Jed Snyder (General Director)

Jed Snyder was born in upstate Pennsylvania but grew up in Bolivia, South America where his family lived as missionaries. He received his bachelors degree from Philadelphia Biblical University and his masters in education from Temple University. He has pursued numerous educational opportunities and is currently a candidate for a doctoral degree with Trinity Seminary.

Jed and his wife, Betty, have three children (two sons and a daughter) and four granddaughters who bring a great deal of enjoyment into their lives. In addition to his work as General Director of the Agape English Language Institute in Columbia, SC, Jed enjoys speaking and teaching. His hobbies include gardening, refinishing furniture, playing golf, and listening to inspirational and classical music.

After serving many years as a church leader, Jed is now using his administrative abilities both for Agape and for the Columbia International Festival. He brings a vast wealth of experience to the work and encourages students, faculty and staff to strive to achieve all that their skills and hard work will produce.

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John Lawrence (Greenville Director)

(Follow John on Twitter) Beginning in high school I discovered that I love learning other languages. I started with Spanish. My friends spoke Spanish. I read books in Spanish. I listened to the radio in Spanish. And I attended a Spanish-speaking church. During high school I traveled to the Dominican Republic and Mexico. I also studied German and French in high school and university. In university I also studied two ancient languages – Greek and Hebrew. In 2005, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities.

I began teaching at Agape, along with my wife (then fiancée) in 2006. After we got married, we moved to Prague, Czech Republic in 2007 to get our TEFL certification and to teach English. Our son Jonas was also born there.

While in Prague I taught English courses at numerous businesses, including the Czechoslovakian Commercial Bank (ČSOB), eBanka, Citibank, The State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, Telefónica O2, and Vodafone.

When my wife and I returned to the U.S. in 2008, I resumed my work at Agape, this time as the director of the school in Greenville. In addition to teaching classes like Reading and Pronunciation, my goal is to ensure that our students and teachers have the best experience possible. My primary desire for our students at Agape is that they learn – as much and as quickly as possible! I also work with marketing and admissions.

My hobbies and interests include aviation (I earned my private pilot license in 2005), reading (classic literature and books about theology and social justice), soccer, running, and web design.

I have also been to France, Germany, Chad, and Cameroon. One day I would like to go to South America and Asia. My life goal is to humbly and courageously pursue justice, happiness, and peace for all peoples through practical community ministries that meet the needs of the whole person.

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Rebeca Hornor (Administrative Assistant)

I began teaching at Agape in the fall of 2008. I work as a teacher and recruiter of international students. I was born in Barcelona, Spain and moved to the U.S. to enroll in university. I completed my B.A. in 2006 and M.A. in 2008. I started tutoring students in ESL when I was in Spain. While earning my M.A., I taught at the university for two years, when I realized how much I enjoy teaching. Being from another country and having experienced what it is like to learn a new language really helps me understand what students go through when they come here.

My husband, Paul, and I have been married since 2008. My interests are traveling, visiting new places, and learning about other countries.

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Dick Norwood

Dick Norwood began teaching at Agape in the Fall of 2002. He received his Masters Degree in Linguistics from the University of South Carolina (USC) in 1996. During his studies, he taught English 101 and 102 (Composition & Rhetoric and Composition & Literature) both for native and non-native speakers of English. Upon receipt of his degree, he began to teach full time for the English Programs for Internationals (EPI), an English language institute affiliated with USC. He has had experience teaching every level of English (from real beginners to graduate students already enrolled in the university) and in all of the skills. He has also helped coordinate special programs, such as the Japanese government's Mombukagaku-sho English training program for middle and high school teachers of English and a conversation partner program. In addition to these activities, Dick has conducted special tutorials for businessmen and women from various countries, such as Germany and Brazil, as well as TOEFL and GMAT preparation classes and private tutorials.

Within the academic community, Dick has enjoyed tutoring students in the Athletics Department at the University of South Carolina (international and American) in various subjects, including English. Dick's family (wife, Cindy, and fifteen-year-old twins, Emily and Jonathan) has had international students living in their home since 1996; students from Korea, Japan, Peru, and Brazil. This experience has been a rich and rewarding one for the entire family.

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Veronica Palmer

Veronica Palmer is right at home in Columbia, SC. She grew up here and attended Dutch Fork High School. After graduation, she attended college at Charleston Southern University and received a Bachelor's degree. Her studies included Spanish and Religion with a minor in Business Administration. She kept busy by participating in intramural sports, Spanish club, and Psi Delta Phi sorority.

In 2006, Veronica had the opportunity to spend four months in Cartagena, Colombia. Not knowing what she would be doing when she was there, she took a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) class beforehand. This turned out to be a very wise decision. While in Cartagena, she taught English to students from ages 6 to 18 and fell in love with it. Upon returning to Columbia, South Carolina, she continued her studies in TEFL and received a Graduate Certificate from Columbia International University. She enjoys seeing students grow in their knowledge of the English language and overcome the obstacles that a new language can pose.

She currently lives in West Columbia with three roommates. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. When she’s not in the classroom you can find her on the frisbee field. She plays ultimate frisbee with several groups in the Columbia area. She also likes to travel. She has visited the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, and Colombia, as well as various states in the U.S. She also enjoys running, knitting, cooking, traveling, and swing dancing.

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Brett Varner

In 2001, some of my friends talked me into going to Haiti with them for a week to help open a medical clinic. It was a wonderful adventure, and since then I have been traveling. I've been to several countries in Europe and South America. I decided to teach myself Spanish several years ago. It was then that I realized that I had a knack for understanding languages and teaching them. I began to teach ESL and basic Spanish as a volunteer while living in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 2007 I moved to Guadalajara for year where I received a certificate at International Teacher Training Organization to teach English as a second language. I taught in Mexico for a year. I then discovered Agape in Columbia, and decided to move here to be closer to family. Teaching at Agape has been a great experience. There is such a positive attitude among teachers and students which makes a Agape a pleasant place to teach and learn.

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