The Bethel School District Presents Podcast

Making the transition from middle to high school can be a tricky one. This week, we dive into how our district is setting incoming ninth graders up for success from day one. Hear directly from students about overcoming distractions, mastering tough classes, and turning freshman year challenges into big wins. You’ll learn how building the right habits today opens the door to massive dreams tomorrow. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

--TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Doug: Hey everybody, I'm Doug. That's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents Podcast. We have a great show for you today. We're going to be talking with some students who have made the move from middle to high school. That's right, freshmen, some ninth graders, will be joining us talking about that transition. It can be a difficult move for some kids, and we're going to see what Spanaway Lake High School is doing to help them make that transition. But before we do that, Conor, you know how we start the show. It's Useless Trivia Time! What have you got for our listeners this week?

Conor: Well, Doug, I think I got a pretty decent one this week, actually. So, did you know that Finland has a national competition for carrying your wife? It's pretty serious stuff. The competition's officially called Eukonkanto, and it involves racing through a 250-meter obstacle course while carrying your better half. And the best part is the prize: the world champion traditionally receives the carried partner's weight in beer.

Doug: Wow! First, let me congratulate you on that pronunciation. Well, well done.

Conor: Thank you. I was really proud of myself.

Doug: (Laughs) I heard you practicing! (Laughs) And second, that's wild! I had heard about competitions like this, where it's kind of these obscure races or tests of strength. I love this kind of stuff.

Conor: Yeah, it's a great competition, very old school. And my source this week is a twofer: Euronews and, just so I can say it again, the official Eukonkanto website.

Doug: Love it! Nicely done.

Conor: What do you got, Doug?

Doug: Well, I've got a good one, too, hopefully. You agree with me, we'll find out. Look on your face says you don't believe it's going to be a good one. So, way back in the day, this is back in the '90s, Conor. The World Wide Web is just getting started, so there had to be a first kind of every kind of website. Why don't you guess along with our listeners the very first website for a band or musical artist?

Conor: That's actually fascinating, and unfortunately, I am old enough to remember all of this. I'm going to guess that was in the early-to-mid-'90s, '93-'94. I'm going to say Michael Jackson.

Doug: That's actually a really good guess, and extra credit, you guessed 1994, that is the year. October 1994, Megadeth has the first-ever website for an artist or band.

Conor: That is truly bizarre, but shoutout to Dave Mustaine and the boys for being trailblazers.

Doug: Wrong band. Oh well, whatever.

Conor: And what is your source on that?

Doug: So, I was listening to the radio the other day, Jodi and Bender mentioned it.

(Sound effect plays)

Conor: Oh no! Our listeners know what that sound means. Your source has been challenged for lacking. Get back to work, Doug. Find me a better source.

Doug: Okay, instead of Jodi and Bender, let's go with Billboard magazine, with a backup of American Songwriter.

Conor: There we go, very respectable. We'll allow it.

Doug: Well, thank you very much. So this week, you headed over to Spanaway Lake High School, and you sat down with some staff and students, in particular those involved in the Ninth Grade Success Program. One of the biggest transitions that we have as a school district is students moving from middle school to high school, also from elementary to middle school. Making that leap can be tough for some students, and the folks at Spanaway Lake are doing some pretty impressive things to make an easier transition for kids. Let's head over there now.

Conor: I'm on location today at Spanaway Lake High School. I am speaking with ninth graders Zaea and Cailey, along with Whitney Parkin, she's a math teacher, and Jennifer Brock, she's a counselor. And what we're talking about today is the Ninth Grade Success Program. So, Jennifer, for people who have maybe never heard of this program, can you give us a little rundown on what it is and why it's important?

Jennifer: Yeah. So, our Ninth Grade Success team really works with our incoming ninth graders, because we know that being on track to graduate as a ninth grader is one of the biggest factors in being on track to graduate long term. And so we have found that if our ninth graders have the skills that they need to start fresh and start well in ninth grade, it's much easier in the long term getting them through that graduation stage.

Conor: Is this the first year of the program?

Jennifer: So, in Bethel School District, this is the third year that this program has been in place. At Spanaway Lake, however, this is only our second year. And so ultimately, it is a partnership where we work with districts across the state of Washington and all come together and try to find ways to help our ninth graders stay on track.

Conor: So, Whitney, as a math teacher, how do you fit into this? Is there a science component? Is there a humanities component? Or is it specifically math that we're focusing on for this success?

Conor: Great.

Whitney: So, we're not just focusing on math for the success. How I fit into it is that I'm the team lead for the work that we're doing here as the Ninth Grade Success team. And that team is made up of a lot of different roles. So we have counselors like Ms. Jennifer right here, we have social services support, yeah, we have admin support, we have equity support, we have other teachers from as many departments as we can find people who are interested in doing this work, and people who just across the board work with ninth graders. So we're trying to create a system of wrap-around supports. Every inch of the building, every area of the building that there's somebody that works with ninth grade students, we try to get one of them at least on the team, and so they work to help build all the supports and encouragements and just create a system that helps them to do the work that Jennifer was just talking about, helping them stay on track. That's what we do.

Conor: Excellent. And how are we measuring success for this program?

Whitney: Okay, so we have a Bethel School dashboard that helps collect the data from teachers' grade books across the building. And then what happens is that we compare it to the OSPI report card that we get just about at the end of the year, and that will tell us what percentage of our students are on track. And we keep a track of that over the past couple of years, especially like we've seen last year, which was our first year, we started off with about 43% students on track and we ended the year with 52% on track, so that's a 9% bump.

Conor: Oh, that's a big jump!

Whitney: Yes, it's a big jump. So we use that data dashboard that we have within our school district to keep track throughout the school year, but at the end, our goal is to make sure that our OSPI report card has a much better grade than we had last year.

Conor: Yeah, keep it moving in the right direction.

Whitney: Yes.

Conor: So let's bring some student voice here. So, Zaea, you are a freshman here, you've been here now, what, a couple months? So, still I'm sure getting your feet under you. What's been the biggest issue you've faced transitioning from middle school to high school?

Zaea: I have been making, um, some good grades. I have been, um, paying attention to all my classes, 'cause last year I haven't been paying attention, really, 'cause I've been distracted 'cause basically social media gets in the way of all my schoolwork and everything. So this year, I'm trying to focus on all my classes and make good grades, and have, um, lots of fours and threes on my schoolwork. So this year, I'm trying to, um, focus and know, put effort in my work and try to lessen the distractions and try to focus on everything I'm trying to do, you know? Like, I don't want to fail. That's one thing I'm trying to like not do, like I really want to succeed.

