Welcome to a New Era
MEET GRETCHEN WARNER, OVERLAKE’S NEW HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dear Owl Community,
I am honored to be writing as Overlake's 10th Head of School in an era of joy, innovation, and creativity. Over the past few months, I have learned much about the people, programs, and possibilities for the School. More than anything, transformative relationships have been and continue to be the bedrock of an Overlake experience. I am deeply grateful to the faculty and staff who make Overlake’s mission, vision, and values come to life each day in the classroom, court, field, and stage.
Throughout the following pages, you will read about Overlake’s people — our longtime educators who recently retired, new and milestone years for faculty and staff, and profiles on some remarkable alums. In addition, you’ll learn about our programs and possibilities including an update on the final year of the School’s Doors to Discovery capital campaign, construction progress on the new Student & Community Center, and the School’s re-accreditation process happening this year.
The theme of this school year is JOY, and joyful we have been! I am honored and proud to share with you the happenings around campus this fall.
Sincerely yours,
Gretchen Warner, Head of School
Looking Back at the Arts
It was a great Spring full of shows and concerts. A rtsfest returned with many great expressions of s tudent art as well as the ever-popular drawing contest. There were lots of great music concerts as well as several exciting drama productions. The Upper School presented Love/Sick, several short vignettes depicting all kinds of love, while the 5th and 6th graders shared a colorful, energetic, and nostalgic presentation of Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr!.
One of the most exciting parts of the year was the musical presentation of Into the Woods. This year marks 25 years since Overlake first performed Into the Woods back in the old barn. Retiring Arts teacher Sarah Fitzpatrick hosted a reunion for everyone who was involved in the production of the show 25 years ago.
Several alums came with their spouses and children and enjoyed the show as well as a reception where everyone got to catch up. “It was super fun! Just to see all those creative people again was really lovely,” Fitzpatrick recalls.
Check the calendar for some exciting artistic offerings this year, including the All-School Musical – Shrek!
ARTS CALENDAR
Fall & Winter Season
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Annie Jr. (7th/8th Grade Musical) • 7:30pm
SATURDAY, NOVEMEBER 23
Annie Jr. (7th/8th Grade Musical) • 2:30pm
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4
US Choir Concert • 7:30pm
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5
MS/US Orchestra Concert • 7:30pm
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6
US Band Concert • 7:30pm
MONDAY, DECEMBER 9
MS Band Concert • 7:30pm
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25
Benefit Concert • 7pm
Spring Season
FRIDAY, MARCH 7
Shrek (All-School Musical) • 7:30pm
SATURDAY, MARCH 8
Shrek (All-School Musical) • 2:30pm/7:30pm
FRIDAY, APRIL 11
Overlake Film Festival – NEW! • 7pm
FRIDAY, APRIL 25
US Play/TBD • 7:30pm
SATURDAY, APRIL 26
US Play/TBD • 2:30pm
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30
US Choir Concert • 7:30pm
THURSDAY, MAY 1
US Band Concert • 7:30pm
FRIDAY, MAY 2
US Orchestra Concert • 7:30pm
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28
MS Strings Concert • 7:30pm
THURSDAY, MAY 29
MS Band Concert • 7:30pm
FRIDAY, MAY 30
MS Choir Concert • 7:30pm
Holding Up a Mirror through Reaccreditation
It has been described that a school going through the process of reaccreditation is like someone holding up a mirror, meaning does Overlake do what it says it does and look like the institution it says it is.
“We know that it’s good practice for students to reflect on their understandings and ask questions,” explains Karen Zaidberg, Social Studies Department Chair and the NWAIS SelfStudy Coordinator. “The self-study process is that but for the school. I think about it from the other view: how fortunate we are to have the chance to hit pause and reflect on what we’re doing well and how we want to improve. That process is so consistent with our values and philosophy about teaching and learning.”
Every eight years, independent schools in our region have the opportunity to participate in the accreditation process through the NWAIS (Northwest Association of Independent Schools). The last time Overlake participated was in the 2014–15 school year. The cycle was a little longer due to the pandemic and our leadership transition.
The process begins with an internal reflection called the self-study which involves every employee of the school providing answers and feedback to a series of questions posed by NWAIS. The questions fall into many categories in the school, such as facilities, culture & mission, and school program.
“The self-study that we are writing as a school is not the domain of any particular group,” says Zaidberg. “For instance, it’s not just up to the senior leadership to articulate a vision of school program. Rather, the work of self-study lives with the whole community, and it matters that what we say is happening at the school comes from the united voice of the school, not just a constituency. It lives with all of us and so we all are involved.”
Starting in the 2023–24 school year, faculty and staff began working on answering the generative questions, allocating some of the Wednesday morning adult work time before classes begin. Because everyone was involved in this process, employees had the opportunity to talk with fellow colleagues to learn specifics of the school they don’t normally spend much time in.
“The accreditation process is an opportunity for Overlake to center the things that define us and engage in a comprehensive review and reflection about how we want to walk forward into the next several years. This work is not a re-imagining of Overlake; rather, it’s a way to think about our traditions and our values and situate those in an Overlake-of-now,” explains Zaidberg.
Once the self-study report is submitted to the Association, a team of school employees from other peer schools in the Association spends three days visiting Overlake, asking questions and reviewing documents as they relate to the self-study. During this process, the visiting team will meet with a wide variety of Overlake employees, from leadership to faculty and staff, in order to gain a better idea of how the school operationalizes its philosophy and mission.
After the multi-day visit, the team will issue a report for either reaccreditation or conditional reaccreditation in which the school has 12–24 months to address recommendations the team makes. “About 40% of schools that go through the reaccreditation process receive a condition, so it’s a possibility for Overlake,” explains Zaidberg. “In that event, we would do whatever we could to resolve the condition and earn accreditation.”
Zaidberg calls accredited schools “a safe bet” for families. “Accreditation is assurance that the school is operating safely and responsibly, that there are systems in place to assess academic and community performance, and there is leadership that understands and is responsive to the state of the school. As an organization with a duty to serve our community, this is a necessary measure so we can do what we do as best as we can.”
Reaccreditation Timeline
AUGUST 2023
Kick-off to NWAIS reaccreditation process
SEPT. 2023 – MAY 2024
Monthly work sessions during Wednesday mornings
MAY 2024
First draft of self-study
JULY 2024
New Head of School reviews first draft
SEPTEMBER 2024
Reaccreditation team leaders make preliminary visit to Overlake
FALL 2024
Final edits of self-study
DECEMBER 2024
Presentation of self-study to NWAIS
FEBRUARY 2025
Reaccreditation visiting team attends 3-day Overlake visit to make final report
The accreditation process is an opportunity for Overlake to center the things that define us.”
KAREN
ZAIDBERG SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT
CHAIR
NEW STUDENT & COMMUNITY CENTER
Construction Update
The highly anticipated Student & Community Center broke ground this summer! Many years in the planning, c onstruction is underway with an estimated completion date of July 2025. This new 8,000 square-foot building will be a home for discovery for everyone in our community and be one of the first buildings you see when driving up the hill to campus.
“Our team is really grateful for the project and the opportunity to help improve the campus,” says Andy Sprague, Project E xecutive at Abbott Construction.
This past summer, the process began with demolition of the Administration building, North Annex, and Health Center buildings to make way for the new building. Ever since then, Abbott C onstruction has been hard at work on the excavation process.
“We’ve had good progress so far and we’re presently forecasting to be on schedule,” says Sprague.
The beautiful hilly campus is one of our favorite things about Overlake, but it does provide some unique challenges for construction. While excavating, Abbott discovered unexpected ground water and had to install a French drain system on the uphill side to handle the water runoff. “That will be a permanent improvement that mitigates groundwater for the building,” says Sprague. They also discovered glacial till that cannot hold the foundation of the building, meaning yet another pivot in the process. “First we remove the glacial till and then replace it with
select fill that can provide an engineered bearing capacity,” Sprague explains.
The terrain is not the only consideration during this construction project. To accommodate for pickup and drop-off traffic, the road had to be shifted several feet into where parking spots used to be to accommodate the construction fence perimeter, and some workers are parking in a grassy area near north campus to give more space for the daily operation of the school. Thankfully, everything construction related is well contained inside the construction fence which allows students and adults to move safely around campus. “One of our primary goals is public safety,” Sprague shares. Beyond safety, Abbott Construction has additional expectations for their workers on site. Sprague says, “we have a code of conduct that our workers be respectful and professional to the public. That’s a big deal to us. We take that really seriously — language, dress, professionalism.”
If you are on campus in December, framing is expected to begin so the building will start taking shape. Summer 2025 will be exciting as we look forward to the completion of the Student & Community Center!
To find out more about this project and view our live construction camera visit: overlake.org/discovery
Meet Our New Overlakers
Katherine Ainsworth
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
Katherine Ainsworth joins Overlake as one of the new Assistant Directors of Admissions at Overlake School. She holds dual master's degrees in Marine & Environmental Affairs and Business Administration with a focus on ESG leadership from the University of Washington. Recently, as a Holistic Admissions Reader, she scored over 600 undergraduate applications and ranked in the top 25% for accuracy. In addition to her admissions role, Ainsworth is also the cross-country coach at Overlake and was the head coach for a novice rowing camp at The Lakeside School. With a strong background in education and leadership, she is committed to sustainability and community engagement in all her endeavors.
