Kristi Veit “Thrilled” to Step Into Her New Role as Director of Development for Worthington Christian
When she attended Lakeview High School in Cortland, Ohio, Kristi Veit believed she was called to be a nurse.
However, she ran into two problems with her plan: she got queasy when patients talked about their ailments, and she fainted at the sight of blood.
“In the latter years of high school, I knew I wanted to be in a profession where I cared for people,” Veit said. “I discovered I’d get grossed out when people would go into detail about their injuries. I remember a doctor told me I was starting to have arthritis in my knee (from a skiing accident), and I felt I was going to pass out.
“I had a piece of myself that maybe couldn’t handle that part of the nursing profession, but I still wanted to be in a profession that cared for people.”
Veit found her calling at Worthington Christian. After serving two years as Administrative Assistant to the Head of School, she began this school year in the newly created position of Director of Development.
Veit will be responsible for cultivating major gifts and developing and deepening long-term relationships with people and families who want to partner with the school to help sustain it and promote strategic growth.
“Since joining our staff a little over two years ago, Kristi has helped lead several development initiatives,” Head of School, Dr. Mike Hayes said. “Her experience in wealth management, her performance on development-related opportunities here, her approach to relationship building, and recommendations from a development consulting firm with whom we’ve worked for nearly two years all influenced our decision to promote her to this role.”
Veit sees her task as “critical for the present and future of Worthington Christian.”
“I’m thrilled to step into this role,” said Veit, who previously served in various volunteer positions in her home school district and as Director of Client Services at a wealth management firm. “I will be out meeting with parents and donors, getting to know them better, and seeing where their passions and desires match up with our mission.”
Unlike nursing, Veit’s strengths are perfectly suited for this responsibility. In her previous role as Director of Client Services, she focused on building strong client relationships. Hayes often jokes that Veit could “make friends with a table.”
“People and relationships are everything to me,” said Veit, who lives in Sunbury with her husband Matt, a helicopter pilot for the Army National Guard, and their daughter Madeline, a seventh grader at the Upper School. “I enjoy getting to know people’s stories, where they’re coming from, and what they’re passionate about. What I’m most excited about is just to get to know folks on a deeper level.”
“Kristi is the kind of person who effortlessly engages with people and helps them feel like they matter,” Hayes added. “Her emotional intelligence and her quest for excellence couple together in a way that will animate this new role.”
Veit has always been an extrovert. Growing up as an only child, she was always close with her parents, extended family, and friends. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the Ohio State University and holds a Master of Business Administration, which has opened many doors in the business world.
Veit appreciated the breadth of functionality in her field of study.
“I quickly shifted to something a little broader that could parlay into different career paths, and that served me well,” she said. “I liked the fact that it wasn’t specific to any field. It was broad enough that I could use those skills for any position I held.”
When she talks to parents and donors about Worthington Christian, Veit speaks with the voice of experience. After they were married, she and Matt discussed where they ought to enroll their children one day. Worthington Christian was always part of the conversation, but they initially enrolled Madeline in public schools.
However, as Madeline grew, the two longed for her to have the same sort of life lessons they had growing up. Veit, who attended Warren Christian School from kindergarten through eighth grade, and her husband, Matt, attended parochial schools. They both knew they valued a faith-based education and wanted that for Madeline.
“We had a great experience in public schools, but as Madeline got older, we realized the value of a Christian school,” she said. “Just to have that Christian base to draw from as life gets difficult is everything.
“We had a lot of friends who attended WC and spoke very highly of it. Being part of this close-knit community has been a godsend. To have your child be known and seen not only by their friend groups but also by their teachers and staff … you just can’t beat that.
“When I talk about Worthington Christian to other people, I talk about the amazing community here. I also talk about the school’s desire for students to know Jesus, first and foremost. When they graduate, they’ll have that foundation that has been critical to my husband and me.”
One of those fundamental truths is that God’s plan is quite different from what people expect. Sometimes, He guides a person away from the medical field into another area they may never have considered.
“I think (when nursing didn’t work out), I may have been a little disappointed,” Veit said. “You know hindsight is always 20/20, but when I look back now, I see how God’s finger was on my life, guiding me.
“It might have taken me a while to figure this out, but I learned I should trust the process and trust His plan. I don’t think roadblocks are failures. I think it’s just His way of guiding you to where He wants you to be.”