Conor: Do you feel like that these, some of these things that we're talking about are helpful for you in, in keeping your grades up, in kind of making sure that you don't fall behind, or—

Zaea: Yes, like, um, the success group is pretty much helping me because in my math class, it's pretty hard, 'cause I do get distracted easily a lot and I just don't focus like I'm supposed to be, sometimes. And then with the help I'm getting from success group, with them explaining like how to do this, how to do that, I'm actually like listening, and I'm writing down notes, and I'm like concentrating on everything, and—

Conor: That's awesome! Uh, Cailey, what about you? What's, what's been a surprise since you've moved over here from middle school, or has it been about what you thought it'd be?

Cailey: I think that the transition over has so far been as expected. Like, the confusion, just 'cause how the transition moves, 'cause I got, I got the grip, and then I lost the grip, and then I'm slowly trying to get it back.

Conor: It's a process, you know, and, and there's a lot of things that go into school that are not scholastic, per se. I mean, like you were saying, you got social media, you've got friends situations, it's a lot to kind of wrap your head around. So, this is the second year of this, Jennifer. What kind of success have you seen in the students that you've worked with?

Jennifer: As far as the counseling perspective goes, I think our students are gaining skills early that they can continue to use, rather than us trying to catch them later and come up with those skills later and trying to catch up from what we missed before. We're able to speak with them early and hit things that are needed early. Um, it makes it to where when they're in their junior and senior year, we're able to have conversations around, "Hey, here's these really cool programs you can get into, here's these cool things that we have partnerships with," versus "How are we going to make up your credits and make sure we're getting to graduation?"

Conor: Whitney, it is a young program. I'm sure you see places where it can grow and where you personally and professionally can grow with it. Where do you see this program going in the next couple years?

Whitney: As we continue our work with the Center for High School Success, which is the program that we got that governs all of this and part of the work that goes into us having this grant, we learn and we see that there are different things and different ways that we can support students. As Zaea was just saying, that there are some skills that students have that they know that those are inherently problems that they have, and if we don't teach them how to get beyond those things like distractions and just having, you know, like asking for help, just like she's doing right now, some students may not have those skills developed yet. And so when we're planning and as we work through this program, we see that those are skills and there are areas that sometimes we need to help students be better at, areas that we need to create systems to support students with, and it's not about changing the students that we have, it's about making better systems to support the students that we have and meeting them where they are. And as we do this work, as we hear from them, as we continue to work in these different areas with people from different relationships and ways that they interact with these students, we get to see what they really need help with, and as we continue this work, we just want to make sure that we're making those systems better.

Conor: Yeah, absolutely. And I, I think it's really cool that, you know, students like Zaea have the self-awareness to say, "You know, I struggle at math." Because a lot of people are like, "No, I'm kind of faking it," and I'm going to not, you know, "I don't want to bring any attention on myself." I'm sure as a teacher that helps you to know that a student is struggling and maybe they need a little more help here. Talk a little bit about that, about, you know, students being open to some of their limitations and addressing them.

Whitney: Okay, and that's definitely a part of the work that we are trying to do as we work with CHSS and continue to work with our students. We're trying to help them to develop those skills. Just like Zaea did, Zaea was like, "Hey, I know I struggle with math, and I know that I have a hard time concentrating or staying locked in." Now, if a student does not know that, they're just going to think, "Oh, I'm bad at math," but right here, we're helping them to find and aware where's that issue, where's that struggle, where's that road block that keeps you from being successful, not just in math, but in all your other classes and in other areas of life as well, because we want them to be able to take these skills beyond the classroom and into the world with them.

Conor: Yeah, that's awesome. It's kind of reverse-engineering it and figuring out where does that problem stem from, and then dealing with that, and maybe that helps with all kinds of problems, not just with math. So, Cailey, as a ninth grader now, officially a high schooler, let's say you run into an eighth grader and they say, "Cailey, what advice would you give me going into ninth grade next year, now that you've been here a bit?" What would you tell them?

Cailey: Um, I would probably tell them to, not to worry about if you're making friends or not, but just focus on getting to know your teachers and your environment so you can know how, how your teacher teaches, and so you can learn and catch on all your, your classes and, and the stuff that you need.

Conor: You have a long way to go in high school, but we always like to ask students: what do you want to do when you grow up?

Zaea: When I graduate college, I—I mean, high school—I want to go to NYU, all the way in New York, to become a labor and delivery nurse. I want to get a scholarship, 'cause the tuition at NYU is like super expensive, so I have to get, make good grades and join sort of like lots of clubs and activities and all that. Once I graduate college, I will take a test to be a nurse, and then I start, I get my BSN, and then I'm officially RN. And then I want to work for two years to become a, um, travel nurse, a labor and delivery travel nurse and all that, and then I want to get my dream apartment, and I want to start everything. It's like, I have it all planned out, I always have.

Conor: This is really impressive, I have to say. Your, your life is more planned out than my life is, and that's—and I love that you, you said, "When I get my scholarship," not "If I get my scholarship," I love the confidence. So, Cailey, what about you? Don't feel bad if you're not quite as planned out as that, because I think that's rare, but—

Cailey: Um, I think I'm pretty planned out. Um, no, I'm trying to get into a bunch of programs that involves nursing, and so I can get the experience and the knowledge so I can graduate. My main goal is just to work as a traveling nurse, and then hopefully have two, three kids one day.

Conor: These are, these are excellent plans, and, and I'm sure you'll, you'll both accomplish those. Uh, thank you all for joining me and talking about this. It's a really cool program.

Jennifer: I just want to add, I think it's important to note, as you're talking about, like, as both of these students have talked about these goals and these dreams, that is really a big reason why we jumped on board with this whole process, is because we want to make sure that our students have access to these things. We want to make sure that when they get to those places, that is a place that they know that they can go. And so ultimately, all of this work is to help support those goals for them.

Doug: Well, really great to hear from everybody over there. Thanks again to the folks over there at Spanaway Lake High School for chatting with us today, and we're going to be back next week with another great show. No matter how you listen, whether it's on podcasts at Apple, Amazon, Spotify, or wherever, give us a like, that coveted thumbs up, leave a comment, or just share it with a friend. Text your friend and say, "Hey, listen to the Bethel School District Presents Podcast." If you're in the Tacoma area, you can listen to us Saturdays at 2:00 on 101.9 Radio Tacoma. For everybody else, new shows pop up on Wednesdays. We'll see you next week.

This week, we explore the profound impact of language in our schools and how everyday words can either harm or heal a student's sense of belonging. Through candid conversations with students, we examine the critical difference between intent and impact, the guilt that comes with staying silent, and how bystanders hold the key to shifting a school's culture. It's a look at building safer, more respectful, and inclusive spaces for everyone. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

--TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Conor: Hey everybody. I'm Conor, that's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents Podcast, and we have a really fantastic, interesting show for you today. It's all about the power of language, the power to hurt, the power to heal, and how that affects students in particular. So, I headed out to Cougar Mountain Middle School to hear from those students themselves and some staff members, and we'll get to all that in a moment. But first, we gotta start with useless trivia, which is always how we start our show. And given that we're getting closer and closer to Halloween, I wanted to do a kind of pumpkin-themed useless trivia. So I'll start us out this week, Doug. Did you know that the world's largest pumpkins can be the size and weight of a small car?