Madhu
Alapaty FRONT OFFICE MANAGER
Trista Bamer
US SCIENCE TEACHER
Trista Bamer joins Overlake for the first part of the school year and brings with her a wealth f educational experience from both public and independent schools in the Greater Seattle area. Most recently she has worked as a teacher and then later the Special Programs Coordinator at Open Window School and has served as a substitute teacher at Lakeside School. She has also taught at Mercer Island and Snoqualmie Valley School districts as a Science teacher. Happy to have you aboard!
Erin Belefski
PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL ARTS TEACHER
Madhu Alapaty is very likely the first person you talk to when you call or come on Overlake’s campus. As Overlake’s new Front ffice Manager, she welcomes visitors in our new, temporary reception area in the lobby of the Whitten Math & Sciences Center while he new Student & Community Center is under construction. Alapaty joins Overlake after most recently orking as a recruitment coordinator at CA-One Tech Cloud, and as a teacher’s assistant and office assistant at Synergy
Jenni Baldwin DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT
Jenni Baldwin is a familiar face at Overlake who is stepping away from her English classroom to transition to the Development Department. Baldwin is Overlake’s next Director of Alumni Engagement. Baldwin will marry her knowledge of Overlake students and alums with her passion for philanthropy in this new role that will engage our alums in the school’s many portunities post-graduation.
Erin Belefski joins Overlake in the second half of the school year to relieve during a sabbatical appointment. Belefski will assist in the Arts department as a Photography and Visual Arts teacher. With more than 20 years teaching experience, teaching visual arts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, as well as Colorado and California, Belefski brings a wide range of classroom experiences to Overlake. Please welcome her in January.
Audry Bernal
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
As one of Overlake’s new Assistant Directors of Admissions, Audry Bernal brings a strong commitment to student-centered processes and inclusive educational environments. Previously the Associate Director of Recruitment Admissions at Year Up in Seattle, ernal enhanced outreach and communication strategies using Salesforce and Asana, leading to a more equitable admissions process and improved applicant engagement. As Coordinator of Student Equity and Inclusion, she anaged the RISE Center, achieving a 20% increase in student resource engagement through collaboration. Bernal is passionate about designing efficient admissions processes that promote equitable opportunities for all students, aligning perfectly with Overlake’s mission.
Ramie Bredl BUS DRIVER
Ramie Bredle joins Overlake with lengthy experience driving. She managed delivery routes for Plantscapes for 11 years always prioritizing effective communication and safety. She has also spent the last four years driving students at Cedar Park. Welcome to
Jorge Cartagena joins Overlake having recently spent the last six years working as the Transportation Manager at Emerald Heights coordinating transport for the residents. He has also spent time as an Amazon shuttle driver and bus driver for TransWest. Glad to have you on board!
Hailey Bungaroo DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINATOR
Imari Clinton is taking over the fifth grade science role for the fall. As an Overlake coach, she has been coaching the Girls Varsity asketball team and JVC Volleyball teams this past year. She has a wealth of coaching xperience having coached basketball teams and also helped manage events at a
Hailey Bungaroo joins the Development Department as Development and Special Events Coordinator. She comes to Overlake by way of most recently, Open Window School, where Bungaroo served as an associate teacher. Prior to her time in the classroom, she as a student herself, wrapping up her degree in Education, Communities, and Organizations at the University
Dan Cavallerano comes to Overlake this year to teach AP Chemistry. He brings with him more than two decades of teaching experience in both secondary and college levels, ducating in China and Norway, as well as University of Washington and Seattle Central and North Seattle colleges.
Ben Fischer joins Overlake’s Math Department as a new Upper School faculty member. Since earning his PhD in Mathematics from oston University, Fischer has spent time as a teaching assistant and professor at the ollege level before transitioning to secondary education, working at The Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut, and most recently at Seattle Academy
Veronica Hellar SPANISH TEACHER
Veronica Hellar is joining Overlake’s World Languages department to teach Spanish. Hellar most recently has taught Spanish at St. Thomas and Eastside Prep schools, as well s Kennedy Catholic High School and schools in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Chile. Hellar looks to not only teach Overlake students panish, but to motivate students to learn about the culture and
India Jennings PREP COOK
India Jennings joins Overlake as a Prep Cook, leveraging her diverse background in education and logistics. She previously served as a Para Educator at Meadowood Middle School, where she supported student learning and development. Additionally, Jennings honed her skills at Target, sorting freight and stocking merchandise efficiently on the sales floor. With her dedication to service and a strong work ethic, she is a valuable addition to the Overlake community.
SPORTS BUS DRIVER
Dan Cavallerano US CHEMISTRY TEACHER
Imari Clinton 5TH GRADE SCIENCE
US MATH TEACHER
Zeya Kyaw
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION COORDINATOR
Zeya Kyaw joined the Overlake Admissions team as the Admissions Assistant in October of 2023 and has been welcoming new families ever since. This year, Kyaw will be stepping over to the Experiential Education Department as the new Experiential Education Coordinator. He is excited to engage with students in a new way as he helps facilitate the work of that department.
Hannah Messinger
Christopher Schwalm
Hannah Messinger joins Overlake’s English Department this year working in the Upper School. Prior to working here, Messinger’s previous teaching experiences were in various area high schools, teaching English and Social Studies at Roosevelt High School in Seattle and most recently teaching English at North Creek High School in Bothell.
Mike Mullen
BUS DRIVER, SUB, LEARNING SPECIALIST ASSISTANT
MS & US VIDEO PRODUCTION & DESIGN TEACHER
Christopher Schwalm is excited to join the Arts department as the new MS & US Video oduction & Design teacher. He brings a wealth of experience teaching Video Production to high school students as well as experience in marketing and social media anagement for the Bellevue School District. He is excited to return to the classroom to work with students. His approach to teaching is to provide opportunities for students to be challenged no matter their initial skill level.
Liz Siarny
US
SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER
Mike Mullen joined Overlake back in 2022 as a member of the transportation team, athletic oach, and has subbed in classrooms as well. This year he will expand his role on campus to help out the Learning Specialist team art-time as the Learning Specialist Assistant. He is also Interim MS Athletic Director first emester. Mullen will once again be coaching US JV Tennis, MS Basketball, and MS Ultimate Frisbee teams.
Megan Schoening
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Megan Schoening joined Overlake this summer as the new Assistant Director of Development. Schoening brings seven years of experience working in fundraising, event coordination, and donor relations to her work here. Most recently she served as the Outreach and Alumni Relations manager at the University of Washington. Schoening started in July and has pent the summer getting acquainted with Overlake and looks forward to supporting the mission and vision of the school.
Liz Siarny joins Overlake as the new Upper School English and Social Studies teacher. Most recently living in California, she has 17 years of classroom and school leadership experience and loves to foster a growth focused, curious, inclusive, and joyful school community. Just a few of her past positions include Director of Service Learning and History Department chair at the York School in Monterey, CA, and Director of Community Engagement and History Teacher at the Branson School in Ross, CA.
Mike Still BUS DRIVER
Mike Still recently joined Overlake School as a new bus driver, bringing 35 years of rofessional driving experience. He is committed to ensuring safe and efficient ransportation for students while fostering a positive community environment. Still has worked with notable companies like Kenan Advantage Group and Chevron USA Corporation, excelling as a product delivery driver and serving as a driver instructor, where he trained new drivers in safety regulations.
Colton Umberger (’14)
ADMISSIONS COORDINATOR, OPERATIONS
Colton Umberger (’14) first returned to Overlake as an alum, coaching the Lacrosse team in 2018. Then just last year in fall of 2023, he joined the Admissions team as the Admissions Coordinator, Operations and is also the Assistant Coach for varsity Golf. He is excited to continue in his role on the team as well as continuing to coach Overlake’s Lacrosse team.
Priya Santhana Vannan SCHOOL COORDINATOR
Priya Santhana Vannan joins Overlake as the new School Coordinator. She is a dedicated professional with over 10 years of experience leading school projects, including roles with the PTA and at Franklin Elementary in the Lake Washington School District. Known for her organizational skills and strong interpersonal abilities, she excels at collaborating with staff, students, and parents to foster a positive school environment. Santhana Vannan is committed to supporting the mission and goals of the school community.
Forrest Williams
Min Yoo DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID
Min Yoo is Overlake’s new Director of Admissions and Financial Aid. Yoo brings a wide range of experience in admissions as the Associate Director of Admission at the ick-Wilmerding School in San Francisco, CA but also in tech start up and nonprofit settings. He is excited to use his varied experience to bring data driven improvements to systems and processes while also providing a people centered experience to potential
Saba Ziadlou ACADEMIC DATA MANAGER
ENGLISH AND SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER, ASSISTANT SPEECH & DEBATE COACH
Forrest Williams will spend time working in two departments at Overlake: Social Studies nd English. Williams joined us second semester last year and wrapped up the school year helping in both departments. Williams will also continue to help coach Overlake’s highly successful Speech & Debate team.
Saba Ziadlou is Overlake’s new Academic Data Manager. She brings more than six years of experience in educational leadership and data management. Most recently she has been teaching Geometry and Algebra at the Art of Problem Solving in Bellevue, and has also served as the Academic Data Program manager at a charter school in New York. We are confident that her experience in leadership and in the classroom will make her a great team member to help students navigate the complicated path of coordinating schedules.
US ENGLISH TEACHER
Laurel Wilkinson comes to Overlake as the latest member of the English faculty. She joins us from most recently The Lakeside School and the University of Washington, where Wilkinson earned a MFA degree in Creative Writing, Poetry. She is a published poet who is active in many literary communities. ilkinson will teach in the Upper School.
