TELOS Staff

Mike kolesar

Mike Kolesar is the director of TELOS. He is a veteran educator who has taught professionally at all levels from Pre-Kinder through College and has extensive experience teaching adults. He has a degree in education from the University of North Texas. He has taught 3000+ students between the ages of 4 and 16. He is also a conference and seminar speaker, percussion instructor, and he teaches in his local church. His passion is making complex ideas simple, tying them to the Christian worldview, and sharing his love of learning with anyone who will listen. When he isn’t teaching, you can find him in the desert shooting or in his shed playing the drums.

Cheryl Kolesar

Cheryl is a passionate teacher and has been teaching children since she was eleven. She has extensive experience homeschooling with multiple methodologies and has used most of the major Christian homeschooling curricula. She is well-versed in the Classical Method and has successfully homeschooled her oldest son from K-12, preparing him to excel at Patrick Henry College, one of this country’s most prestigious Classical Christian Colleges. When Cheryl isn’t working on TELOS, you can find her exercising, making homemade cinnamon rolls, leading her prayer team, and encouraging everyone she meets.

Jared mende

Jared Mende is earning his Bachelor of Liberal Arts for a Double Major in English and American Literature and Philosophy at UTEP and is part of the Liberal Arts Honors Program. He has earned an Associate of Arts in Multidisciplinary Studies from EPCC, interned with Dr. Jules Simon (UTEP ) and Dr. Kim Diaz (UTEP), helping them with their local PBS show, Philosophic Dialogues from La Frontera, and is an officer for the Thomistic Institute UTEP Chapter, a club dedicated to exploring Christian philosophy with a focus on the works of Thomas Aquinas. Mr. Mende is working towards an MA or Ph.D. in Literature, Humanities, or Philosophy and hopes to teach at a university someday. His favorite periods of history are the early Church and Medieval periods. He has been married to his wife, Bethany, for over five years and they’ve recently purchased their first home. Bethany is a certified midwife. The two teach Sunday School at Cross of Grace and Mr. Mende has been a team leader for King’s Kids El Paso. They have two dogs, Duckie and Goose. They like to hang out with their pets, drink tea, read, write, and host dinner parties.

Robert Guzman

Robert Guzman is a veteran teacher with an extensive background in mathematics and classroom instruction. He has been an invaluable asset to TELOS and his daughter is one of the earliest members of TELOS, formerly CCLT. He will be teaching geometry and an introduction to business math that will culminate in students making a practice pitch of their business ideas, research, and business plans to potential investors.

Amy Norris

Amy Norris is from Cookeville, TN where she earned a teaching degree from TN Tech University before unlearning most of it when she discovered Classical education. Amy has been a homeschool mom for thirteen years, as well as teaching and tutoring hundreds of students around the US, Germany, and China. She enjoys reading, storytelling, and becoming genuinely awestruck by a variety of things.

With her military husband, Ward, and four children, Edward, Emily, Esther, and Emmet, she has moved ten times in twenty years.

bethany mende

Bethany Mende is an El Paso native with a heart for learning and teaching. She works as a licensed community midwife doing both home and clinic-centered births. She has been the preceptor for several midwifery students and loves guiding students in their learning process. Along with her midwifery certificate, she earned an associate’s degree of biological sciences at EPCC in 2021 and is currently finishing her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and nutrition at UTEP. In her free time, you can find Beth at home drinking tea with her husband, playing fetch with her dogs, or working on a new craft project.

Lucas Kolesar

Lucas Kolesar is a TELOS graduate. His passion is creative writing that honors God and touches the hearts and minds of readers. He has studied with Phil Lollar (co-creator of Adventures in Odyssey), Mark Hamby (founder and president of Lamplighter Ministries), and members of the Arise Collective Theatre team. He has been teaching since he was 12 years old. He has written, directed, and produced two full-length dramas, Three Tales of Temptation and The Collective, along with writing and overseeing the collaborative production of the musical, After Jericho, performed in California. He is also known for writing The Cobbler’s Cobblers which was produced by and presented at Lamplighter Ministries’ Summer Guild. When he isn’t writing, you can find Lucas swing dancing, reading, meeting with his writing group, making soap or cinnamon rolls, or doing something else creative.