Serena Swanson: Counselor

Highlight from the summer?
Getting outdoors a lot with my kids (6 and 3 years old). We went to all the local beaches and parks and it was always the highlight of the day.

Pets/dream pet?
I have a chihuahua, named Clyde, who is about 11 years old. He is a bit grumpy, a total guard dog, but mostly sweet and has his cute little routine of napping and following us around.

Previous job?
School Counselor at Nathan Hale High School for the past 5 years, and have been a school counselor in Seattle for 10 years.

Most embarrassing moment from your time in high school?
I was on a boat at a lake with a lot of school friends. I felt a little sea sick, and decided I would jump from the boat to the dock before it had finished parking. My foot caught on the rail of the boat, and I landed on my stomach on the edge of the dock with my feet dangling in the water. My loud landing echoed across the lake.

Anna Vanderlugt: Algebra 2 and Honors Geometry

Pets/dream pet? 

I love the idea of having goats (and focus only on what I consider the positives: they could mow the yard, I could spin their fur, turn the milk into cheese and/or soap…)

If you could make up a new class for Lakeside and teach it what would it be? 

Urban food production and waste reduction.

Most embarrassing moment from your time in high school? 

Getting stage fright during the student council election speeches

Favorite class when you were in high school? 

I have 2: Graphic design and Pre-calculus

Thomas Taylor: Accelerated Geometry, Accelerated Precalculus

Highlight from the summer?

Highlight of the summer has to be moving into the new place in Seattle.  While the actual move itself wasn’t all that great, I’m absolutely thrilled with my new home.

Pets/dream pet?

I always had dogs growing up, and they are absolutely my favorite pet.  I am actually currently looking for a dog, now that I’ve settled in to a place here in Seattle that allows me to properly provide for them.  At present, I’m looking for an Australian shepherd; however, if I’m being perfectly honest, I really just want a dog who will play fetch as long as I will (and as a baseball player, that’s quite a long time).

Most embarrassing moment from your time in high school?

My high school had a JV and Varsity baseball team, and during my freshman year, I was cut from both squads.  As a lifelong baseball player that was definitely an embarrassing moment.  Looking back on it now after having played throughout college and continuing to play to this day, it’s a little bit easier to swallow and I can honestly say that that moment made me not only a better player but a stronger person.

Lu Yang: Chinese I and II

Pets/dream pet?
My dream pet? Definitely a bearded collie! They are very lively, active, and not aggressive at all. Wish I had one with me growing up.

Previous job?
I was a lead teacher and a curriculum specialist working in a Chinese immersion charter school in Minnesota before I moved here with my family last year. I also have been teaching Chinese online for 6 years in an online high school. In my previous jobs, I’ve been witnessing how learning Chinese empowers my students to become global citizens and that was the most rewarding thing to me.

If you could make up a new class for Lakeside and teach it, what would it be?
A cooking class. Cooking yummy food and then eating them together (hopefully they are not yucky) would be fun, and we also can learn about different cultures from food.

Kyle Cook: Introduction to and Intermediate/Advanced Drawing and Painting

Highlight from the summer?

Paddle board camping! My wife and I bought two sturdy paddle boards that can each carry one kid and our dog, then we towed a raft with gear. Twice this summer, we paddled across a lake and had an incredible experience.

What TV show kept you sane during quarantine?

Even though it’s the same every time, I had fun watching The Floor is Lava with my kids.

Previous job?

Visual arts teacher in the Middle School!

Teaching pet peeve?

Stabbing erasers with pencils–especially nice drawing erasers:(

If you could make up a new class for Lakeside and teach it, what would it be?

Advanced dry-fly tactics for large trout. Taught on-location in New Zealand and Patagonia 🙂

Most embarrassing moment from your time in high school?

Sophomore year, I drove my car into a tree and house a few months after I got my license. I got a little too confident and took a corner fast, then forgot to hit the brakes. Thankfully, no one was injured.

Kristine Sandy: Librarian

What TV show kept you sane during quarantine?
The Expanse and lots of international mystery series. Also, The Floor is Lava.

Previous job?

Librarian with King County Library System

Teaching pet peeve?

People interrupting students while they’re speaking.

Pets/dream pet?

No pets right now, but I grew up fostering rescue pugs.

Jack Verzuh: The Human Web and The Modern World and You

Highlight from the summer?

I am training to run a 50k, so I’ve done a number of really beautiful long trail runs in the Cascades. The highlight is usually the first 2/3rds of the run, when I’m appreciating the beautiful scenery, not the last 1/3rd, when my feet hurt.

Pets/dream pet?

I have a dog named Colby who is passionate about fetching tennis balls. My dream pet is to have a kitten, and in my dream they would be friends.

Teaching pet peeve?

When a student submits a google doc for an assignment but doesn’t grant access permission.

If you could make up a new class for Lakeside and teach it, what would it be?

Something about exploring and analyzing the relationship between humans and the earth over time and across cultures – what is the “outdoors” or “the environment”? How was it racially coded and constructed through colonialism? What are important historical moments in the human relationship with our planet? What systems of knowledge exist outside the modern American episteme?

Favorite class when you were in high school?

Quest! I attended Lakeside as a student, and my senior spring I took Quest (English elective that includes 3 weeks of canoeing the Green River in Utah). That and H300 (US History).

Sarah Wardlaw: Honors Chemistry and Biology

Highlight from the summer?

Driving up from LA at the end of June with my two cats hiding under quilts in the backseat.

What TV show kept you sane during quarantine?

Schitt’s Creek. I’ve been watching about an episode a night, so it’s been nice to pace it out rather than binging through it. I’m almost done with Season Three!

Previous job?

Science teacher at Oakwood School in North Hollywood, CA. Last year, I taught honors biology, neuroscience and 8th grade science.

Most embarrassing moment from your time in high school?

Any time my emotions came to the surface. Apparently, my classmates could tell what grade I received on my calculus exams based on how red I got.

Nickie Wallace: Honors Chemistry

What TV show kept you sane during quarantine? 

Nothing really kept me sane, but I did finally watch all of The Man in the High Castle, loved the adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sanditon, and, more recently, enjoyed The Umbrella Academy.

Who is your icon? Nelson Mandela – for so many reasons. Mainly because I lived in South Africa for 12 years after he was president. He was a leader who was inclusive at a time when that wasn’t popular and was willing to be vulnerable in public when he needed to be.

Previous job? 

Teaching (this is the start of year 20 for me! And I love what I do.)

If you could make up a new class for Lakeside and teach it, what would it be? 

An interdisciplinary course which involved science and history and economics. It’s so important to study how our resources are used and managed, both past and present.  

Favorite class when you were in high school? 

Choir. I was a part of it for four years, and I’m still singing and part of a choir today.