Doug: That is a giant gourd. What kind of automobile are we talking about here?

Conor: I think a compact, but still. And growers even hollow out some of their giant pumpkins and use them as boats in little pumpkin regattas. It's pretty cool.

Doug: That sounds so made up. Really, looking for your source this week.

Conor: The world's heaviest pumpkin weighed in at an official 2,819 pounds, grown by a couple of British blokes, twins Ian and Stuart Paton. That was last October, so I guess we'll see this year if someone can beat 'em. My source on that is the always-trustworthy Guinness Book of World Records.

Doug: That is fantastic. Really, really good useless trivia there, and very timely for the season. I like that.

Conor: Well, thank you, Doug. What do you have for us?

Doug: Mine comes from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Conor, did you know that Cleopatra lived closer to TikTok than she did to the Great Pyramids' construction?

Conor: That's incredible. That makes no sense to me. Explain.

Doug: I will, let's unpack it here. The thing that's happening is called time compression, and as things get farther back in history, we kind of lump them all together. So when I was in school, I learned about Cleopatra, I learned about the Pyramids, you lump them together. Kind of probably happened at the same time. Well, that period of time is about 2,500 years in between the building of the Great Pyramid and when Cleopatra was alive. She lived from about 69 to 30 BC, which means when TikTok was founded in 2017, that is about 2,000 years after Cleopatra, and Cleopatra is 2,500 years from the building of the Great Pyramid.

Conor: Okay, that does make sense now. And, you know what, I bet Cleopatra would have been the best influencer. Her TikToks would have been fantastic.

Doug: I will take your word for it. Well Conor, like you said, you were out at one of our middle schools, Cougar Mountain Middle School, and you were talking with students and staff about the power of language, how it can harm, how it can heal. Tell us more about that.

Conor: Yeah, it's a really fascinating topic because harmful language is something that every age group has to deal with, but especially in school settings. Because as everyone knows, the younger students don't always have those internal filters fully squared away yet, and sometimes they say things that are harmful, that are hurtful, without even meaning it. So it goes to show that harmful language isn't just about being mean for the sake of being mean or bullying because you're trying to bully. But you can hurt people's feelings even if you're not trying to.

Doug: Absolutely. Well, I really love that you got out to the school and we're going to hear from some real students here. You worked with one of our equity specialists, Christney Kpodo, and she's kind of summed up our official stance on hurtful speech, where she broke down where our district draws the line on what is inappropriate. Let's hear from her.

Christney Kpodo: Bethel School District is clear. Every student has the right to learn in a school that is safe, civil, respectful, and inclusive. That means harmful language has no place in our school community. Cursing or using strong language may not always be bullying, but when our words are used to threaten, intimidate, humiliate, target, or seriously disrupt someone's ability to learn, they can become a serious school concern.

Conor: So I caught up with a student named Sam, he's an eighth grader, and he was talking about how hurtful words impact a person's mindset in class, which is a really interesting way of looking at it. He gave a really insightful look into how bad language can pull your focus away from learning and make you question if you even belong. Here's what he had to say.

Sam: Words hurt people, like you should really think about what you say, 'cause your words can really impact people. It could affect them to make them think like they don't belong here. And instead of maybe like focusing in class, they could be thinking about like, "Do I fit in? Do I belong here?"

Doug: I really love what Sam had to say, and it made me think of the work our equity specialists, like Christney Kpodo, are doing on a daily basis, really working to break down those barriers that are standing in front of students and their education. And that can be as much as someone gets their feelings hurt right before math class, and then they can't focus and they're going to lose a day of learning because they're just thinking about what was said to them. Words can even hit you harder when you're already carrying a heavy load. And Conor, you talked to another student named Karis about how a rude comment feels when you're already dealing with a tough situation at home. And her perspective really highlights why timing and empathy matter. Take a listen.

Karis: I feel like it affects them a lot. Like if, like if you're having a hard time at home and you come to school and you have your friends, and then someone says something rude or out of pocket to you, then you're just like taken aback and like, kind of uncomfortable.

Conor: I mentioned earlier that one of the things that complicates this entire issue is that harmful language is harmful whether you intended it to be or not. I chatted with Cougar Mountain Middle School Principal Brittany Corpuz about just that topic and how tricky it is to navigate that distinction sometimes.

Brittany Corpuz: So with intent and impact, it feels, I don't want to say easier, but when people are doing something intentionally harmful, then addressing that seems like a cleaner path forward for the kids, for the adults, and they feel that that makes sense. It's the either unintentional harm or the unaware—that they truly don't understand the history behind the words that they're saying or what they've been told outside of school is supposed to be acceptable—then navigating those conversations are more challenging because we're not always supported in that, and it's not always clearly defined. When you have friends saying things to each other and they think that they're joking, I recognize that they didn't mean it or didn't intend harm, but somebody else was harmed by it. And then the intentional side of things, you give permission to those people when you hear that. You give permission to those kids to say, "Well, they're joking about it, that means I get to use it, and I'm going to use it, as I'm going to weaponize it." So those, those messages get real murky. So that's why we have a zero-tolerance policy here, because that's the part that, that just permeates throughout and can make people feel unsafe, unwelcome, not learning, all of that.

Conor: One of the interesting things I took away from all these conversations is a lot of the students talked about the guilt and almost shame of hearing a student get bullied and not stepping up to do anything about it, and that has its own effect on the students. I talked with Steven, and he had a remarkably honest take on what it feels like to witness that kind of bullying and why peer pressure drives some students to chime in instead of helping. Let's hear his thoughts.

Steven: It made me feel bad for the, for the kids that it was towards, too. Made me feel bad about myself for not standing up sometimes. Or other kids that don't stand up, you know, when they, or even kids that chime in to it, which is also a thing that happens a lot. Kids will chime in to like, to help the other person hurt one person just because they think it's funny, or they think they're trying to be cool, which is really not, like at all. I think it makes you less cool.

Doug: Yeah, when you find yourself in a tough situation, speaking up isn't always easy, even when you know it's the right thing to do. Conor, you talked to Kaylee, and she really opened up about the fear that keeps so many students silent and the heavy guilt that comes with feeling like you couldn't step in.

Kaylee: I felt really guilty because I'm too scared to stand up usually. So I feel guilty and like I can't help myself because I'm too scared to speak up, and I feel bad that they're going through that and I just don't have the guts to stand up for them. And like, I feel bad they're going through that.

Doug: The last student we're going to hear from today is Yorgeli, and he brought a nostalgic and really touching perspective to the conversation.

