Colleen LaMotte has always been fascinated with science—she was a pre-med student on her way to become a doctor after all. Working as a bus driver in college, Colleen spent her summers as a tour guide in Alaska teaching her passengers about the history of the area.
Although many of the travelers—impressed with Colleen’s enthusiasm—suggested she should consider teaching as a career path, she insisted on sticking to her original plan. It wasn’t until her trip to Southeast Asia after college, where she was teaching Cambodian men how to speak English, that she started to question her own career choice.
“I was surrounded by the people who were so hungry to learn, and I felt so alive,” LaMotte recalls. “It was at that moment that I decided to do a master’s program when I got back, and I have been teaching ever since.”
Community Profile: Nathan Lee, Teacher at Shorewood High School
“I want my students to be intentional thinkers and to value learning above performance and grades,” says Nathan Lee, a math teacher at Shorewood High School. In a society that more commonly values achievements over efforts and is susceptible to “mindless” apps and activities, that’s quite an impressive endeavor.
If you’ve lived in King County for a while, chances are you’re already aware of the incredible work of Mary’s Place. If you haven’t, let me tell you a little bit about them.
For over two decades now, this Seattle based nonprofit has been providing inclusive resources and shelter to women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness into more stable housing. Their belief that “no one’s child should sleep outside” has united the local community and brought an overwhelming support from many key businesses in the area, such as Starbucks or Amazon, to name a few.
It’s been a long journey for St. Luke School in Shoreline—after nearly six years of extensive preparations and staff training, it has officially become an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School for both the Primary Years Program (preschool - 5th grade) and the Middle Years Program (6th - 8th grade). But what exactly is IB and what made St. Luke aspire to become recognized as one?
You may—or may not—know who Leah Rene Welch is, but if you are lucky enough to call Richmond Beach home, you most likely have enjoyed her delightful artwork in our community. Welch is the artist behind one of the 22 orcas that were created in 2016 as part of the RBCA Beach Orcas art project. Celeste the Cosmic Swimmer—as her orca is known as—is located at the Richmond Beach community sign at Richmond Beach Road and 8th Avenue NW. “That meant so much to me that my orca had been accepted,” Welch recalls. “The moment I heard about the project, I knew exactly what I would do; I knew I wanted to do the night sky.”
Long before the pandemic started, higher education institutions have been offering programs to its students online. One would think that the switch to remote learning in 2020 would have been an easy transition for a lot of those schools. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
“I was in panic and thought this was it,” says Tony Doupe, Program Lead for Film and Theater Arts at Shoreline Community College. “I had no idea how we were going to teach acting, filmmaking and theater classes online,” he recalls. Prior to the pandemic, all of Doupe’s classes were conducted in person and revolved around practicing scene work, monologues, having discussions and preparing his students to be on set. During the pandemic, everything has changed.