Your Story Matters Here: Amanda and Donny Mallin

Amanda and Donny Mallin are venturing into unknown territory. They figure the road ahead might be bumpy now and then. They expect to navigate some curves and perhaps a hill or two.

But they’ve decided to trust their GPS—that is, their God Positioning System.

In this brave new world, they’ve sold their home in Cranberry Township and will be moving to San Antonio by the end of June. Donny left his job earlier this year and launched an on-line fitness coaching business. Amanda resigned from her assistant principal position at Seneca Valley and plans to continue to pray fervently about her next steps. Along for the ride are their two young children, Daxton, 4, and Kinsley, 2.

“We’re on a journey, and we’re in the early stages,” Donny says. “Sometimes those self-doubt thoughts sneak in, but that’s just part of the mental battle. We’re going to trust the process and stay true to the plan.”

Trusting the process means praying and listening with renewed purpose, Amanda says.

“I thought I knew what I wanted and would go for it, full speed, ahead of God,” she says. “I would check in after, and He would show me that I made decisions on my own, without seeing what He had for me. Now, I am intentionally slowing down and finding peace and joy like never before. I am recognizing that God is with us and hearing Him in so many new ways. Nothing is coincidence; God is speaking all around us and uses other people and circumstances to invite us into His presence all day, every day.”

A native of Greensburg, Amanda graduated from Hempfield High School, then earned a degree in psychology and an education teaching certificate from Seton Hill University in 2008. She spent seven years in the classroom, teaching students with special needs in grades three through five.

Along the way, she earned a master’s in education from Argosy University and her principal certification from IUP. In 2014, she was named Cyber Coordinator for the Hempfield Area School District, then in 2018 joined Seneca Valley High School as assistant principal. In 2022, she became assistant principal of Seneca Valley Academy of Choice, the district’s on-line cyber and arts program.

“When you think cyber, you probably imagine all students learning on-line at home, but it's so much more than that,” she says. “We have 200 families that have chosen full-time cyber and about 2,000 students take an on-line course in a hybrid schedule. It is truly ‘education customized for you’ based on the individual student and family. Of the 200 families, we have many that utilize the drop-in center regularly, and it feels like a one-room schoolhouse. I love the energy of people coming and going in this flexible learning environment, and building relationships with students and families as we partner together. Family values are such a priority to me, so I love helping other families develop a great schedule and educational experience that works best for their child.”

As a mom, Amanda strives to find the right balance between work and home.

“I have been intentionally trying to be fully present at both places,” she says. “It’s a challenge sometimes with career and little ones. Our nanny is like family to us and my amazing husband does all the cooking and packs lunches. We are a team and we have strong family support. It really does take a village. With the move to Texas, I plan to fully embrace the adventure with my children and will continue to pray about next career steps.”

While Amanda has spent her career in education, Donny’s path to his new fitness coaching business was a more circuitous route.

After graduating in 2009 from Erie Cathedral Prep, he went to Gannon University where he majored in criminal justice, minored in psychology and played football. He then began working toward a master’s degree in criminal justice administration at Mercyhurst University in 2013, but put his studies on hold to join the police academy; he completed the master’s degree last year. From 2015-23, he worked for various government contractors mostly doing background investigations, before spending a year with the federal government’s Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.

“I changed jobs seven times in seven years but still felt the same,” Donny says. “I was always seeking the next thing to find fulfillment. Finally, I surrendered and had a conversation with God. I was tired of chasing something worldly, looking in the wrong places.”

He started an on-line fitness coaching business in 2023 to stick his toe in the entrepreneurial waters. Earlier this year he decided to go all in and left the agency, and he’s now a co-founder of Crucible Fitness. Through its on-line app, Crucible Fitness provides coaching to clients in disciplines such as fitness, nutrition and personal development.

“We can work with anyone in the world,” he says. “You just download the app, and you get a protocol to follow every day. You can track your progress, and it removes the guessing game.”

Over time, Donny envisions Crucible Fitness as a platform for spiritual growth, not just physical growth.

“Yes we’re about fitness, but it’s so much more than that,” he says. “Faith is such an integral component in the process. The growth in the spiritual part of life can benefit the physical aspects of life. We want to build a brotherhood and a community where it’s a venue to share, be vulnerable and really let men know it’s a part of masculinity to share and grow. We’re opening up and sharing testimony, which leads to deeper relationships with God. We can be the wise counsel for each other, so that iron sharpens iron. Human beings are meant to collaborate, and I love being able to minister outside of the church in an informal way.”

Amanda and Donny may have traveled separate career paths, but their faith has drawn them together. They met at a networking event in 2017—“It was love at first sight for me,” Donny says—and married a year later.

While attending Cranberry Community Days in 2022, they stopped at the Dutilh booth to talk to the folks there, walked away with a “good vibe,” and decided to check out the church’s preschool. They became active church members, with Amanda serving as a liturgist and participating in a women’s small group, and Donny attending men’s group meetings and enjoying the father-daughter dances.

Dutilh’s “Bible in 365” program “really opened our eyes and nourished our spiritual hunger,” Amanda says. “It strengthened our marriage as we now read the Bible together and separately. Now, when we have a problem, it’s like, well, what does the Bible have to say about that? We pray together and have more spiritual accountability together. When Donny got saved this year, it ignited my fire all over again. As a couple, we have a brighter flame.”

She’s comfortable sharing her faith with others when given the opportunity.

“I wear my cross everywhere,” she says. “I sometimes try to introduce faith casually into conversations, just by sharing my story. Or I might mention something about church on Sunday, or something I read, or a song on the radio. Just make it real, to see where people are, and sometimes they open up about their beliefs. I’m thankful when we can talk openly about it. We’re all just trying to do the best we can. We have so many individual strengths. Each person has special gifts, and the Lord will use each one of us accordingly.”

The Mallins decided to move to Texas after spending a week there as a family, followed by plenty of prayer and reflection.

“We received many confirmations that we were in season of transition and that we were to move in faith, literally,” Amanda says. “We prayed on it and without a doubt, received our signs and word from God that we were hearing Him accurately, and that a new season was just beginning. We will find ourselves in an entirely new territory, open to what God has been preparing us for, and excited about the newness of where He is positioned us.

“I have been in a season of intimacy, committing daily to walking with the Lord. He is showing me who He is and just how great, mighty, all-knowing, and all-powerful He is. That He is God! In control of everything. I can say whole heartedly, ‘Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open for you.’ He will show everything you ask Him. We always have a choice in how we respond to Him. Choose faith and respond in obedience or return to what’s comfortable and familiar. He has proved time and time again that I can put all my hope and trust in Him, so that's what the Mallin family is doing. Faith over fear!”

And trust your GPS.