Yorgeli: That if someone is feeling down, you can, you can bring them back up. And I think it was third grade, my teacher used to say that we should fill people's buckets up. So if their bucket was empty, it meant they were sad, and we should dump water in their buckets to like, like compliments, to make them feel better about themselves.

Conor: I also had a chance to chat with Assistant Principal Mike Chappell, and he offered up a powerful message about how bystanders hold the key to changing a school's culture.

Michael Chappell: And one thing that I would love to convey for here at the school is that to speak up, you know, if you're seeing stuff like that, talk to an adult, tell somebody that, "Hey, this is not okay. We don't want this at our school." And that's what really, what I want, cause you have—you may have a bunch of kids just talking, but there's going to be probably four or five bystanders at a time where they get to stand up and say, "We're not going to allow this at our school." And the more you get that, the better the word will get out too, as well.

Conor: The adults at Cougar Mountain and at all of our schools want every student to know that if you see something that you're uncomfortable with, you can always reach out to them. Associate Administrator Abigail Shelly spoke a little bit more about that.

Abigail Shelly: Every single student deserves to feel safe here, and I think that's something that we believe and are committed to. And so whether that means that one student may need to specifically watch language that we're using in this community, or if another student needs to have that courage to make sure to tell an adult, because that is, that is sometimes a hard thing to do, but to make sure that they know that everyone has dignity and deserves to feel safe because that's the way that we're going to learn, which is our main goal here.

Doug: Well, this has been a really interesting topic, and I'm glad we were able to talk about it today, and I'm especially glad we were able to hear from so many students. Thank you so much to Equity Specialist Christney Kpodo and all of the students that she brought to the table.

Conor: Absolutely. And join us again next week for another great show. And if you haven't already, like, share, comment, share with a friend. And if you're in the Tacoma area, Saturdays at 2:00, listen to us on the old-fashioned radio, 101.9 Radio Tacoma. We'll see you next week.

With Cedarcrest Middle now demolished and the new school starting to take shape, on this week’s podcast we sit down with Cedarcrest students to get their unfiltered thoughts on how things are going at their temporary home, the old Bethel High building. We also check in with new Cedarcrest principal Zach Womack to get the behind the scenes dirt on what it takes to move an entire school and still start the year strong. Along the way we’ll learn it’s not the building that makes a school what it is, it’s the people inside. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

--TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Conor: Hey everybody, I'm Conor. That's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents Podcast, the greatest podcast in the history of the universe. And as you expect from us, we have a fantastic show today. We're taking our show on the road, heading over to the new Cedarcrest Middle School, which happens to be the old Bethel High School. But before we do that, you know what we do, Doug. We do useless trivia. So, go ahead and get us started.

Doug: Well, thank you kind sir. And I have been inspired by our students this week for my useless trivia. You actually posted a story on our Facebook page about some students that were learning about microbiomes and doing some real scientist kind of stuff. And these are middle school kids. I just, I thought that was amazing. And then we had a teacher this summer who joined the fight against cancer as a teacher-scientist. Both those stories available at bethelsd.org/news. Promo aside, it inspired me to do a little research of my own. And by that, Conor, I mean I sat in my chair with my phone out and Googled some things. So, did you know that baby kangaroos are born without back legs?

Conor: One, no. But two, how did you get from biomes and cancer-fighting teachers to kangaroos without back legs? I want to know the thought process, the Google hole you went down to find that.

Doug: That's called biology, Conor. It's one of the many medicinal sciences that are out there. And my source for my useless trivia is National Geographic. So when baby kangaroos are born, they are born without back legs. They're basically little nubs back there that are useless. But they do have really strong front legs with claws, and that's good because they're able to crawl into their mother's pouch. Now, Conor, this is where it gets even weirder. At this point, these little, I don't even know if you call them joeys, because they're more like jelly beans. They are literally an inch long, because they're born after 33 days.

Conor: That's insane. How did I not know that?

Doug: It's really, really weird. So then, the mother licks a path that then this tiny little jelly bean is able to crawl through the fur and into the pouch. And that's where it stays. At around four months, the joey can come out of the pouch for short trips and graze on grass by itself. At 10 months, joey is mature enough to leave the pouch for good.

Conor: Crazy talk.

Doug: It's as the legendary natureologist Sir David Attenborough said, "Nature be crazy."

Conor: Nature be crazy, indeed.

Doug: She do, Conor. Let's use some real language here, and let's hear about your useless trivia.

Conor: Okay. Well, mine... As a little background, our wonderful audience should know that both Doug and I are apple connoisseurs. We can't get enough of them. Doug's more of a Cosmic Crisp guy. I'd say I'm more of a Honeycrisp. But, did you know, Douglas, that there are actually thousands of apple varieties? The handful you see at the supermarket represent just a tiny fraction of all the varieties grown around the world. And their names can be pretty bizarre. Some of them sound like insults or diseases, or maybe even like minor aristocrats. Some of my personal favorites are the Slack-Ma-Girdle, the Bloody Ploughman, the Brown Snout, the Sheep's Nose, and of course, the Knobbed Russet, and the Peasgood Nonsuch apple.

Doug: These all sound like pub names from somewhere in the UK. Love it. What is your source today?

Conor: My source is none other than applerankings.com.

Doug: Oh, ladies and gentlemen, that sound that you are hearing indicates that our officials on the sidelines have flagged Conor's source as lacking. Conor, you're going to need to provide a better source, or you will get a yellow card for this episode.

Conor: Oh, my goodness. I don't agree, but I will consent to finding a better source now. Let me just get my little phone here going. All right, let's see here... All right, how about this? I got two of them for you, Doug. I will go with Mental Floss, which I know we've used before, and as a secondary, foodandwine.com.

Doug: Well, I don't hear the alarm. It seems like you have passed the test this week. Well done, sir. It's time for us to get on the road. We're going to pack our gear up and head on over to talk to some students.

Conor: And we are on location today at old Bethel High School, which is almost new Cedarcrest, but you can't say that because there's technically a new Cedarcrest being built right now. Thank you, voters, who supported our 2019 school construction bond. But we're at the temporary new Cedarcrest Middle School. We're joined by Principal Zach Womack and two amazing students, Kaileina and Kayliana. Welcome all.

Zach Womack: Thank you. Thank you.

Conor: So, Zach, what's the transition been like coming over here to this new building?

Zach Womack: The transition has been very smooth. Our staff and students have been great as far as directions and expectations. I'm going to be honest with you, the kids coming over from the old Cedarcrest, they all have to catch a bus, so we have to be really lockstep with our transportation and making sure we're communicating with them. Other than that, it's been a really nice, smooth transition. The staff love it because there's more space at this new building. As you know, the old Cedarcrest was super small and it was, let's just call it, it was outdated. And the space here has been great for our staff and students. They don't feel so snug. Now it just feels a little bit more, you know, they have room to, you know, move around and maneuver around the school.

