Michael Mangialardi - FCS Stories

I'm a 31-year-old husband and father of two boys (ages 3.5 and 2), transitioning from nearly a decade in software engineering and software engineering management to educational leadership and teaching. I'm currently pursuing my Master of Studies in Classical Protestantism at Davenant Hall, focusing my research on reintegrating medieval Christian philosophy into modern thought and challenges. I have a deep passion for philosophy, theology, and ethics, leveraging my cross-domain experience.

My wife and I live in Radford with our two energetic toddlers, chickens, and dwarf goats. Outside of family and work, I work in the garden year-round, train in powerlifting, and watch college football. I'm drawn to the integration of faith, character formation, and wonder that classical Christian education offers, and I'm excited to contribute to that mission at Faith Christian School.

What post-secondary schools did you attend? Degrees held?

Davenant Hall - Master of Studies in Classical Protestantism
Anticipated Spring 2026
Includes Latin coursework through The Ancient Language Institute

Blue Ridge Institute for Theological Education (BRITE) - Systematic Theology and Church History
Transferred to Davenant Hall Program

Have you taught or been involved in schools somewhere else prior to FCS? If so, where, and how long?

No, this is my first year in formal education, but I have extensive teaching and communication experience in other domains:

Adult and children's Sunday School courses at my church
Tech talks and presentations at conferences
Self-published software development educational materials
Team instruction and mentoring as a software engineering lead and manager
Raising two toddlers (3.5 and 2)

What are your hobbies or things you enjoy outside of the school?

Organic gardening, agriculture, and philosophy sum me up well. I also train routinely as a powerlifter, competing occasionally, and I also aim to do 1-2 Spartan Races per year. I have done Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the past, and I hope to practice martial arts in the future. I enjoy visiting historical sites and gardens with my family.

What or who inspired you to work in education?

From my earliest days, I've possessed an inquisitive spirit, always seeking to understand the "why." Growing up under an educator—my mother—I witnessed firsthand the joy of acquiring knowledge and sharing it with others.

At the nexus of being a software developer, part-time seminary student, and new father, I found myself wanting to understand our world more deeply — discovering, reverse-engineering, and delighting in the classical tradition. All of these influences converged to inspire my transition from tech leadership to educational leadership and teaching.

What's a favorite book you've read?

Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle

How many books do you have stacked on your bedside table or in your "To Read" pile?

A donated bookshelf is welcome.

What do you find most compelling or distinct about Christian classical education?

I believe the classical world carried an impulse that there were good and true things in reality to be gripped and moved by–virtue, beauty, faith; our modern world emphasizes casting your line where you will and being hooked and moved where it lands. Training our minds in the classical way is a rich and rewarding way to be salt and light in an increasingly complex world. There is a Logos ordering in the world, and that Logos is Christ, and I want students to experience this in all their life and learning.

If you have a "life verse" or a verse that is ministering to you right now, what might it be?

"Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding."—Proverbs 3:13

“There is a Logos ordering in the world, and that Logos is Christ—I want students to experience this in all their life and learning.”

- Michael Mangialardi, Dean of Students