Colton Stoody
Fall 2024 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Ramona, CA
College: Biola University
Degree: B.S. in Business Administration; Torrey Honors College
Colton Stoody hails from a small town near San Diego, California, where he would often adventure the surrounding mountains with his friends and seven siblings. He graduated from Biola University and its Torrey Honors College, where he studied marketing research and the great books. After graduating, he taught fourth grade at Great Hearts Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. A year and a half later, Colton paused his teaching pursuits to walk across the United States.
While at Biola, Colton was heavily involved in its Student Missionary Union. During his senior year, he served as the Director of Global Mission for the organization. He helped design and implement a sustainability plan that made the university’s mission trips in closer partnership with domestic and international mission organizations.
As a fourth grade teacher at Great Hearts, Colton taught all the major primary subjects. The effect he had on his students is best captured through the words of one of his former students on their last day of school. As the rest of the class went out for recess, this student stayed in the classroom to tell him, "Mr. Stoody! I know why I thought I couldn't write at the beginning of the year... I just needed an encourager!" After saying these words, this student beamed the brightest smile, then looked Colton firmly in the eyes and joyfully added, "Thanks for being my encourager this year."
Shortly before he moved to Phoenix, Colton experienced a difficult heartbreak. In pain, he desperately looked for ways to remedy his emotionally low state, so he began to go on long walks. While walking, he would also simultaneously read and listen to the Bible. A year into his “walking and reading” practice, he took great notice of the positive effects it was having on his mind. So, as any other very un-normal person would do, he began to wonder if he could scale the practice to a full-fledged walk across the country. After some research, he figured out a feasible way to make this happen. Following the advice of some friends who had previously walked across the country, Colton bought a jogging-stroller. He intended to use the stroller to store his things as he journeyed across the country, as his friends had suggested. But, more importantly, the stroller functioned as a base for his Kindle to be mounted upon. This allowed him to “walk and read” more sustainably and safely. Instead of having to hold a book up to eye-level with his hands, as was his typical practice, he now just needed to look forward, toward his mounted Kindle. Over the proceeding five months, he spent many weekends preparing for the journey. Then in June of 2022, beginning from the Atlantic Ocean, he stepped into his journey. A year and half later, in December of 2023, he arrived at the Pacific Ocean near his hometown.
Along his walk, he stumbled into a tight-knit, rural community in south-western Ohio. Colton experienced Jesus’s gentle and lowly heart through this community. Despite his initial skepticism of their faith expression, the way its members demonstrated Christ’s love penetrated Colton’s heart, leading him to sojourn with the community for six months. While there, he helped homeschool nine of their children. He introduced these students to fairy tales and socratic discussion. Some of the students, when he first began teaching them, were so practical that, if given the choice, they would have opted to read a hundred real life stories before a single fantasy story. This quickly changed with Colton around. Through their discussions of the Chronicles of Narnia, their souls began to taste and see the sweet goodness of the world through imaginative story. This is reflected best by the words of Jett, one of the most practical of the bunch, after their discussion of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. With Turkish delight in hand, Jett enthusiastically proclaimed, “I never realized story writers went so deep. I thought they were only trying to entertain. It’s taken a whole two hours to talk about one question — I can’t imagine how long it would take to discuss the whole book!” Jett then joyfully added, “Can we have another discussion soon?" Colton treasures the time he had with the children in this community. Although he walked on from them to complete his journey, his heart longs to be back with them and the rest of his new-found friends.
After finishing his journey this past December, Colton spent several weeks back in Ohio with his friends. He also spent several weeks in southern Illinois with the organization Gospel Encounter, where he served as house-father for its discipleship house. Until the start of the fellowship, Colton will be backpacking in the Sierras on the John Muir Trail with his mother.