Lisa Wingard BUS DRIVER
Lisa is joining Overlake as one of the newest members of the transportation team.
New Adventures Await
Sarah
Fitzpatrick
When Sarah Fitzpatrick showed up at Overlake, she only planned on staying for a few months a s a substitute teacher. Soon after, she was offered a full-time position but even then she thought she would only be here for a couple years. Thirty one years later, the curtain is finally closing on her time in the Overlake Arts Department.
“I stayed because I so enjoyed the students and the community,” Fitzpatrick says. “Coming into a school that was small and growing was exciting.”
Coming into a school that was small and growing was exciting.”
At the time, Fitzpatrick was teaching and performing shows out of an old turkey barn that was barely big enough to squeeze in a small audience. “We had to climb in and out of the windows onto a slippery deck to get from one side of the stage to the other!” When Frank Grijalva, former Head of School arrived, his passion for the arts helped Fitzpatrick realize the potential of the Overlake Arts Department. “He saw shows in that little tiny space and said, ‘Oh my goodness, you have to have a theater!’,” Fitzpatrick recalls. “It was such a transformation!”
As Head of the Arts department, Fitzpatrick had a great desire to expand the department to include music. As the Fulton Performing Arts building was built, the program grew to include band, choir, and strings programs that it enjoys now. “Over the years Overlake has remained very committed to having the arts be a part of the student’s life. That commitment was inspiring to me,” she says.
One particular thing Fitzpatrick has loved is connecting with alumni and seeing how the theater has impacted their lives. “I saw what theater training could do for students. It helps them access creativity, problem solve, and work effectively with other people. All things that are important to a student’s character.” One alum even told her that his improv classes helped him get more comfortable with public speaking which he has taken into his business operations.
This was especially true in a full circle moment this year when the Overlake Arts Department put on a production of Into the Woods, marking the 25th anniversary of when it was performed at Overlake the first time in the old turkey barn. Fitzpatrick invited everyone who was involved in the original production to come enjoy the show and attend a reception. “It was super fun!” she says. “Just to see all those creative people again was really lovely.”
Having seen the school go through many transformations, Fitzpatrick notes that while the school may be larger than it was, the heart of Overlake has not changed. “I still feel like students bring a special part of themselves to want to be a part of the Overlake community.”
What’s next on the program for Ms. Fitzpatrick? “I am looking forward to resting!” she says. “Lots of time to travel, see friends and family, and attend more dance and yoga classes.”
Lisa Orenstein
Lisa Orenstein has been a fixture in Overlake’s Science Department for more than three decades. And during that time, she has set her alarm clock for 6:00 am approximately 6,240 times. “I will be very happy not to be getting up at 6 o’clock in the morning.”
Orenstein started at Overlake in the Fall of 1992, and was hired as the Science Department Chair, a position she held for much of her time on campus. Just recently she stepped into the role of heading up the curriculum that occurs in the new Idea Lab, inside the Whitten Math & Sciences Center.
“When I think about leaving and I think about where Overlake is in its evolution, like the Science department is amazing and the people are fantastic, and I could not have worked with a better group of people over that time. I’m really excited about the Idea Lab and people who are invested in this space. I look forward to seeing what goes on in there and what happens with the programming and how it connects with the broader scope of the school both academic curriculum and co- curriculum.”
What remains constant is an ethos of creating a welcoming and nurturing atmosphere where students and teachers can work as partners in learning.”
Orenstein had the opportunity to teach both her daughters who went to Overlake, Megan (’07) and Susannah (’11). “It was a very profound experience when you teach your own kid,” explains Orenstein. “At first, we had lots of discussion at home. I told them that you’re only going to be in 11th grade once, but I ’m going to be teaching 11th grade and AP Bio for years and if I step out, I may not be able to get it back, so we’re just going to have to figure out how to do this with each other. We had ground rules, like don’t come to office hours, because you can ask me at home, and save that time for other students.”
Speaking of students, toward the end of the 2023–24 school year, word started getting out that Orenstein was retiring. “I teach a lot of seniors, and it was late April and I told them ‘Don’t think school is over. The only person who has legitimate senioritis is me.’ And they were just laughing.”
That type of banter between faculty and students is not unusual here and is in fact something Orenstein believes is woven into the school’s DNA.
“What remains constant here is an ethos of creating a welcoming and nurturing atmosphere where students and teachers can work as partners in learning. Students feel comfortable approaching their teachers even if they don’t necessarily have the relationship where they seek out a teacher, but they have enough confidence in themselves to go in during office hours or meet during free block. Even as we get new buildings and the demographics of the student body change, that is something that I think has always been here and I think it distinguishes Overlake from a lot of other prep schools.”
When asked what the near future holds for Orenstein in her new no alarm clock world, the answer was straight forward, whatever she wants. “I will find ways to make myself useful in this new part of life, when you have total control over what you do every day and time is yours to allocate in any way you want.”
Alisa Steinhilber
When she first started at Overlake in 1991, Alisa Steinhilber never imagined that she would s tay at Overlake long term. She had been a Middle School Language Arts teacher in Snoqualmie on a long-term substitute contract. But when that was over, she started to think that maybe she would try something else besides teaching.
I’ll miss the responsibility, the mental stimulation. And most importantly, I will miss the kids.”
That was when she saw the receptionist job at Overlake. After she was hired, she figured she would stay for a year, maybe two. But as she learned more about the school and her role expanded to include part-time admissions work, she grew to love the school more and more. Two years later she stepped into a role that is best described as a combination of school coordinator and registrar. Overlake was much smaller back then and many jobs required people to wear many different hats.
Over her time at Overlake, Steinhilber has helped plan Project Week, done AP planning, organized faculty and staff outings, and any number of other jobs across campus. But the bulk of her time here has been in the incredibly detail heavy role of Registrar.
Steinhilber notes that in her time at Overlake she has learned so much. “I love learning new things, technology, systems, all of it. I’m hugely detail oriented. And every student’s schedule counts immensely.” One thing that sets Steinhilber apart is her ability to see beyond the data of scheduling and see the student on the other side. “They’re working hard, and it matters to them, so it matters to me. If you care about a school and benefitting kids, then you can’t just look at it as data.”
As she thinks back on her time at Overlake and what kept her here for so long, Steinhilber shares, “it was an extremely strong, honest community. I loved my job. I felt like this was my place and I really fit in. I thoroughly loved the school and felt like I was part of the Overlake community.” One of her favorite memories was working the school auctions every year recording all the bids during the live auction. “I had a ball! I loved doing it and watching what was happening.”
What she will miss about Overlake? “I’ll miss the responsibility, the mental stimulation. And most importantly, I will miss the kids.” Steinhilber recalls some of her favorite moments came at the beginning of e ach school year. “One thing I love is when school starts, the kids are here, and classes are going well. I sit back and go…‘it’s all working’. It makes me proud and happy.”
W hat’s next? Well, she recently purchased a new townhouse and is excited to put her own finishing touches on it. She is excited to take some time and settle into retirement and see friends and family and travel. Her current bucket list destination: Germany.
Thanks for all you have done for the Overlake community!
Faculty & Staff Milestones
20 YEARS
15 YEARS
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
A Fond Farewell
• Shawn Allen
• L aura Brown
• Jessica Butler
• K atrina Cameron
• Patty Cavallerano
• A lex Duvall
• Christian Fulghum
• Chris Hayes
• Mike Hufstader
• Jasmine Park
• McKenna Quick
• Stephen Ringo
• Jose Simonet
Shawn Allen, Kelli Pleskac, Danielle Troy, Sean Clark
Stephanie Belieres, Mike Hufstader, Sarah Mansour, Linda Reini, Chen Tang, Ashley Powel (Not pictured: Amanda Jones)
Kelly Vikstrom, Aime Ngandu, Clare Fischer, Omar Jimenez, Michelle Raught, Mindy McGrath (Not pictured: Zheyi Chen, Cynthia Rosales, Crissy Stemkowski, Sophia Zhang)
Kathy Finkenstadt
Welcome to a New Era
“Enthusiastic, joyful, optimistic, and curious.”
Those are the qualities Juli Rasmussen, Overlake’s Board of Trustees Chair uses to describe Overlake’s new Head of School, Gretchen Warner. “Gretchen has been eager to learn about Overlake, and long before she arrived on campus in July, she was already engaging in conversations with people, doing her prep-work, and making a plan so she could hit the ground running,” explains Rasmussen. And hit the ground running she has. During her first month of the 2024–25 school year, Warner has visited nearly 30 teacher’s classrooms, shadowed a seventh-grade student for the day attending all her classes, attended six of the eight grade-level retreats, hosted many events on campus to kick off the school year, held a retreat for Board of Trustee members, met with a cohort of heads of school from peer schools, collaborated in countless meetings with the senior administrative team, facilitated weekly professional development with faculty and staff, held listening tours across the community to learn more, and prepared for the School’s upcoming reaccreditation with NWAIS (Northwest Association of Independent Schools).
Through her various activities with Overlake, Warner has either spoken of or presented on the idea that teaching and learning is filled with joy. “I fundamentally believe that learning is a joyful endeavor,” explains Warner. “I believe that educational environments need to be inspirational and full of joy and wonder. Focusing on joy doesn’t ignore that learning is hard — it is. Joy helps to transform challenging moments in that it is a practice rooted in agency and choice and is a source of strength. There is also a quote that links Joy and Gratitude in a way that resonates with me, too.”
