Principal's Message

Principal
Eric Christenot

My name is Eric Christenot and I grew up in the small northern town of Cut Bank, Montana. Having grown up on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, I have deep respect for and love of the outdoors. I grew up hunting and fishing with my father and grandfather, and some of my favorite memories are tied to the mountains and plains of Montana. I have always been serious about my studies and have had to work hard for the grades I have earned. I competed in several sports over the years including: baseball, football, basketball and track. I also sang in several choirs at the middle, high school and college level, acting as president of my choirs in high school and college.   

After graduating from high school I attended a junior college in Rexburg, Idaho, where I graduated with an Associate Degree in Pre-technical Biology. I then accepted a call to serve a two year mission for my church in Uruguay, South America. Upon my return to the states, I went back to Cut Bank for three weeks, celebrated Christmas with my family and was off to Brigham Young University to study in the Botany & Range Department. I graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife & Range Resources and a minor in Zoology. During my first year at BYU, I met and married my lovely wife of 19 years, Heidi Ann Lindenmuth. Heidi grew up in Middle River, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore and is the oldest of three children.

Heidi and I had our oldest daughter Jessica while attending BYU. Jessica was born 2 ½ months premature and weighing only 3 pounds. She remained in ICU for 2 months before finally reaching her take home weight of 5 pounds. Jessica graduated from EHS in 2009 and is currently working at Bridges Habilitation Services earning money for college. After graduating with my first B.S. we moved to Bozeman, Montana, so that I could pursue a Master’s degree in Range Science. It soon became apparent to me that this was not what I aspired to do for a living, so after a summer of research, I chose to leave the Master’s program and work to support my family. A year later, I re-entered Montana State University and began pursuing my second Bachelor degree in Broadfield Science with a teaching emphasis. During this time we became parents to my second daughter, Erica, and first son, Reed.

My first teaching job took us to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where I was hired as a science teacher at Hillcrest High School. I worked as a science teacher for five years, during which time I began taking classes at night and in the summer to earn a Master’s degree in Educational Administration. During this time, things were not busy enough with three children, classes and coaching, so Heidi and I decided to complicate life a little more and welcomed our 4th child, Ross, to the Christenot family. I graduated with my Master’s in the spring of 2001 and immediately began the application process for my first administrative position. I interviewed or had interviews lined up in Oregon, Idaho and Montana, and was pleasantly surprised to be offered the assistant principal position at Hillcrest High School. I graciously accepted the position and enjoyed working at Hillcrest for another four years.

Having the desire to work as the principal of a building, our next move took us back to Cut Bank, Montana, where I was offered the Principal position at Cut Bank High School. I enjoyed the position very much and gained some great experience. After two years in Cut Bank, and having the desire to be closer to some of our family & friends to the south, Heidi and I decided to see what administrative positions were open in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. When the position came open for Evanston Middle School, I was immediately interested in applying, due to Evanston’s proximity to family, the Wasatch front and the beauty of the great outdoors. Evanston seemed to me to be just the right mix of small town atmosphere with some city amenities. I interviewed for and was offered the job as the Principal of Evanston Middle School in May 2008 and began working in July. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such a fine student body, faculty and staff here at EMS and look forward to working with them for years to come.