Why We Give: Todd and Theresa Riggs

Posted October 12, 2007

Can a little bit of giving every month make a difference?

Ask Todd and Theresa Riggs, two Covenant alumni who have given faithfully since their graduation from Covenant. Through regular monthly gifts over the course of 14 years, their impact now reaches into the thousands.

“Our desire to give to the school through the years has been born out of gratitude,” says Todd ’94. His wife, Theresa ’93, agrees. “We feel very blessed to be able to give financially to Covenant,” she says. “We have been giving for most of our married life and plan to continue as long as the Lord allows.”

Married for 14 years and now living in Chesapeake, Virginia, with their four children, Elyssa, Jesse, Aaron, and Emma, Todd and Theresa look back on their time at Covenant with great affection.

“What Theresa and I learned and experienced at Covenant has deeply affected how we work and relate to others, as well as in our service to our local church and in our efforts to raise our children,” says Todd. “We want others to have the opportunity to have that same experience, so we try to do what we can to help.”

Todd was born in London, England, to missionary parents, and was raised in Denver, Colorado, finishing high school in Atlanta. Theresa grew up in Florida, and their family lived there until they moved to Chesapeake in 2006.

Todd, who earned a degree in business administration at Covenant, is employed by Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Television division as a product manager for large routing switchers. Theresa, who graduated from Covenant with an interdisciplinary studies degree in biology, physical education, and sociology, now teaches Group Fitness classes at a local YMCA and Gold’s Gym, and is involved in the many activities of their four children.

“Covenant College is where we hope all our children will choose to go to school one day,” says Theresa. “We talk to our kids about our life there, and they are intrigued and often want to hear more about it.”

Among the stories they recount to their children are stories of vibrant community, professors’ unique mentorship in and out of the classroom, and living under constant encouragement to seek Christ’s lordship in all areas of life. The idea of worldview impacted both Todd and Theresa very strongly.

“I had never been exposed to the idea of a worldview,” says Todd. “The drawing of a man looking through a pair of glasses in Dr. Andersen’s Philosophy of Culture class my freshman year is something that I have never forgotten, and have used repeatedly when talking about the gospel with unbelieving coworkers and friends.

“Covenant ground into me how to apply what God has said to us about honoring him and others in all we do, and how that works in the marketplace,” Todd explains. “This is a starting point that most people I deal with on a daily basis do not have.

“I was profoundly impacted by my interaction with my professors, both in and out of the classroom,” says Todd. “The one-on-one attention was really important for me. My professors cared about me as a person; I wasn’t just a number, and they took time to make sure I understood what it was they were trying to teach me. I also got to see their faith in action outside of the classroom; whether at a school function or sport event, at worship, or at a meal in the Great Hall, I got to observe them living the principles they were teaching.

“The person who impacted me the most is probably my wife,” adds Todd. “She showed me how to love others, to reach out to people in need, and how to give sacrificially. While I didn’t go to school to necessarily find a mate, she has been absolutely the biggest gift God gave me from my time there.”

Both athletes, Todd played on the Scots soccer team for four years, and Theresa played on the women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Their children share their parents’ love of sports; Elyssa with ice-skating, Jesse and Aaron with soccer, and Emma with tap, ballet, and gymnastics.

As a captain on the basketball team and an RA during her junior year, Theresa learned to challenge herself to lead when she felt like she couldn’t.

“My biggest area of growth was a personal growth with Jesus Christ,” says Theresa. “I no longer had my parents there to guide and direct me. In a way, at first I felt all alone and unsure of this new independent life I was now living. But it caused me to rely on Jesus to be my Savior, instead of my parents and family. It was a great growing time between just me and the Lord.”

“We give monthly,” says Theresa, “because we have been blessed at Covenant and hope to be able to see Covenant continue to help students grow as we did.”

“The world needs people who live and think the school’s motto, ‘In all things Christ preeminent,’” says Todd. “We need men and women willing to live out the gospel in every area of life, and we feel that Covenant uniquely prepares students for that task.”