“IT IS NOT JOY THAT MAKES US GRATEFUL; IT IS GRATITUDE THAT MAKES US JOYFUL .” DAVID STEINDL-RAST
“Gretchen is a joy to converse with and learn from,” says Rasmussen. “I encourage parents to attend school events and get to know her.”
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As the community gets to know more about its new head of school, they will hear her often refer to herself as the lead learner at Overlake. “I believe a community where the adults are learning is a community where the students are learning,” explains Warner. “This principle is rooted in research and Peter Senge pioneered some of the thinking on this regarding the Learning Organization.”
Warner joins the School at a time of great momentum. Overlake is in its final year of a strategic plan which focuses on the people of the institution, creating opportunities to grow its wellbeing capacities, while focusing on attracting and retaining culturally competent educators to teach to an increasingly diverse student population. She is able to harness this upward momentum and continue to shape the experiences of the students, their families, and employees at Overlake.
“Gretchen believes whole-heartedly in Overlake’s mission, vision, values, and the things that are fundamental to Overlake, such as community and student-centered education. Her understanding of the challenges that face education today, ability to make sense of complex issues, and clarity of thought, along with a forward-thinking and data-driven approach to problem solving will make Overlake stronger in its 57th year and beyond,” exclaims Rasmussen.
A s Warner reflects on her first few months on campus, her impressions of the school share a similar vibe of optimism and joy. “Overlake educators are deeply dedicated to their craft — to the art and science of teaching,” she explains. “They are passionate about facilitating learning, and they believe in the capacity of each student. Faculty and staff who work at Overlake do so because they believe in the mission and vision of the school, and they are invested in each student’s success.”
OVERLAKE’S FUTURE IS BRIGHT BEYOND MEASURE.” GRETCHEN WARNER
Warner goes on to describe her impressions of Overlake students. “Overlake students love learning. They are thoughtful in their approach to studying, collaboration, and they show up to support one another. The students are well-rounded and see the value in participating in a variety of activities on campus.”
It’s the intersection and relational work of these two constituencies that families of Overlake students appreciate, and it has made an impression on Warner. “Families choose Overlake because of the high quality of relationships between students and educators, the community and opportunity the school affords each student, the holistic approach to student education, and the academic excellence balanced with co-curricular excellence.”
Overlake’s Heads of School
Overlake’s history is marked in many ways through the years. One way in which the institution has evolved is through its various Head of School transitions. The arrival of Gretchen Warner marks Overlake’s 10th Head of School since its founding in 1967.
JEAN LAMBERT
RON SMALLMAN
DEAN PALMER
“I BELIEVE THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE AN EDUCATOR , AN EDUCATIONAL LEADER , OR A STUDENT.” GRETCHEN WARNER
As she steps into her new role, embracing change becomes a shared journey for the organization. Overlake’s next Head of School will impart her vision and strategy to continue the positive trajectory the school is on while also allowing for natural change to occur under her leadership.
“Overlake’s future is bright beyond measure,” explains Warner. “This year we are making final progress in the Coming Together strategic plan, we are completing the reaccreditation process through NWAIS, and we will be completing the final phase of the Doors to Discovery capital campaign as the new Student & Community Center opens in summer 2025. My charge as the new Head of School is to collaboratively take the essence of Overlake, amplify and iterate it, and shepherd the school into the next decade and beyond.”
5 things to know about our new Head of School
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Gretchen and her husband Robin took a month to drive across the country as they moved from the Washington, D.C. area to Washington state. Along the way, they visited seven national parks, over a dozen national historic sights, and enjoyed the magic of the I-90 cross country trek.
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W hen not on Overlake’s beautiful c ampus, Gretchen can be found in the mountains with Robin and their dog Sunny: hiking, mountain biking, and fly fishing.
Gretchen is a self-described educational research nerd. She loves learning about and applying the neurobiological principles of adolescent learning so that students experience the very best that education has to offer.
Gretchen is an avid reader. While she reads a lot of literature and educational research, she also prioritizes reading for enjoyment.
One of my favorite quotes/inspirations: “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” from author Paulo Coelho. Let’s be honest, a lot of people don’t like making mistakes. I don’t like making mistakes, either, but I aim to model that mistakes are some of our greatest teachers. I believe we need to embrace the learning and the growth that happens as a result, even if it is at first uncomfortable.
OPENING 2025!
Construction is underway on our new 8,000-square-foot Student & Community Center, which will open doors this summer!
W ith the opening of the Whitten Math & Sciences Center in 2021, Overlake now has the dedicated academic spaces needed to support the hard skills in all disciplines. The new Student & Community Center will further the soft skills to ensure that our graduates are well-rounded and equipped to thrive in the team-based environments they will encounter in college and throughout their careers. Furthermore, with this new building, learning will extend beyond the classroom and foster collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity to prepare students for any path they choose.
To learn more about the Doors to Discovery c ampaign, please visit overlake.org/discovery.
The centerpiece of the Student & Community Center will be a multipurpose space that can seat 250 people. With a dedicated lobby and pre-function area, we will be able to host a wide array of events, meetings, and gatherings that aren’t possible today.
Additionally, the Center will include administrative offices and a conference room, so that our professional staff can serve our community at the highest level.
Our new Student & Community Center is more than just a building. It is a place where students can learn, grow, and connect with peers and faculty.
Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to invest in Overlake’s future! We look forward to inviting you to hard hat tours and building opening celebrations in 2025!
Student & Community Center
A place to congregate
• Gr ade-level meetings, Associated Student Body (ASB) meetings, and other student gatherings
• Gatherings for the entire Middle School
• Testings (Standardized SATs and APs and course finals)
• Senior Project and student presentations
• Student orientations
• Book fairs
• C ollege Counseling presentations and college admissions visits
• Gue st speakers
• ParentNet, Overlake Friends of the Arts (OFTA), and Overlake Athletic Club (OAC) sessions; Faculty Staff Appreciation events
• Parent Guardian Association (PGA) meetings and events
• Volunteer orientations and meetings
• A lumni gatherings and meetings
• Admissions programs and interviews
A place to
collaborate
• Student collaborations and group projects
• Student clubs and advisories
• Student study sessions
• Student academic teams presentations and competitions (e.g., Speech & Debate)
• Faculty and staff collaborations and meetings
A place to celebrate
• Student dances and events
• Student co-curricular events
• Senior celebrations
• Parent/guardian socials
• Family celebrations around performing arts, athletic events, and more
• A lumni reunions, events, and programs
• A lumni parent/guardian gatherings
The possibilities are endless!
Final Year for the Capital Campaign!
This is the final year of fundraising for our ambitious Doors to Discovery capital campaign, which launched in 2017–18 and completed the Whitten Math & Sciences Center, increased financial aid endowment, and is now constructing the new Student & Community Center.
To date, we have raised more than $5.5 million toward the Student & Community Center with a goal to raise another $1.2 million or more by June 2025. We are so grateful to all our donors who have joined in this mission-critical project.
Please join us! Director of Development Brisen Brady is happy to facilitate your giving or answer any questions you may have. Please contact her at bbrady@overlake.org or 425-868-1000. You may also scan this QR code to make a donation or multi-year pledge today:
Naming Opportunities
All donors, at every level, will be included on the donor recognition wall located in the Whitten Math & Sciences Center lobby.
Specific naming opportunities in the Student & Community Center include:
• Student & Community Center facility: $5 million
• Discovery Hall (multipurpose room): $3 million
• Entry & Lobby: $1 million
• Admin Wing: $1 million
• C onference Room: $250,000
Building Bridges Beyond the White Picket Fences
A Note from the Director of Alumni Engagement
A s a longtime teacher who has shifted roles this year, it has been a true joy to connect with alumni from my last decade and a half at Overlake, w ith alumni who never passed through my English classroom, and with those who graduated before my time.
We have Owls who are creating new businesses and nonprofits in the world, seeding their ideas into successful community pillars. There are O wls who are engaged with improving processes and products to be more green and sustainable, who are creating art and making the world not only more beautiful but reflective of an everchanging human existence, and there are Owls who are telling stories through writing, social media, advertisements, and film, creating and reflecting on history as it is happening. Hearing these stories and connecting with our students beyond the white picket fences of Overlake’s campus has been an inspiring and joyful experience. To learn more about our alumni, read the spotlights featured on the pages that follow and visit the Owls in the Wild page of the Alumni Portal linked with the QR code at right. W hen people ask what it’s been like to shift gears and move out of the classroom this year, there seems to be an expectation that I will express sadness or regret. Instead, when I share all that our Owls are doing in the world, the pride in my voice speaks for itself. Overlake graduates are truly living out our values of curiosity, compassion, inclusion, equity, integrity, and mutual respect as they build a world that has never been built before. They run deep into the decades-long fabric of Overlake, emerging in the work that our more seasoned alumni are doing and through the people they have become. It is an honor to be the bridge between our campus life and the rich lives happening beyond our campus.
This fall, I shared the 2024–25 goals of the Alumni Program — to build relationships, improve communication, and reimagine our alumni programming. In partnership with our talented Alumni Board members and key constituents on campus, we are working to act on those goals. Already this fall there have been several local alumni events, a Chicago-area reunion, two newsletters, partnerships with local businesses, an uptick in social media engagement, and countless alumni visiting and connecting virtually and in person. Two big initiatives continue to drive our shared work — collecting, updating, and cleaning up our alumni data and creating an alumni reunion event for all graduating classes. The Alumni Board is working in partnership with me and our Technology Team to strategically and cost-effectively improve our Alumni data. You can help us by going to the Alumni Portal on Overlake’s webpage to update your contact information. Toward the second initiative, we are happy to report that the Inaugural All-Class Annual Reunion will take place on Saturday, May 31 from 5–7pm on Overlake’s campus. Mark your calendars and save the date! You can RSVP using the QR code at right which links to the Alumni Events page. I can’t wait to see you there!
