WCS Faculty
Christie Atkins
Christie Atkins is a Missouri native but has lived in Henry County, TN, since 2003. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a B.A. in English. She speaks Spanish and has also studied German and French. Her hobbies include martial arts and choral singing. She and her husband reside in Paris, TN. They have six children.
Alessio Schiano
Alessio Schiano was born and raised in Tuscany and, from age 13, studied according to the Italian classical studies curriculum for 8 years. He learned Latin in school, but learned the living method independently. Latin poetry is his passion, and he was awarded in 2019 with the laus poetica (poetic praise) in the Certamen Sarbievianum, an international poetry competition, for three poems he wrote in classical metric.
Gemma Lawless was born in San Diego, CA, and moved to rural Oklahoma where her family got involved with a homeschool co-op. Latin was an important part of the program, and she chose to further her Latin studies in immersion settings, including two Latin courses abroad, "Vivarium Novum" and "Schola Latina." Teaching is her passion, but her recreational interests include polyphonic singing and cultural cookery.
Gemma Lawless
Peter Longan
Peter Longan is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has lived in Paris, Tennessee, since 2024. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Classics from the University of Michigan, where he studied Ancient Greek, Latin, Middle Egyptian, and Coptic. He went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Moscow Theological Academy.
Mr. Longan and his wife were married in 2017 and have four children. He is a deacon in the Russian Orthodox Church, and in his spare time, he enjoys playing the piano and reading Latin literature.
Chaplain
Rev. Koh Yamamoto
Koh Yamamoto serves as the volunteer chaplain at Weston, helping lead chapel in Latin. Raised in Tokyo, Japan, he came to America and graduated with a B.A in Biblical Studies from Biola in 2020, and an M.Div from Concordia Theological Seminary of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2024. He was called to Christ Lutheran Church in 2024, and resides in Paris with his dear wife, Marie.