Doug: Absolutely, it's a huge transition to get everybody over here. For both of our students, you all each spent two years over at the old Cedarcrest, and now you're here at the quote-unquote "new Cedarcrest" for a year. What are the biggest differences that you're seeing in the hallways? We'll start with you, Kaileina.

Kaileina: One of the big differences from moving to the old Cedarcrest to the new Cedarcrest is like the classroom space, it's way bigger. Now we have backpacks instead of string bags.

Doug: That has got to be different. Kayliana, how about you?

Kayliana: Yeah, I agree about the backpack situation, it's good. I also like how like, our old Cedarcrest used to be just one-way hallway, and now you kind of like can maneuver all around the school.

Conor: Yeah, it sounds like there's a lot of extra space, which was much needed. Zach, you know, generally when you move to a new building, it's because you're breaking in a brand new school and it's full of all kinds of awesome tech. I'm thinking about the new Bethel High School. There's a reason this is the old Bethel High School, which is it needed to go. So, you're not taking the plastic off this school; it's got some problems. What's been the biggest challenge so far coming into an older building?

Zach Womack: I think, again, the space. So, there's so much space. This was built for, you know, 2,000 kids. We have about 780 right now of kids here. So, we had to cut pretty much the school almost in half. We're not using the portables, and we cut down the old science wing in the Bethel High School wing, so we're not using any of those classrooms. So, we wanted to make sure that it was like a box, so just a bottom box, top box, where kids can maneuver, but not have to use all that space, because, as you know, there's a lot of hiding holes here. So, we wanted to make sure kids are also safe, but we wanted to make sure the space was used just for educational purposes and not running around the school and hiding. So, it's been great. We put up a makeshift wall in the back of the science building to make sure that we, you know, students have zero access to get to that science wing.

Doug: Yeah, that takes a lot of planning. You're saying that those back doors that went out to the science wing before, that's now walled off?

Zach Womack: Yep, that's all walled off now with just a lock to get in and out, if you know, for, we just use it for storage, basically, now. So, now it's just kind of like a graveyard for our utilities here.

Doug: Yeah, and probably a good thing those portables are out of use. I saw some of those before.

Zach Womack: Yes, absolutely.

Doug: So, we're talking about the building. A school can be nice, a school can be not so nice, but Kaileina and Kayliana, you both know it's the teachers and the staff and the student body that really make a school what a school is. What teachers or staff members are really standing out to you this year?

Kayliana: For me, obviously, our new principal, Mr. Womack.

Zach Womack: Yeah, yeah!

Kayliana: I also think most of our teachers are really good. I feel like all a lot of them stand out, like our new teacher, Miss Hawkins, she's been standing out. Stuff like that. Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of teachers who do really good at this school, and I think like it's not just one like teacher like, you know, like standing out. It's like everybody coming together to stand out, like in general.

Doug: That's awesome, I love that. Kaileina, how about you?

Kaileina: Probably for me, our WEB teachers, Miss Coop and Miss Turner. They helped us become leaders. And also Miss Foreman, she's an Honors Humanities teacher and American History.

Conor: Fantastic shout out to all these amazing teachers here at Cedarcrest. And WEB, of course, is Where Everyone Belongs, and it's an awesome program that has older students welcoming in younger students, making sure that transition is as smooth as can be. And speaking of transitions, not only are you all transitioning to a new building this year, but Zach, you're transitioning to a brand new role. You're head dog here now, leading everyone. What's that been like to be leading a school now? You were, what were you, you were...

Zach Womack: Vice principal last year.

Conor: You were vice principal last year, now you're leading the school. What's that been like so far?

Zach Womack: It's been great. The staff and students have been awesome as far as like the transitioning for me from vice principal to principal. I've even had parents come out, reach out to me, congratulating me, getting the position, which was, you know, that was awesome. But, you know, moving into that role, the biggest thing is, you know, I'm overseeing the entire school. Hans, who's a wonderful principal over at Spanaway Lake High School now, he did a lot to get me here as far as transition from vice principal to principal. You know, he's always a phone call away. And now, instead of looking for him for the decisions, I have to make the big decisions now, the final decision. And he's helped, he's done a lot to help me prepare for that. But my staff have been super receptive. They always, you know, congratulated me. The day we found out, I mean, multiple staff came up and gave me big hugs. And it's really a great place to be, and I'm so lucky to have that position.

Doug: Well, we are glad to have you here, and big shout out to Principal Nelson over at Spanaway Lake High School. Kaileina, why don't you kick us off? What opportunities are happening here at Cedarcrest that you're taking part of? Sounds like WEB was one of them.

Kaileina: Mm-hmm. Also sports, like track. I'm doing track. Today I have a track meet.

Doug: What's your event in track?

Kaileina: I do 4x1 relay, 100-meter sprint, and 200-meter sprint.

Doug: Nice. What's your fastest in 100 meters?

Kaileina: Uh, I think 20-something, 20 seconds. I forgot, I'm not for sure.

Doug: That seems really fast. I definitely could not do that.

Zach Womack: No, me neither.

Doug: Kayliana, how about you? What are you up to as far as after-school activities go?

Kayliana: Um, well, right now, I'm on the off-season. But once winter two comes around, I play soccer, so does Kaileina. So, we both take part on varsity girls soccer, and then after that, it's girls volleyball.

Conor: Very cool. Man, awesome opportunities. And I'm going to join in and say I could not beat you in a footrace, I know that's for sure.

Doug: So, as all three of you know, the old Cedarcrest is now gone. It's just gone, it's not there anymore. What was it like for you the first time that you saw that, when you drove by and noticed that school you went to was no longer existent?

Zach Womack: I'll start if we want to go down... Necessary. I just felt like, you know, I've been there for six years and the building was super outdated. And I'm so excited for our community. So, I think excitement for the community, because I know, you know, with the football field and the new outdoor courts, it's going to be utilized with our community. And it's definitely necessary, and I'm super excited for the accessibility that our community will have outside our building.

Kayliana: Um, for me, as I was driving down, I just thought, "Wow, this is really real, this is actually like happening." And I was like thinking, like my brother right now is in fifth grade, like he's going to have such an amazing middle school year, getting to go in to be like the top dogs, stuff like that, in the new building, stuff like that. And I saw some of like the plans and it looks really nice.

Kaileina: Uh, for me, definitely it was needed for the new, for the Cedarcrest, cause how old it was. And excited for how it's going to look like, how it comes out, and for the new fields.

Doug: Love that. Yeah, that building built in the 1900s, good grief! Ancient. So were you, Conor.

Conor: So Zach, you've been involved in that planning process for the new school. What are you most excited about seeing once it's built?

