Mr. Michael Delp

I was born in Tennessee and raised in Asheville, NC. I attended a small Christian school, Asheville Christian Academy, where my teachers had a big impact on my life and my faith in Christ. I received a bachelor's degree in biomedical chemistry from Oral Roberts University, and I attended graduate school at the University of Georgia with degrees in cardiovascular and exercise physiology. I subsequently serve on the faculty of Texas A&M University (1995-2007), West Virginia University School of Medicine (2005-2007), the University of Florida (2007-2014), and Florida State University (2014-2025), where I taught undergraduate and graduate students, conducted research, and served as an administrator.

I am blessed to have three wonderful children, all of whom attended Christian schools in Texas, West Virginia, and Florida. My oldest daughter, Lauren, graduated from Samford University and Notre Dame, and now works as an architect in Birmingham, AL. My son, Grant, is attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL, and will be commissioned as an officer in the US Air Force in December 2025. And my youngest daughter, Hannah, is in her final year at Point University, a small Christian college in Georgia, studying accounting. The Bible say that children are a gift and blessing, as well as a strength and support from the Lord) Psalms 127:3-5). In my life, the greatest joy I have experienced is seeing my children walk in the way and the truth of Christ (3 John 1:4).

My journey to the Mission Valley began in 2016, while driving back to Florida from conducting a research study in California. My GPS detoured me off I-40 in northern Arizona onto the Navajo Reservation, where I felt compelled to stop and pray at a one-room Christian school on the reservation. That led to a period of prayer and self-reflection about my calling and future. I traveled to Polson multiple times in 2018 and 2019, bought a house in 2020, had the honor of serving as an MVCA substitute teacher in 2023, and moved here full time in May 2025. And now, as Principal of the middle and high school, I have the privilege of sowing into the lives of MVCA students. I cannot wait to see God's work in each of them!