Year Graduated:1998
High School: St. Paul Academy
College: University of Puget Sound
Major: Theater Arts, German (minor)
Travel: Europe, Turkey, Mozambique, South Africa
Current City: Hamburg, Germany
Current Occupation: Cabinet Maker / Fine Carpenter
Life Goals? One step at a time, onward; inward and outward.
How would you describe the differences between Waldorf education and other educational approaches you’ve experienced?
I heard a Waldorf catch-phrase once which hits the nail on the head — “Education from the inside out”. An ideal for fostering natural, organic development and learning among young people. Many traditional educational systems, like SPA, are good at supporting and equipping young people for future success but but often neglect the spiritual side. The school circus, class plays, music, painting, handwork, class trips, the pentathlon –there are so many experiences Waldorf students enjoy year after year.
Could you share a fond memory from your time at City of Lakes Waldorf School?
Making masks with Lloyd Brandt in Drama! Starting with a plaster mold of our faces, accompanied by a blind trust exercise / adventure through the school campus. Then extruding a new face from our own positive mold, casting that creature in plaster and painting it! I loved learning the technical side of creating masks, receiving the special care and attention from my pupils as they applied the plaster strips to my face, was fascinated by seeing the blank, white positive form of my own face, immersed myself in the creative process of creating a new form out of my own “mask”, and deeply enjoyed the sensual side of each phase (cold, wet plaster on my face, the blind journey through the school, forming the clay for the new mold with my bare hands and applying color to the finished piece!).
What do you value most about your learning experience at City of Lakes Waldorf School?
The opportunity for exploration and creative expression, the deep, meaningful connections with my teachers, allowing my imagination to run free!
What did you learn through your Waldorf education that you still use today?
A passion for learning new things, embracing and immersing myself in the minutiae of a task and the ever-rewarding process of working with my hands.