W ith gratitude and joy,
Jenni Baldwin Director of Alumni Engagement
ALUMNI PORTAL
OWLS IN THE WILD
EVENTS
ne of the coolest job titles certainly must be “Nomadic Filmmaker.” And it’s a title that Maddie Gwinn (’15), gets to claim. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe there’s a name for what I do,” shares Maddie. “Documentary filmmaking isn’t just a career but a life path that challenges me to become immersed in unfamiliar worlds, to collaborate with people from all different cultures, languages, circumstances, and backgrounds to observe, research, document, and reflect on the common human experience,” shares Maddie who is currently finishing her debut feature documentary. Her film follows the lives of three young musicians in Pristina, Kosovo.
“I don’t think it’s possible to follow such a nontraditional path without an all-consuming love for it,” reflects Maddie. And living abroad is just one of the perks. Currently based in Kosovo, the newest country in Europe with the youngest population (over 70% of residents are under the age of 30), Maddie is filled with hope and purpose with the energy of place. “Sometimes I joke that Kosovo is like the Overlake campus — small, densely diverse, genuinely supportive — a community where everyone knows each other but also has their own ‘thing’,” she muses.
So how did Maddie get into the world of filmmaking? Her passion dates all the way back to her childhood. “I started filming with my family’s camcorder and editing on iMovie,” relays Maddie. Then in her first year at Overlake as a ninth grader, she founded the school’s first film club and launched Overlake’s inaugural Film Festival. Maddie went on to study directing and philosophy at Chapman University where a study abroad program in the Czech Republic made her fall in love with the European industry of cinema. Since her Chapman days, Maddie attended two international post-graduate programs for documentary filmmaking, one in Bologna and one at the
Filmakademie Baden-Wurrtemberg in Germany. During these programs Maddie was concurrently freelancing as a film editor to gather experiences and street cred to eventually pursue her own directing work. In fact, it was in a solo backpacking trip across the Balkans after graduating where she serendipitously had a meet-cute with the city of Pristina, Kosovo where she eventually moved.
Maddie also dabbles in other arts, including language and music. Maddie speaks Slavic and German and is currently learning Albanian. Because she’s working on a music documentary, she has the good fortune to attend weekly concerts resulting in a deepened and refined personal appreciation for music.
Maddie’s first film is set to debut in 2025. Catch it at film festivals and stay tuned for more from this rising star on the international film scene!
Sometimes I joke that Kosovo is like the Overlake campus — small, densely diverse, genuinely supportive.”
Maddie Gwinn CLASS OF 2015
AL U MNI SPOT L IGH T
Starting my academic career in a nurturing yet rigorous place bolstered my confidence and helped me succeed in my current work.”
Susannah Halbrook
CLASS OF 2011
Ac areer in research is really all about being brave enough to ask questions and unafraid to not know the answers. As a recent graduate of the ecology and evolutionary biology PhD program at Tulane University, Susannah Halbrook (’11) certainly knows how to be a professional researcher. “In research, you are, by design, constantly
doing things that you don’t know how to do because you’re finding out new information. That can take a toll on you and a lot of grad students struggle with confidence,” shares Susannah. She further adds, “Overlake gave me an amazing education and I gained a lot of confidence because it is such a comfortable and friendly environment where you can be yourself. Starting my academic career in a nurturing yet rigorous place bolstered my confidence and helped me succeed in my current work.”
Susannah has been studying plants and asking questions to drive her research in the relatively new field of microbial ecology, studying how soil microbes respond to the environment, interact with plants, and change over space and time. “Just like humans, plants (and all organisms) interact with microbes for necessary functions, like nutrient acquisition, stress tolerance, and immune function,” notes Susannah. Her dissertation focused on how soil fungal and bacterial communities change over long-term time scales in nature in response to short-term environmental disturbances, and how an invasion plant changes soil microbiomes differentially across the landscape.
After defending her dissertation in November of 2024, Susannah will be starting a postdoctoral research fellowship in Plant Pathology at UC Davis in January of 2025. Working with Dr. Johan Leveau, Susannah will be studying the microbiome of diseased versus healthy carrots to hopefully use microbiomes to combat crop disease.
Taking up a fellowship in Davis, California means leaving her now second-home of New Orleans where she’s been living for over 13 years since first arriving at Tulane as an undergrad. While in New Orleans, Susannah has enjoyed the city’s lively music scene which has inspired her to pick up the violin again, which she hadn’t played since 8th grade zero period Orchestra at Overlake. Susannah also enjoys gardening and baking, and has recently taken up sewing, even learning to make and alter her own clothes.
You can follow Susannah’s research at UC Davis by connecting with her through our Overlake Alumni LinkedIn group.
Nelson Ngouenet CLASS
Not many people who work 80 hours a week can say that it doesn’t feel like work. “I find a lot of fulfillment in what I do because I meet very cool people and work on solving important problems. It doesn’t feel like work,” shares Nelson Ngouenet (’17).
Perhaps when you do what you love and contribute to something meaningful, the long hours feel doable. Founder of a non-profit organization and for-profit company, he’s running two businesses despite having graduated with both a BS and MS in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania last year. Nelson’s business, Avian Dynamics, is a drone start-up that builds drones and drone programs for disaster relief. “We are essentially designing flying boats that can be utilized in scenarios where you don’t have the same kind of infrastructure or aerial logistics that can field larger-scale aircraft for support.” Taking the world by land, sea, and air, Avian Dynamics began in 2023 and is already gaining acclaim in the aviation and aerospace sectors.
But Nelson’s true passion comes through his work with his nonprofit, GLBL Foundation, an organization on a mission to build sustainable opportunities to make the world a better place. The foundation began with Nelson’s desire to share an opensource prototype from graduate school that garnered awards but wasn’t ready for deployment. “I took a stab at redesigning it to make the prototype operational so that people around the world can build or adjust as needed,” he shares. This was the first project for GLBL but other current projects include a smart bin for detecting levels in clothing donation bins and a financial training program that provides curriculum for students to gain financial education before graduating from high school. In fact, current Overlake student Avani B. (’25) worked as an intern for GLBL for the last two summers, spending the summer of 2024 focused on establishing partnerships with other organizations to build out the financial training curriculum.
So how did Overlake prepare this graduate for life in the fast lane of tech start-ups and nonprofits? “Overlake taught me to think through complex problems. Not only did I gain an understanding of the fundamentals, but Overlake helped me to tackle the
Overlake taught me to think through complex problems. Not only did I gain an understanding of the fundamentals, but Overlake helped me to tackle the abstract.”
abstract. I learned how to think creatively and how to expand my thinking without being hesitant or holding back,” shares Nelson. “When you’re starting companies you must have curiosity for anything that comes your way and Overlake provides that base.” Somehow amid running two companies, Nelson still finds time to keep up with golf, a passion from his time on the Overlake golf te am, as well as training as a runner, completing his first halfmarathon last November. Nelson also loves to travel and has recently been to Singapore, France, and Japan. Though these were primarily work trips, he’s been lucky to layer in some sightseeing and he hopes to get to Argentina in the next year, a country that fascinates him because, “they’ve had a lot of financial bankruptcies but have been resilient as a country. They’re still going, and I want to find out how and why,” he shares. Ever curious, ever creative, Nelson is always looking to learn and then share that understanding with the world.
If you know a young alumni interested in interning for the GLBL Foundation next summer or are interested in partnering w ith Nelson in any of his work, you will find him connected to Overlake’s LinkedIn Group. You can find the QR code to the LinkedIn Group on page 20.
CLASS NOTES
Overlake community members love to hear what’s happening within our alumni community! In Class Notes, we share events big and small, personal or professional, chance meetings, fun adventures, travel stories, etc. If you have an alumni story to share, be sure to send it to alumni@overlake.org.
2020s
In September, Christian Bancroft (’24) was selected from a competitive pool of first- and second-year business students at the Daniels School of Business at Purdue University to attend the Doster Leadership Conference in Indianapolis. At the conference, Christian networked with fellow students and Purdue alumni and practiced skills such as teambuilding, communication, and problem solving, even engaging in a conference case competition. Christian has applied to become a Programming Chair for next year’s Doster Leadership Conference and is currently a freshman at Purdue where he is studying economics.
Ellie Hong (’24), a freshman at Brown, organized an outing for Overlake alumni at Brown, including Oscar Petrov (’22) and Sammy Chen (’24). The three met at Aleppo Sweets, a Syrian Café near Brown and caught up on their summer breaks and campus life. The three already have another outing planned at a Thai restaurant and have invited Kamya Raman (’23) and Erik Vank (’23), also students at Brown, to join. We love hearing about Owls who are continuing to connect with one another on college campuses!
Keith Hunter (’24) is attending Philips Academy Andover for a post-graduate year of study and will attend Harvard next fall to join the Harvard Class of 2029. Keith is running another year of high school cross country and track in a competitive program that will prepare him to participate at the college level. Keith is exploring his passions through Philips Academy Andover’s open post-graduate curriculum and views this year as his “final steppingstone” toward college preparation.
