom approached me this summer to ask if I was interested in the Development Director position. I was not- I had plenty on my plate with numerous voluntary commitments (4-H Council, Learning Network of Clinton County Board, Summer Kids Workshops) and Mom-Uber driver to my daughter and her friends. I had a flexible schedule as a substitute teacher lined up for the following year and was comfortable. Again, Prov 19:21.
Since then, God has sent me “nods.” He sent a former colleague, Tim Bobillo, to put a bug in my ear about the position. He sent the Gospel about the servants and the talents that made me consider the ongoing reporting and grant-writing efforts that sustained the institute’s funding. Little did I know how I would continue using my writing skills, “Have I been burying the talents God has given me? Or have I been using them for His glory?” God helped change the position from full-time to part-time. Prov 19:21.

I hope that God can use me as the director of development to be a matchmaker — one who brings together good works and good people to maximize God-given gifts of time, talent, and treasure for the glory of God.