Zach Womack: The technology, one. Just looking at Bethel High School and all the new stuff they have, I'm super excited about the technology advances that we're going to have. But also the space. The space is going to be, that's a big thing, as you can see, we talked about it here. But the footage, the space, and the accessibility that we'll have for our students of special needs, that's one of the things that we're really driving, to make sure everyone has access to the school. And I have a big part in that decision to make sure that kids feel safe, but also feel connected at the school each day. But as far as like picking the colors and branding the school, that's been exciting also. Last week, I was able to help coordinate to select what we need far as our locker room. I was able to help pick out the colors and actually design how the lockers are going to look. So, that was exciting. And it's getting close. I mean, it says two years we'll have a new building, and last I talked to them, everything is on point, everything is ready to go to open up in two years.

Conor: That's fantastic. I'm sure the staff here is going to be thrilled to get some sunlight coming in in this new building.

Zach Womack: There's going to be windows, finally, yeah!

Doug: Yeah, for sure. You mentioned those locker rooms. The locker rooms at the new Bethel High School, and again, thank you voters for approving that 2019 school construction bond that built that school and is building the new Cedarcrest and a host of other schools in the district over the past few years. But the locker rooms at the new Bethel High, they're like, you'd expect the Seahawks or the Mariners to be in there, they're fantastic rooms.

Zach Womack: Sure. Yeah.

Doug: Yeah, so really excited for our student-athletes. Speaking of student-athletes, our two that are sitting here, final question for you both, and it might be too early, but I don't know, you're in eighth grade, you might be thinking future already. What are your plans for high school? What are your plans for career or college after you graduate?

Kayliana: So far, I'm in between schools. I might go to Spanaway because our head coach plays there, or like GK has a really good soccer program. But for like looking for my future and stuff like that, I want to go to school to be a doctor. That's one of my things, cause I love math and science.

Doug: Wow, that's awesome, fantastic. Kaileina, how about you?

Kaileina: I'm probably going to go to Spanaway Lake High School. And for a career, I probably might want to do soccer or a sport in high school.

Conor: Well, the future looks very bright over here. Thank you, Kaileina, Kayliana, and Principal Zach Womack. And for our audience, don't forget ABC Day is just around the corner on October 3rd. It's going to be at the brand new Bethel High School. Come out, 10:00 to 3:00 p.m., for a great free day of food, entertainment, and you get a chance to check out that amazing new Bethel High School if you haven't been over there. See you there!

Doug: And no matter where you're listening to this week's show, be sure to like, comment, subscribe, share with a friend. And to everybody listening on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, thanks for keeping it old school. We'll be back again next week.

What does it take to help student-athletes succeed both on and off the field? This week, we discuss how participation in school sports fosters essential growth, teaches work ethic, and builds lasting connections. You'll find out which hometown alumni are starring in college athletics and the NFL, showing how sports set students up for a lifetime of success. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

--TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Conor: Hey, everybody. I'm Conor. That's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents Podcast. We have another great show for you today. We're talking sports, we're talking student athletes, we're talking robots. Let's just say it's a big show. But before we get into any of that, you know what we do, Doug. We start our shows with useless trivia.

Doug: Man, I hope we're talking about robot wrestling later on, because my useless trivia this week comes to you from the WWF. That's right, the World Wildlife Fund. So, did you know that 75% of the world's wild tiger population is in India?

Conor: I did not know that. That's pretty fascinating, actually.

Doug: Yeah, I thought it was pretty interesting, too. The remaining 25% is also located in Asia. They span nine other countries including China and Russia. Tigers never spread out like lions did. Lions evolved across both Africa and Eurasia; tigers, just in Asia, and 75% of them in India. So, there you go. That's my useless trivia. Conor, over to you.

Conor: That was a good one, Doug. I'm going more sports to stay in line with the show. So, Doug, did you know that the longest game in professional baseball history took nearly two months to finish? The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings began their 33-inning game on April 18th, 1981. They played until the following morning and then had to suspend it, 'cause it just was too much darn baseball. They finally returned to the game on June 23rd, when Pawtucket took the lead, 3-2, and that score held up. Interestingly, there were two absolute baseball legends on the field that day: Wade Boggs was playing third base for Pawtucket, and Cal Ripken, Jr. was on Rochester. And my source on that is the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Doug: That's fantastic. Makes me think of a book I read, it's called The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. It's about a game that lasted 2,614 innings, written by the same guy that wrote Shoeless Joe, which became the film Field of Dreams.

Conor: Oh, what do you know?

Doug: Bonus useless trivia. I just had to step on yours, but it was at least sports-related, and that's what we're here to talk about today. We have lots to talk about with our very special guest. Some people still call him coach; we call him first class here. It's Bryan Streleski. He's our Director of Athletics and Security. Bryan, welcome back to the show.

Bryan Streleski: Thank you. Thank you, Doug and Conor.

Conor: Yes, indeed, thanks for joining us, Bryan. And it's the fall, means football season. We know you're kind of the resident jock around here. So, tell us, you think the Seahawks have it in them to repeat, our defending Super Bowl champs? I know they lost their quarterback dang near the first play of the season. How's the season going to play out for them this year?

Bryan Streleski: Oh, they looked really good in their first game. I mean, other than losing their quarterback, had a good win. Nice to win at home, beat the team you beat in the Super Bowl, so super fun to watch that. Did catch that second half, which is the only half that really mattered in that game, 'cause the first half didn't look very good. But I think that they've got a tough road ahead, 'cause the NFL's super competitive, but they looked really good.

Doug: Yeah, I only watched the fourth quarter of that game, and that was the only quarter I needed to watch. It really bothers me when we waste time in the first three quarters of football games and everything happens at the end. Another cool thing that happened during the Seahawks' opener was a Graham-Kapowsin High School alumni, his name's Dakota Harris, class of '24. He got to hold the American flag during Mike McCready's playing of the national anthem. Dakota's stationed at Naval Hospital Bremerton, and we loved seeing him on the field. Love seeing what our students do after they graduate.

Conor: And speaking of that, we've got some Bethel School District alum who are actually playing in the NFL this year, which is really awesome. And for whatever reason right now, they all happen to be on the O-line. But we got Vega Ioane—if you remember, he was the absolute stud Graham-Kapowsin offensive lineman on that state championship team—Foster Sarell, a few years older, he's playing for the 49ers this year, and Ezra Cleveland, another Bethel High grad, he's starting for the Jacksonville Jags. So, congrats to all three of those guys. And we have another generation coming up. We got a lot of kids who are playing collegiate football as well. Just at UW alone, we've got Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, Ramak Froun, and Darrien Clemens, which is amazing to think from our district we've got three—I think they're all starting and they're all playing well. We also have Joshua Wood at Idaho, he's their starting quarterback; Jabez Woods, also from GK, he's at Montana State and he actually won a national championship last year and had a couple of really big catches in that; and Josiah Wagoner's at Cal from Spanaway Lake High School, Go Bears! So, that's another cool thing: we as a district are sending student athletes to the next level, which is awesome. So, talk to us a little bit about the importance of transitioning our student athletes, whether that's from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or high school to the collegiate realm, the importance of that.

