ANNE MICHAELS

By Anne Michaels

Our family joined the EC community with my son Christopher’s admission as a freshman to the old campus in Newcastle. At the time, Eastside was building the new campus here in Sammamish, close to my home. I asked Barb Schille, who worked in the Attendance Office, if the school was considering a nursing role at the new campus, especially with the addition of a middle school. The school wasn’t in a position to hire anyone at that time, but Barb said they could use the expertise.

So, I offered to start a health room and volunteer in it, which I did for the first two years here at the new Sammamish campus. In August 2010, I became a staff member and have enjoyed working with the staff and the wonderful students here ever since. My three sons, Christopher ’11, Jimmy ’11 and Nicki ’14 attended and benefited from EC’s well-rounded culture.

My favorite part of my job is educating students and their families about their health and how to manage areas where it might not be optimal. As is often the case, healthcare providers can tell a patient to “do this” or “take this medication” but don’t fully explain the why. I believe if a person understands the “why” of the instructions, they are more apt to engage fully in addressing their health needs and pursuing a healthy lifestyle and I’ve tried to do that.

During my tenure, we experienced a national measles outbreak (where we had to revisit how we track staff immunizations), SARS and MERS outbreaks, and for the last three years, COVID and all its impacts. I will never forget March 13, 2020, when the faculty and staff gathered in the Chapel and were told the school would be shutting down. It was unprecedented and we knew it was time to get to work and help manage how we as a community would address this far-reaching pandemic from a physical, educational and mental well-being perspective.

The pandemic has been a long and challenging road that we are still navigating. I am struck by the many people who came together to address the repercussions that still impact our students and staff today. As we are coming out on the other side, with light twinkling at the end of the tunnel, I believe we are better prepared to address future issues with robust policy and procedures and a seasoned and collaborative approach from all areas of the school.

As I retire and look forward to spending lots of time with my grandson and traveling, I know I will miss those I have worked so closely with over the years. These individuals include the attendance gals, our trainer Kristin Kracht, nurse Adra Tiryakioglu and the volunteer nurses, the counselors and the administrative staff who have made this job fluid and fulfilling. I will miss the students and all their stories and hopes for the future. We have had some great conversations!

I hope many of the students share the same feelings my son Jimmy had after he graduated from college. He shared with me in a phone conversation that of all the schools he attended, Eastside Catholic had the greatest and most positive impact on his foundational beliefs and grounding, and he is grateful for his EC experience. I asked him to let our Marketing Team know this but as I don’t think he has made the time to do so, I offer his words here as my retirement nears.

Eastside Catholic School is both a great place to learn and work. We take care of one another and that makes a difference!