Avena Fan (’23) is a busy sophomore at University of California, Berkeley where she is studying data science and business with a focus on technology. At Berkeley, Avena is engaged in two consulting clubs, DiversaTech and the Berkeley Business Society. This fall, Avena has been operating as a project manager for the business division of DiversaTech. Avena also serves on the Haas Business School Student Council as part of their Philanthropy Team. Her leadership in HBSA involves organizing fundraising opportunities and promoting awareness for HBSA and the wider campus.
Olivia Stiles (’23) spent her summer interning with Overlake as the Development and Alumni Engagement Intern. In her role, Olivia focused on overseeing the Overlake alumni social media accounts as well as conducting research and outreach to alumni and families. Additionally, Olivia assisted with the planning, communication, and execution of the joint retirement celebration last June for Lisa Orenstein, Alisa Steinhilber, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and Stephen Ringo. Olivia returned to LA this fall where she is a sophomore at Occidental College and is currently pursuing a double major in economics and psychology.
Zane Likosky (’22) is pursuing a screenwriting major at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film where he is busy balancing his coursework with two internships. The first is at a production company and the second internship is as co-author of
a script for a historian. Additionally, two scripts Zane has already completed are being produced this semester and will be featured on the big screen of Chapman’s theater. Zane is hoping to collaborate with fellow Overlake graduate Evan Spinner (’24) who joined Chapman’s College of Film this year, both of whom are following in the footsteps and soaking up advice from fellow Chapman and Overlake alum, Maddie Gwinn (’15), who is working as a filmmaker (see page 21).
O livia Okamoto (’22) is spending her fall semester at the University of Sussex in a s tudy abroad program with Occidental College. While at Sussex, Olivia is taking biology courses, studying cell pathology and the principles of neuronal function that align with her biochemistry major, as well as sports psychology courses for her kinesiology minor. Olivia will be practicing with the Sussex women’s lacrosse team to stay in shape for her spring season at Occidental. While in Europe, Olivia will be visiting sisters and fellow Overlake graduates Addie (’22) and Rachel (’22) Sapirstein who are currently in Rome. This past summer, Olivia completed an internship at Bellevue’s Swanson Dental where she fell further in love with the profession after shadowing Dr. Kris Swanson and Dr. Brian Mills, solidifying her plan to apply for dental school in summer of 2025. In her internship, Olivia gained valuable hands-on experience with patients as well as learning the business side of the practice by stocking and ordering materials. While interning,
Olivia also volunteered with Northwest Medical Teams, riding along on their mobile dental van throughout the greater Seattle area to provide free dental care to those who are unsheltered and/or who cannot afford dental care.
Catherine Huang (’21), who is currently a senior at the University of Washington, received a CREW Network Foundation Scholarship from the Commercial Real Estate Women Network (CREW). The CREW scholarship program supports female students as they pursue universitylevel education that will lead to careers in commercial real estate. As part of her scholarship, Catherine received $5,000 for tuition and books as well as a six-month mentorship with a CREW Visionary, a 24-month CREW Network student membership, a $1,000 travel stipend to attend the September CREW convention in Vancouver, BC, and a paid summer internship opportunity. Catherine also plays on the UW women’s ultimate frisbee team called Element, writes for the UW satirical publication Off Leash, and was inducted into the Beta Kappa Honor society last spring.
Julia Steen (’21) is in her fourth year of her bachelor’s program at the University of Edinburgh where she is working on her dissertation in social psychology, playing volleyball on Edinburgh’s varsity team, and serving on the committee for Girl* Up Edinburgh. Girl* Up is a UN founded organization that advocates for worldwide gender equality by empowering women’s voices. Last summer, Julia also completed a two-week business course at INSEAD, a business school in France, and completed an internship with a DEI start up in Oslo.
2010s
After graduating from the University of Washington, Zach Foster (’19) has been working at USI Insurance and is currently in his second year as the Varsity Assistant Coach for boys basketball at Overlake. Zach also coached cross-country with fellow former Overlakers and now-employees, Colton Umberger (’14) and Katie Hill (’14), during the 2021–2023 school years. The three have remained connected as coaches and attended a young alumni happy hour at Tavolàta in October.
After earning her Bachelor of Science from Villanova in 2023 as a biology major, Keely Likosky (‘19) entered medical school at the University of Michigan where she is currently in her second year.
Current Varsity Girls Soccer Assistant Coach Kayla Ngai (’19) just celebrated her one-year anniversary at Deloitte in Seattle where she works as a Public Accountant serving clients in the technology and consumer product space. Kayla is working toward earning her CPA, a year-long process that she’ll begin later this year. Kayla enjoys coaching with her former coach turned partner Sally Goodspeed and playing co-ed spike ball at the professional level. In fact, thanks to her winning streak this year, Kayla has earned a coveted spot playing at the Spike Ball Championship this October!
Jenny Stolarczuk (’19) graduated from NYU in 2023 and returned to the Seattle area to work in the OBGYN wing at the University of Washington Medical Center before enrolling in medical school at UW. Jenny had her white coat ceremony this fall as an initiation to the University of Washington School of Medicine.
After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Anda Gavrilescu (’18) moved to New York City where she has been working at a tech company called Atlassian as a Software Engineer. Anda was promoted
within her first year at the company and enjoys getting together with Overlake alumni who live in the tri-state area. Anda credits the communications skills she learned in her English courses as essential to her success as a former STEM student and current tech worker.
H olly Harris (’18) and her mom, parent a lum Katy H arris, recently hiked the Dolomites together, the culmination of a summer’s long s tretch of training hikes in the PNW. Holly is also an avid mountain biker who is progressing her skills in cross-country and Enduro bike racing. When she’s not on a trail, Holly can be found doing public relations work for OutsidePR, a Bay Area based firm with clients including The North Face and Wild Rye. In her free time, Holly also works as a freelance graphic designer and most recently did all the graphics for RAINBREW, a family owned and operated Korean-style rice winery in Woodinville.
Since graduating from USC, Teya Hisel (’18) has been working as the Policy Manager at LA’s Downtown Women’s Center. The DWC is an organization that works to end homelessness for women and gender-diverse individuals in LA County through a variety of services and advocacy. Teya works on all of the DWC’s policy advocacy and most recently shared that she was able to get $7.5 million into the LA city budget to support the expansion of emergency shelters and services for survivors of domestic violence through mobilizing a coalition led by the DWC. Teya is also working on a ballot measure campaign to provide funding for housing and homelessness services that will be voted on in November (coinciding with Teya’s birthday). Though she misses the Seattle rain, Teya has made incredible friends in LA and even began taking ballet classes of late.
Mary Javier (’18) is currently studying cavities in children ages 6–8 as part of her master’s research at the Eastman Institute
for Oral Health at Rochester University. Mary continues her interest in dentistry dating back to her Senior Project at Overlake, where she completed an internship at a dental school in China. Though Mary doesn’t have much free time between her preceptorship and master’s program courses, when she gets the chance to travel back to the West Coast, she visits with best friend and fellow Overlake alum, Teya Hisel (’18)
Kaelyn Lefferts (’18) has been dancing as a Company Artist at Ballet Idaho for the last four seasons and performed in some favorite shows including Alejandro Cerrudo’s Extremely Close, Ricard Amarante’s Carmen, and Johan Inger’s Walking Mad. If you happen to be in Boise, check out Ballet Idaho’s lineup and catch Kaelyn on stage!
Usman Moazzam (’18) is working toward his master’s degree in computer science through Columbia University with a specialization in artificial intelligence and currently works as a Software Engineer at Microsoft. At Microsoft, Usman has been focused on designing, implementing, and maintaining features for various workspaces in Microsoft’s internal portals including a new tool called Releases, which is a workspace that enables project managers and engineering leaders to map, track, and deploy new features for internal portals, Copilot, and other Microsoft products. In his free time, Usman has been volunteering at a local free medical clinic and can be found in the local parks playing ultimate frisbee and participating in group runs.
After spending two years in Panama on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Connor Tarbet (’18) is now in the midst of his junior year at Brigham Young University where he is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering.
After graduating from Princeton with her MSE in Computer Science, Andrea Wynn (’18) has begun a Doctor of Philosophy program at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. Andrea currently works as a Machine Learning Scientist at Expedia.
In her third year of a PhD program in computer science at Harvard, Catherine Yeh (’18) is currently researching the intersection of human computer interaction, visualization, and artificial intelligence. Most recently, Catherine has been building interactive visualization tools to better
understand artificial intelligence models and designing AI-powered workflows for creative processes like writing or data augmentation.
Owen Friend (’17) is currently pursuing a PhD at University of Texas, Austin where he is studying brain development. After Owen graduated from the University of Southern California, he spent a year doing research in a children’s court in Los Angeles.
Lucie Lundquist (’17) is the owner of Lucie Lundquist Design, an interior design business that specializes in residential home decorating and small-scale remodels. Lucie is a Certified Interior Designer from the New York Institute of Art and Design. Throughout this last summer, Lucie participated in a number of pop-up events, such as the Sodo Georgetown Flea Market, where she was able to showcase fabrics, table top items, bespoke pillows, and antique finds.
Kate Parsons Proctor (’17) is currently working as the Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications at Forest Ridge. Amongst her many responsibilities, Kate runs the school’s social media accounts. Outside of work, Kate can often be found on the Burke-Gilman Trail logging hours of training. Kate recently ran her first full marathon in Ireland, quite literally following in her dad, faculty member Dave Parson’s, cross-country and marathonrunning footsteps.
