2025 Young Alumni of the Year: Carl Miller

Carl Miller is named the 2025 Timothy Christian Schools Young Alumni of the Year, an award recognizing the outstanding achievements and contributions of our alumni.

A 2017 graduate and class valedictorian, Carl has pursued an impressive academic and professional path, including a bachelor’s in economics from Hillsdale College, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and a prestigious position as a law clerk for a U.S. Court of Appeals judge. Carl points back to the memories made and experiences at Timothy Christian Schools that helped lay the foundation for his higher education and career.

Christ-Centered
Foundation

“Timothy helped solidify the foundations of my worldview,” Carl shares. Though he was already a believer when he entered Timothy, Carl credits Timothy with “hardening the concrete” of his faith foundation, preparing him to stand firm through the intellectual and spiritual challenges that lay ahead.

One of the most lasting influences Carl took from Timothy was the weekly chapel. “Chapel taught me the value of having a rhythm of slowing down during the day to worship and to just be still and know that He is God, as the psalmist says,” Carl reflects. That rhythm became an anchor for Carl through the busy seasons of school and his early law career.

The Timothy Community

As Carl reflects on his Timothy years, he recalls the friendships he formed, not only with classmates but with teachers who became mentors and lifelong friends.

“The biggest impact and the greatest friend I made at Timothy would be Mr. Rink,” Carl says. “I've been incredibly blessed by his friendship, and we remain great friends to this day.”

Among other favorite memories were starting a Patriots Club with Mrs. Garcia and taking AP Government and Economics classes with Mr. Roelofs. “I loved learning from his political insights, and I still always enjoy catching up with him when I visit Timothy.”

Beyond the individual relationships, Carl noticed a rare quality in the Timothy community once he left. “The teachers at Timothy are really invested in students as people,” he shares, “in their academics, in their spiritual lives, to the extent that they sacrifice their own time to a huge level. It’s something I’ve recognized after leaving Timothy, just how rare that is.”

Finding His Calling

Carl’s path toward the legal world began in his sophomore year of college when the Lord opened the door for him to work as a summer intern at Ed Tiesenga’s law firm, Tiesenga & DeBoer LLP. Tiesenga, a Timothy Christian alumnus, became a key figure in Carl discovering his calling. “Ed didn't spoon-feed me the material,” Carl shares. “He gave me a lot of responsibility, let me dive in. He understood the value of allowing me to try things and to learn.” This internship confirmed Carl’s passion for reading, writing, critical thinking, and exploring law and politics. “It was such a confirmation that the law was for me,” he says. “I would not be where I am had it not been for him.”

Giving God the Glory

One key turning point came when the Lord provided for his current clerkship and a job in a private practice after his clerkship. “God answered my prayer, and my family and friends’ prayers, in a way and at a time when it physically would not have been possible by the power of man alone,” Carl says.

“God truly did it in a way that it’s literally impossible for Him not to get the credit.”

Beyond the academics at law school, Carl found it difficult to navigate such a spiritually dark environment. “Law school had the highest achievers in the nation, but they had no real purpose in life, and it was a spiritually dark place,” Carl recalls.

But even there, Carl found a community of believers.

“Out of 600 people at the University of Chicago Law, there were maybe 25 to 30 believers, and we all found each other, and all became friends,” he says. “Many of us would gather together every Thursday evening in one of the law school classrooms to read and be in God’s word, sing, and pray together. To worship God within the very walls of that place, to redeem that space and use it for God’s purposes, to encourage one another and spur one another on to love and good deeds and to grow closer to God—that was a highlight of my time at the law school.”

Today and Beyond

Today, Carl works as a law clerk for a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. “As a law clerk, my job is to analyze the parties’ arguments, research the applicable law, and write memoranda to help my judge decide cases,” Carl explains. “My days are filled with legal research and writing on some of the most interesting, cutting-edge issues and cases in the nation.”

“Basically, I get to wake up and think, read, and write about the law every day, which is pretty awesome. It’s the privilege of a lifetime, and I’m blessed to work for an amazing boss.”

Faith at the Center

Through it all, Carl says, his faith remains the centerpiece of his work.

“My faith is at the center of everything I do,” he says. “Most importantly, it provides the framework through which I view every colleague and litigant; they are people made in the image of God and worthy of dignity because of that. And in everything I do, I strive to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”

He also sees his legal work as part of a larger purpose. “I want to serve my community and my country through my work. But even more importantly, I’m looking forward to getting married to my wonderful fiancée, Mary, on June 28 this year. I want to be a good husband and, Lord willing, a good father someday.”

Honored and Humbled

Receiving the Alumni of the Year award is especially meaningful for Carl because of the deep affection he holds for Timothy. “I am especially honored to receive this award because of how much I love Timothy,” he says. “I had so much fun there, have so many fond memories there, and Timothy played a pivotal role in maturing my faith. I truly stand on the shoulders of giants. We have alumni all over the country doing remarkable things. It’s cool to see the impact Timothy has throughout the nation.”

One piece of advice Carl has for the Timothy community is, “When you see God working in your life or in the life of someone around you, raise an Ebenezer like Samuel in the Bible, a remembrance to help you remember what God did. I think it is important when God is faithful in your life, to mark it down,” he encourages. “Whether it’s writing it down, making a mental note, or even putting up something physical to commemorate God’s faithfulness, mark it down. And then when things are difficult, look back on that time and thank God and trust Him to be faithful.”

For Carl Miller, Timothy Christian Schools was not just where he studied, but it was where God prepared him to live out his calling.