Jennifer Stadtmiller
Flat 2
29 Badia St.
Heliopolis, Cairo
Egypt 3011341
Email: Jennifer Stadtmiller

Jennifer ended her term of service in May 2006 for personal reasons.

Appointed originally in 1996 to teach music with the Synod of the Nile, Jennifer Stadtmiller has since 1998 been the Music Supervisor at New Ramses College in Cairo, one of several schools run by the Synod of the Nile. In partnership with Egyptian staff and administration at New Ramses College, Jennifer organizes and supervises the work of the Music Department, which includes writing curricula and developing afternoon activities for students, such as musicals, piano programs, choirs, talent shows, yearly concerts, and instrument ensembles. She also works with the new professional development center for teachers at New Ramses.

In early 2005, Jennifer picked up the responsibility for NRC's English department, which means she oversees and facilitates the work of the English teachers. They work on curriculum, activities, exams, and even develop English language standards. She has direct contact with the students through spelling bees, the "Battle of the Books," and full-scale musicals.

Jennifer's first experience with mission service was on a short-term trip to Palestine in 1993. "I had just finished my first year in college," she writes, "and had never been out of the United States. Nothing prepared me for such an eye-opening experience. It was my first time to meet people from a different culture, not to mention religion! Although I had read several books about the situation before going, I still felt that all my impressions and opinions changed when I met people, worked with them, and experienced life with them.

Letters from
Jennifer Stadtmiller

• February 2004
• October 2002

"This was a turning point for me. Upon returning to the U.S., I became like a sponge—I read every book I could get my hands on about Islam, the history of the Palestinian / Israeli conflict, cross-cultural dialogue, liberation theologies, etc. I made friends from all over the world and took courses in world religions and Islam. I had lots of Muslim friends and had chances to attend mosques. Little did I know that this was all a preparation.

"I knew I wanted to go back, though! Having gotten a degree in voice and piano, I wanted to go to the "cultural center" of the Middle East, Cairo. As it so happened, a new private school within the Synod of the Nile Schools had just requested a music teacher and, well, here I am.

"The most rewarding part of my work is seeing people work together to achieve a goal. I am lucky because teachers and students are always working together to put together a performance of some kind. It fills my heart with warmth when I see teachers laughing and leading a group to success, or when students are able to make life-long friendships because of an activity we started, or when kids with problems can accomplish that feeling of satisfaction that comes with working in a team that succeeds, or when a student develops enough skills to attain a scholarship to study in a program for gifted students.

"Maybe what has amazed me the most is how much I have learned from my own students and colleagues. They have taught me to look at life in a different way. They have helped me laugh even in the face of adversity. They have made me a part of their lives and they will always be part of mine."

Jennifer holds a bachelor of arts degree in music (voice and piano) from Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee. She's a member of Crescent Springs Presbyterian Church in Crescent Springs, Kentucky, where she is ordained to the office of elder. Besides serving on session, she has been a Sunday school teacher, a liturgist, organist, pianist, children's choir director, and a member of the Christian education committee. In Cairo she attends St. Andrews United Church, where she is frequently choir director and pianist.

Birthday: February 16