Congratulations
college in 2016 and were engaged on August 17th on the Oregon Coast. Meike is currently in the last stage of her PhD program studying the impact of non-native species and climate change on mountain vegetation. Meike, based in Lüneburg, Germany, is currently working for the Mountain Invasion Research Network and for a European Union funded project called RangeX. Last spring, Meike and her dad, retired Overlake Upper School Head Gerald Buhaly, traveled together through Slovakia on an epic father daughter trip.
The next time you see a severe weather alert with a pre-emptive pass closure for safety, you can thank Matthew Charchenko (’15), Operational Meteorologist for Weathernet, a forecasting company that serves the transportation and construction industries. Matthew is also the lead for interagency briefings for Washington State with the Department of Transportation, the National Weather Service, and other emergency management stakeholders. When he’s not forecasting our next big storm, Matthew can be found on one of Washington’s many hiking trails, always with a camera in hand.
After working in the food and farming industry for almost a decade, Madi Finch (’15) recently transitioned to the commercial construction and interior design industry, specifically focusing on furniture. Madi works as an Account Manager at Legacy Group where she spends a lot of time traveling, hosting industry events that tap into her love of the local food scene and playing with beautiful fabrics. Outside of work, Madi has been a certified yoga instructor since 2016 and she enjoys the outdoors, particularly through camping and gardening.
Currently based in Kosovo, Maddie Gwinn (’15) is working on her debut feature documentary following the lives of three young musicians in Pristina. A selfprofessed nomadic filmmaker, Maddie has been following her filmmaking dream since graduating from Chapman University with a degree in film and philosophy. After completing two postgraduate film programs, one in France and one in Germany, Maddie worked as a freelance filmmaker in Portugal, Barbados, Iceland, and Saudi Arabia. Maddie received support from a German public film fund and two Oscarwinning producers to direct her first feature
are in order for Meike Buhaly (’15) who is newly engaged to Paul Tomlinson. The couple met at Occidental
documentary, which is set to debut in 2025. To read more about Maddie’s film-making journey, check out her spotlight story on page 21.
O verlake graduate Julia Turner (’15) ma rried Matt K lineman on August 31st in Seattle. It was an O wl-filled affair as O verlake graduate M acKenzie Olson (’15) served as the Maid of Honor and fellow alumni Cassie Moore (’15), Emily Lautch (’15), Noah Turner (’23), and Annalee Debenport (’23) were all in attendance. Julia has had a busy year planning a wedding, working in economics and economic policy, completing a year-long position as a Staff Economist for the Biden Administration’s Council of Economic Advisers, and pursuing a PhD in education policy at Northwestern University. The newlyweds moved to New York this fall where Julia will complete her PhD and Matt will work at Stripe.
Current faculty member and Overlake graduate Katie Hill (’14) was engaged to Eli Waalkes (’14) last fall. The couple is in the midst of planning their wedding for summer of 2025.
Erika Sasaki (’14) recently graduated from medical school at the University of Washington and is starting an anesthesiology residency at University of California, San Francisco.
Colton Umberger (’14) is our new Admissions Coordinator at Overlake, and he is excited to be recruiting the next generation of Owls alongside new Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Min Yoo. Colton continues his love of athletics in a coaching capacity as the Varsity Boys Lacrosse Head Coach.
Brian Schoening (’12) and new wife Megan Schoening, who is Overlake’s new Assistant Director of Development, were married on June 15th at Black Diamond Gardens. The happy couple were celebrated by fellow Class of 2012 wedding guests Emily Rogers, Michael Fleming, Giles Ray, Bob Gardner, Connor Wilson, and Dan Isaza, as well as Andrew Gold (’14). The newlyweds currently live in Shoreline with their four-legged family members,
including two dogs and two cats. Congratulations Schoenings!
Susannah Halbrook (’11) is in the final leg of her PhD program in ecology and evolutionary biology at Tulane University in New Orleans where she defended her dissertation this past fall with mother and alumni faculty member Lisa Orenstein in attendance. Susannah’s research is not only cutting edge but is contributing to a relatively new area of study — microbial ecology — a quickly evolving field that has only come to light in the last two decades. Her dissertation focuses on how soil fungal and bacterial communities change over long-term time scales in nature in response to short-term environmental disturbances, and how an invasion plant changes soil microbiomes differently across the landscape. To read more about Susannah’s fascinating research, check out her spotlight feature story on page 22.
2000s
Sarah Tompkins (’05) has been named as this year’s Distinguished A lumni Award recipient by the A lumni Board for her decades-long work as a rare disease advocate. Sarah has been bravely sharing her story and journey as a person living with a rare disease since the onset of her symptoms while she was still a student at Overlake. Sarah credits her time at Overlake for giving her a sense of confidence, noting “I can enter any room and speak to anyone — my voice is valid.” Sarah shared her voice as she addressed all students at the Distinguished Alumni Award Assembly on Friday, November 1st and was honored at an afternoon reception that followed.
Alum and faculty member Joanna Guiler (’03) has temporarily left the classroom to take on the role of Interim Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Overlake. Jo says she “loves and values this work, and the commitment Overlake has to improving its practice to uphold the mission and values,” and she is particularly excited to still be in a student-facing role. When she’s not busy wearing her many Overlake hats, Jo and
husband Garrett can be found wrangling their busy boys Charlie (6 years) and Anderson (8 years) or cooking up a storm in her kitchen with fresh ingredients from her garden.
Mollie Fadule (’00) is now the parent of a new 9th grader at Overlake. Mollie serves on the board of a public homebuilder and several other boards that focus on equitable, affordable, and sustainable housing. She is passionate about solutions for homelessness and is connecting with our Experiential Education Team to leverage her expertise and connections to support school programming such as Project Week, Senior Projects, and cocurricular clubs.
Anshuman Srivastava (’00) rejoins Overlake as the parent of new 6th grader, Ananya. Anshuman has enjoyed reconnecting with the school community since returning to the Seattle area after living in London for the last two years and seeing how Overlake has grown since he graduated in 2000. Anshuman recently celebrated his 10th anniversary at Axon Enterprises, a leader in public safety in the tech industry. At Axon, Anshuman works as a Senior Director of Software Engineering. Anshuman has been engaged as an active member of our wider Overlake community and serves on our Alumni Board.
1990s
Jessica Klein DiStefano (’95), a long-time Alumni Board member and active participant in the Overlake alumni community, took on the role of Alumni Board President this year, succeeding outgoing Alumni Board President Kate Berry (’08). The two attended the joint retirement celebration in June along with fellow alumni Sam Hillyer (’01) and Sarah Tompkins (’05). Jessica also attended the Chicago area reunion in October alongside classmate Rheanna Guess (’95)
1980s
John Blincoe (’83) works as a Global Logistics Independent Consultant and has been in the supply chain industry for over 29 years working with Seattle-based companies such as Expeditors, Starbucks, Amazon, Nordstrom, T-Mobile, and K2 Skis. When John recently reached out to the
Director of Alumni Engagement, he noted that, “I can draw a straight, bold line from the skills of analysis, writing, spoken communication, and team building I learned at Overlake to where I am today.”
Thank you to Jody Chatalas (’84) for hosting the lovely summer gathering for the Class of 1984.
1970s
Founder of Boccemon, a company that renders ground oyster shells as a playing surface for bocce ball courts, Tom McNutt (’77) is planning to retire in fall of 2024. He credits his time at Overlake as teaching him to think outside the box, which led to his creative business venture. Tom loves to try his hand at new activities, which he’ll have plenty of time for in retirement.
Kim Robertson (’77) stepped down from his long-time position on Overlake’s Alumni Board this summer to focus on his career as an importer, though he remains an active member of the alumni community at Overlake. We are grateful for Kim’s tenure as an Alumni Board member as well as for the many ways he has contributed to our school community over the decades.
Current and Retired Faculty
Erin Gabriel, faculty member and alumni parent of Simone Gabriel-Scherief (’12), Lucy Stearns (’22), and Jacob Stearns (’24), performed at the annual Seattle Pro Musica Cabaret Fundraiser show at The Triple Door in early October. Erin has been performing with Pro Musica for 11 years in support of their mission to enrich and inspire audiences, singers, and community through the experience of choral artistry. You can catch Erin at the annual Alumni Holiday Happy Hour, the prelude to the Overlake Orchestra Concert, on December 5th by RSVPing on the Alumni Portal of the
Overlake webpage. The QR code to the Alumni Portal can be found on page 20.
Recently retired long-time faculty member Lisa Orenstein enjoyed some fall travel to kick off her first year of retirement, starting in Vermont for a long weekend, then New York to visit family, before heading to Spain for two weeks. Lisa returned stateside for a family wedding in Toronto and wrapped her epic trip with a visit to New Orleans to support daughter and Overlake alum Susannah Halbrook (’11) as she defends her dissertation. While in New Orleans, Lisa will head to Montgomery, Alabama to visit the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and some historic sites, picking up from a trip Lisa took with alumni faculty member Dave Bennett for their Mississippi Project Week several years back.
Recently retired faculty member Stephen Ringo (“Ringo” as he was affectionately known on campus) welcomed new grandson Casper Faolan Ringo-Pennino in late July and shortly thereafter lost his mother, Berit Ringo, who had just turned 95. After attending several Overlake alumni events this fall, Ringo journeyed on an epic three-week trip to Taiwan, touring Taipei solo before meeting up with friends in the Peng Hu Islands, as well as visiting Ping Tung, Taitung, and Tainan. The first order of business on this retiree’s list is to fill his passport with new stamps!