Bryan Streleski: Yeah, I think it's exciting to have all these kids going on to play collegiate sports, but I think that the transition from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, is a significant jump for each student athlete, and our females struggle probably the most in that. And the national numbers will show that our girls struggle to come into our middle school programs after they leave elementary, and then from middle school to high school, but we're seeing a significant drop from high school to the collegiate level as well. And that's not just our Division I athletes, that's our NAIA athletes, our Division III athletes, and our community college athletes. And some of even our local programs at the college level are struggling to get our female athletes. And so, one of our pushes right now is to find ways to help encourage and keep our kids going and moving forward in their athletic endeavors as well as their academics. And so, it helps them learn life skills and continue to build. Not to mention, I tell a lot of our kids this as I get to talk to them around the district, is you're never going to regret going and traveling and going to play at a different college, go to a different state. While yes, you're paying for school, but your school's paying for you to live in a hotel room for a weekend to compete in a sport that you love. It's a great opportunity for our kids, and so we're trying to find ways to encourage our kids and help our kids develop those skills that want to push themselves to go on and continue to play at the collegiate level.

Doug: Yeah, Bryan, there are a ton of benefits for our student athletes as they move through their K–12 education. Let's talk now about some of the significant roadblocks that are in our students' ways.

Bryan Streleski: Yeah, for our sports that we don't have a venue for them to participate in, it creates a very interesting dynamic. Our swim in the fall right now for our girls, you know, they're spending their evenings at a pool at PLU or up in Eatonville. Their meets are all on the road. They're treated as home meets at a different school's venue as a home meet, so the other school's running the venue for us. And so, it's just an absolute challenge for them. So, you know, shoutout to all of our swimmers, and then in the winter, our bowlers, our golfers, any of those sports that don't have a venue. It's a significant issue for them to be able to get to and participate in these events. And so, they do a great job, our coaches are dedicated and want our kids to succeed, and you know, pushing them and teaching them all the life skills. And it's a huge time management piece for our student athletes and our coaches when they've got to, you know, work into the evenings, late evenings sometimes, to be able to do this.

Doug: Yeah, you got to factor in transportation. You said bowling, man, if we need to build one, I offer my office space for it. Let's bring that alley right over here; I love bowling.

Conor: And speaking of incentivizing our student athletes to kind of take that next step and move on to collegiate sports and just college in general for a lot of them, what I like about what all of our schools do is we have these big signing ceremonies. And we don't just have it—it's easy to have a signing ceremony for someone like Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who I think was like the number one football player in the state. Of course, we're going to do that, but I love that they'll have a signing ceremony for a student athlete who is going to maybe bowl for a community college, and they treat it exactly the same. So, it really gives them incentive to say like, "Hey, you know, I'm going to be celebrated if I do this." So...

Doug: Yeah, it really builds that sense of belonging, and that's something you were talking about earlier, Bryan. It's the reason that sports are important other than the competition itself. You mentioned life skills earlier. Break that down for us. What are kids learning alongside learning the sport?

Bryan Streleski: We just talked about it with the swim team, is time management's a huge piece. It helps you learn that and manage it as you're going to the collegiate level, but even our homework and things that are high school level, it's a struggle when you're out until 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 at a swimming pool and you got to get home and try and do your homework. And so, they learn a lot about time management, but it's about building your teammates up, celebrating when somebody else does something great. And, you know, so when you're in a business setting and the sales team does something great, and you're from marketing, you get to go celebrate with the sales team. And so, you're just building a sense of community inside of that small group, and right now it's a team, but eventually it'll be a business, and hopefully, you know, they'll be running those businesses. We'll have all the CEOs and CFOs in Pierce County will be from the Bethel School District, and it'll be because of all of the experience that they gained through life skills of what they did with their teams through high school, so.

Conor: And of course, our sports are levy-funded, so we want to thank our voters for continuously passing these levies to allow our students these type of activities. And while it's not levy-funded, the new Bethel High School was certainly bond-funded, and they have some great new facilities for athletes over there. You want to walk us through some of those?

Bryan Streleski: Yeah, I think it's been a beautiful spot for our kids. Got to watch the first soccer game played on their new field over there, so they have a turf field with lights similar to Graham-Kapowsin and Spanaway Lake. Beautiful site; you can watch from up above, you can sit in the stands. We haven't got to use the new baseball/softball fields yet, that won't be till the spring, but those are turf infields, and they are going to make it playable rain or shine. And so, we'll get a lot more games in. Also helps with our maintenance costs and our ability to just work on those fields and work on our other fields because they don't have to maintain those. And then they have an additional practice field that's beautiful and gives a spot while there's a contest going on over on the game field, they got a spot to go practice over on their practice field that's also a turf field as well.

Doug: Yeah, absolutely. And thank you, voters, for passing the 2019 school construction bond. You mentioned the turf fields at Spanaway Lake High School and Graham-Kapowsin High School. Those were the first two projects done with money from that bond, and now the new Bethel High School, the latest project done with money from that bond. So, thank you to our voters.

Conor: And another cool thing, I had no idea until you mentioned this: we have a really interesting robot doing some work over at the new Bethel High. Tell us about that.

Bryan Streleski: Yeah, so we have a robot that is called the Turf Tank, and it is a field painting machine. And it will, if you go to the practice field at new Bethel High School, all of the lines on there are painted by this robot, the Turf Tank. And so, our maintenance team takes it out, uses GPS, sets it up, hits go, and it paints the field. So, right now it has a football field that our marching band uses for practice and then our football teams use. And it also has a soccer field for our soccer teams to practice on. It has kind of transformed their work over in the maintenance department and is able to do it in a less amount of time and more precise than what we can do trying to walk behind a painter. It's also out currently painting right now, is out painting the middle school softball and baseball fields for their first games of the season right now.

Conor: That's incredible. I've been trying to get Doug replaced by a robot forever, and now I know it's possible, so.

Doug: How do you know it hasn't happened? Robots are very realistic these days. Well, let's circle back to the top and give our listeners a fall sports preview. We'll start with football. How are our three football teams looking this season?

Bryan Streleski: Oh, they look very competitive, and our league play hasn't started yet, so we'll kind of know a little bit more here in the next couple weeks of where they're going to fall. But they're strong offensively, working on our defense like always. I think early in the year a lot of times that, you know, offensives, they are able to kind of perform at a high level, getting our defense squared away so we can stop the teams that we've got to play. So, football's looking really good. I think we've got some good individual talent. Graham-Kapowsin looks really strong with individual talent. Bethel is right there, and the size of some of these kids that are coming through the school district, like our NFL guys that are all playing offensive line, we got a lot of linemen that are coming up as well through Spanaway Lake and through Bethel. So, it's going to be interesting to see how the season plays out.