Alumni Parents
Lena Tuffaha, former Board of Trustees member and parent of three Overlakers, Raya (’16), Reema (’21), and Renda (’23), recently made the National Book Award’s list for her poetry collection Something About Living, which was published by the University of Akron. This was Lena’s third book publication following Water & Salt and Kaan and Her Sisters. Something About Living can be purchased from Lena’s website lenakhalaftuffaha.com.
In Memory
Kathryn Kramer Philp
Mother of Overlake alumni Kristin (’75), K aty (’78), Alex (’85), and Erik (’88), K athryn Kramer Philp (best known as Katy or Mrs. Philp) passed away on August 20th. Katy was an active member of the Overlake community as a classroom substitute and school volunteer, often an enthusiastic audience member of many performances and sporting events, even organizing the first ever Overlake Walk-a-thon. In the words of Bill and Anna Armstrong, she was “loving, kind, generous, and resilient.” Katy lived to be 89 and passed peacefully with her son Erik by her side.
Yohan Cho (’21)
O verlake mourns the loss of Yohan Cho, who passed away on September 28th in a tragic accident. He is survived by his parents and his brother, fellow Overlake graduate Yosup Cho (’20). Yohan had been a senior at UW and was an active member of his college community. He is remembered by his former homeroom advisor, Justin Prohn, for being “a quiet soul with a big and kind heart whose smile really lit up a room.”
Yohan’s best memories of Overlake came from his time on the field playing varsity lacrosse. Coach Colton Umberger reflects on Yohan as a player, sharing that his “authenticity and enthusiasm shined on the lacrosse field and he was a fierce competitor and compassionate teammate — everything you could ask for out of a student-athlete.”
Yohan will be deeply missed by his Overlake family, and especially by his peers from the Class of 2021. To honor Yohan, consider trying something new or stepping outside of your comfort zone in his spirit.
FALL SPORTS Mid-Season Update
Cross Country
EDITOR’S NOTE: THESE SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS REFLECT THE FIRST MONTH OF THE SEASON.
As we reach the midpoint of the cross-country season, our team is adapting impressively following the graduation of 12 seniors last year. Coach Dave Parsons notes, “While we lost some key athletes, we have welcomed talented new runners from our ninth grade. The future is bright.”
This season, our focus has been on training runners to compete in “packs.” By grouping athletes of similar pace, we are fostering motivation and enhancing erformance. The results are already evident: at a recent meet in Whidbey, 28 unners improved their 5K times, with two cutting nearly three minutes from their bests. Looking ahead, we aim to build on this momentum as we prepare for the league championships and the bi-district race that will determine our state qualifiers. The team spirit has been remarkable, thanks to strong bonds among athletes and support from team captains. Our runners have been cooperative and encouraging, creating a positive environment.
A lthough we do not have a specific off-season goal, many athletes trained together over the summer, establishing a solid fitness foundation. We are excited about the continued growth and achievements of our young team.
Special thanks to my assistant coaches — Adam, David, and Kate — for their invaluable support, and to our student captains, Avani, Emily, Bert, Aiden, and Jonathan, for their exemplary leadership.
W ith the season in full swing, we look forward to seeing how our athletes thrive. Go team!
COACH DAVE PARSON
Girls’ Volleyball
COACH MINDY M c GRATH
This season has tested our volleyball team’s resilience, especially with early injuries and illnesses. Coach Mindy McGrath reflects, “Despite these setbacks, our young squad has thrived on adaptability, allowing us to confront challenges head-on. To navigate these difficulties, we have focused on strategic alignment during practices and matches, deploying our strongest players to maximize performance. Embracing versatility has been key; we rotate players into various roles, and every team member has risen to the occasion, highlighting remarkable flexibility and commitment.”
A significant takeaway from this season is the strength of our adaptability. “Our versatility is a tremendous asset,” McGrath emphasizes. As we move forward, our goal is to prioritize team success, competing fiercely and celebrating every contribution, regardless of role.
One pleasant surprise has been the impressive skill maturity of our sophomores and first-year students. Their growth has been inspiring and has positively impacted the entire team.
A s we continue through the season, we remain committed to overcoming challenges and achieving our collective goals.
Boys’ Ultimate
COACH BEN OSTMAN
As the season unfolds, Coach Ben Ostman is leading his boys’ ultimate team with a clear emphasis on simplicity and growth. The team has committed to a straightforward offensive s trategy centered around a vertical stack structure, which helps players gain confidence and familiarity with their plays. This year, the focus is on fundamentals and team chemistry rather than striving for perfection. This shift has created a supportive environment that encourages skill development and teamwork.
Ostman believes in the team’s potential, noting that their performance potential is higher than ever.
“They have set ambitious goals, including improving their state placement, achieving the most efficient offense in their conference, and enhancing their deep throwing abilities.”
“The team dynamic is equally intriguing; they balance serious competition with a fun, youthful spirit. This blend fosters a strong bond among players, enhancing both performance and enjoyment.” Looking ahead, Ostman emphasizes the importance of process goals: giving 100% effort, holding each other accountable, and maintaining focus on their game plan. This foundation not only prepares them for competition but also strengthens their camaraderie.
With the coach’s strategic vision and the team’s dedication to development, the future looks promising. The team is well-positioned to make a significant impact this season and beyond. In the off-season, the focus will remain on growth. Ostman is determined to maintain their upward trajectory, build chemistry, and recruit new talent to the program.
Boys’ Golf
COACH JUSTIN PROHN
Success in golf often hinges on mental strategy. Coach Justin Prohn emphasizes the need to manage situations effectively. He explains, “It’s about c ontrolling damage and making smart choices. Sometimes we need to lay up or play c onservatively instead of going all out.”
This season, the team has focused on mastering funda mentals rather than just chasing distance. “We’re working on swing path, tempo, and rhythm,” he notes. “These elements are crucial for consistency, and we’re seeing weekly improvements.” (continued next page)
Boys’ Tennis
COACH JEFF LORANGER
Boys’ Golf (continued)
A key lesson from this season is the importance of focus. While enjoying the game is vital, maintaining concentration leads to better decisions on the course. Prohn highlights, “We want our players to enjoy the game, but they also need to understand the value of focus.”
Looking ahead, the team aims to qualify as many players as possible for the league tournament in May. Each golfer must score 13 over par or better in two matches to qualify. Currently, four players are qualified, with three others close behind.
One pleasant surprise this season has been the strong interest in the program. “It’s fantastic to see so many young golfers eager to play at Bear Creek Country Club,” Prohn says. “This sport offers a lifetime of enjoyment, and it’s exciting to have such a vibrant team.”
As they approach the off-season, the focus will remain on improvement. “As our players grow, they will experience changes in mindset, strength, and technique,” he adds. “The more they practice, the better they will become.”
With a bright future ahead, the next step for this young team is to enhance their skills and build confidence, paving the way for continued growth and success.
Coach Jeff Loranger is focusing on tennis doubles this season to enhance the team’s performance. “This year, we’ve put a stronger emphasis on doubles,” he says, noting how this strategy has helped clinch key matches alongside a strong singles lineup. He has also adjusted practice times, starting earlier to allow players more time for studies. “I hope this helps them start homework earlier and get more sleep,” he shares, reflecting the team’s commitment to balancing academics and athletics.
A key takeaway has been optimizing practice time. With limited court access shared with the JV team, Loranger has become more selective with drills. “We’re maximizing our time and focusing on what yields the best results,” he explains.
The team has set ambitious goals, including a recent victory over UPrep, last season’s league champions. “We swept them in doubles and won 3-2, tying us for the league title,” he proudly states. Additionally, qualifying multiple players for the State tournament in May remains a focus. “I’ve been blown away by how balanced and skilled this team is,” he notes, crediting offseason improvements for their success.
Looking ahead, the team aims to secure the league title, improve at the Curtis Cup, and qualify for State. “We’re tied for 1st in the league, and we won the Curtis Cup last season. I’m optimistic,” he states.
In the offseason, Loranger sees potential for growth. “With only a few seniors graduating, players of similar skill levels can push each other. Those who work hard will stand out,” he encourages. With a solid strategy and clear goals, Loranger is leading a team poised for success this season and beyond.
Girls’ Soccer
COACH SALLY GOODSPEED
A s the season unfolds, Coach Sally Goodspeed reflects on the journey of her young squad, comprised of 22 student-athletes predominantly in 9 th and 10th grade, with only six upperclassmen. “We are a fairly young squad with a lot of new faces. It takes some time to gel and find our stride,” she notes.
Despite the challenges of building chemistry among a largely inexperienced te am, the season has kicked off on a high note. The players have showcased their talent, contributing to a series of impressive victories. Notable moments include sophomore Reya V. scoring just 30 seconds into the season opener, leading to a solid 3-1 victory over Seattle Christian. Freshman Isabel S. shined by netting a hat trick in a commanding 5-0 win against Tenino in their second game.
The team's bond strengthened during a memorable overnight road trip to Vancouver, WA, where they stayed in Centralia. This experience not only served as a break from routine but also fostered camaraderie among the players, setting a solid foundation for the season ahead.
Another standout moment came when the team secured a thrilling 3-2 win against Bellevue Christian, who was ranked #1 in the state at the time. This victory proved the team's resilience and potential as they continue to strive for success.
Looking ahead, Coach Goodspeed emphasizes the team's goals: “We aim to be in the top half of the league and position ourselves well for the playoffs. We’re hoping to contend for a state tournament spot.” With determination and a growing sense of unity, this young squad is ready to tackle the rest of the season with confidence.