Conor: It's not just football, obviously, that's going to be the big one, but we also have fall girls soccer, swimming, volleyball, girls golf. Any exciting stuff in any of those happening?

Bryan Streleski: Yeah, exciting one was I went and watched the first home volleyball game for Bethel High School last week, and they got a 3-0 victory in their first ever game in the new Bethel. So...

Doug: Outstanding. Go Bison!

Bryan Streleski: Yeah, it was great. It was a fun time to watch, seeing all the new technology that's available for them. GK's looking strong again in volleyball. Spanaway Lake is always up and coming, super athletic, looking to see what they can do to compete in the league. And then moving into girls soccer, we're always competing and trying to grow. It's probably one of our biggest growth sports out here in the Bethel School District, as we don't have a lot of club kids in the past, and we're starting to really get those kids that are playing more soccer, so they're able to compete with the teams that are in the league and in the state that have those types of talent and those types of kids. So, really learning and growing. Graham-Kapowsin has a freshman golfer who's leading the team right now. She's a strong competitor, so super exciting to see her out there playing. But all three of our high schools have full golf teams this year. It's the first time in several years that all three had enough golfers to be considered a full team.

Doug: Well, sounds like it's going to be a great season. You mentioned technology there at the new Bethel High School. I think a lot of our listeners don't know that we have something called Hudl, H-U-D-L, where you can watch some of these games. Tell us about that.

Bryan Streleski: Yeah, Hudl's a great opportunity for us. So, on the fan side, it's great for streaming, so we stream all of our indoor games. Our varsitys are all streamed free to our community to watch. And also, our football games at Art Crate, plus our JV and C football on each of our high school fields are streamed as well. So, it's a great opportunity. If you can't make it to your kid's game, Grandma and Grandpa live in Arizona where it's nice and warm, they are down there, they can watch that game on Hudl, it doesn't cost them anything.

Doug: Well, that's amazing. Honestly, I'm glad I asked the question. I didn't know it was free for everybody, for our community, for anybody that wants to watch. And if you want a link to that, you just head over to bethelsd.org/news.

Conor: Well, awesome, and congratulations to all of our student athletes this year. And Bryan, thanks for joining us, and we will be back next week with a brand new show.

Doug: Well, thank you again to Bryan Streleski, our Director of Athletics and Security, for joining us today. Great conversation. I love hearing about what our student athletes are up to and all the benefits that they're getting from participating in our sports programs. Whether you listen to us on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, or 101.9 Radio Tacoma Saturdays at 2:00, we loved having you here. Be sure and like, comment, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and be sure to join us back here next week.

On this week's show, we share the dramatic story of a high school student whose quick response saved a life during a medical emergency. Applying hands-on techniques he learned and practiced in a sports medicine class, he delivered chest compressions and successfully used an AED before first responders reached the scene. Hear his dramatic firsthand account, plus a conversation with his teacher about her practical training methods and the citizen lifesaving award the student received for his remarkable bravery under pressure. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast

--TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Doug: Hey everybody, I'm Doug. That's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents podcast, and whether you're listening to us on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or Radio Tacoma 101.9, we are glad to have you here today, because we have an incredible story about a student who saved a life this summer. It's dramatic, it's inspiring, and you're going to want to hear it. But of course that's going to happen after useless trivia, which is how we start every show, Conor.

Conor: It is indeed, Doug, and I figured, we're getting into the fall season here, so I'm going to do a fall themed one. And don't you just love it, speaking of fall, when those leaves start to turn color? Well, Douglas, did you know that the red ones are actually due to sugar being trapped inside the leaves?

Doug: Sweet!

Conor: Sweet indeed. So here's what's going on. As the days get shorter, the trees start building a tiny wall of cells at the base of every leaf stem to prep for winter. But on those warm, crisp fall afternoons, the leaf is still photosynthesizing, pumping out simple sugars, and they have nowhere to go. They get completely trapped inside the leaf, and when all that trapped sugar sits in the cool night air, the leaf undergoes a wild chemical reaction that produces a pigment called anthocyanin, which is actually the exact same stuff that makes blueberries blue and cherries red.

Doug: This is fascinating one, and you are a fountain of big words this morning. What is your source?

Conor: My source on that one is the National Institutes of Health.

Doug: How about that? Doesn't get any smarter than those folks up there.

Conor: No sir, they don't get any smarter than that. Let's see if you can match my genius level trivia here.

Doug: Well, I will give it a shot, and I was thinking about our lifesaving student when I was preparing mine, and so I was looking into the history of CPR. I'm going to take you back to 1774. The Royal Humane Society, that's what they're called now, Conor. Back in 1774, this UK group was called the Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned.

Conor: Love that name!

Doug: Very specific, it was formed by two doctors, and they had a couple of goals. One was to publish information on how to save people from drowning. This was a big deal back then; there weren't as many swimmers in London. And then two, they were going to pay people two guineas for anyone that attempted to rescue a drowning person, and four, if you actually brought the person back to life.

Conor: I'm scared to know, but how much is a guinea?

Doug: That's, I had to look that up. I was afraid it was some kind of guinea pig barter system, apparently. And this is according to the Royal Humane Society in the UK, one guinea is equal to one pound and five new pence. Today, it'd be about 140 bucks, so we're talking over $400 to rescue someone, $200 to try, and I'll give you one guess what happened.

Conor: Well, they probably do what you do, Doug, and start scamming everybody.

Doug: They 100% did that! So two people would get together, and they would, one would claim to have been drowning, and then the other one saved them, and they'd come and collect their money. So this didn't last very long; they eventually went from guineas to certificates of participation, which helped them out financially, uh, but still a worthwhile endeavor.

Conor: Absolutely. And our guest this week needed no financial incentive to be a hero. Ethan, who's a senior at Spanaway Lake High School, was at a basketball game this summer at his school when something pretty scary happened. He's going to tell you about it.

Ethan: It was about halftime. As they were cooling down, whistle blew, I just hear a thud. And I just start hearing screaming from Vincent, the victim. I heard it, and I turned around, and I saw what was happening. I see a, see a bunch of people crowding around him, kind of just trying to see if he's okay, trying to like tap him, stimulate his chest, but nothing seemed to be working. He just kept screaming. Uh, I see my auntie trying to call 911, and I think everyone was just in a panic state at that time. During that moment, I ran out to grab the AED near the front office. I put it beside him, just in case anything happened, and I think when I put it down, I think at that moment they picked him up and decided to go outside with him, right in the front of the lunchroom. That's when I just ran out. That's when I knew like, I knew CPR, and maybe I'm the only one that knows it. So I ran out, and right when I walked out those doors, I hear, um, "Does anyone know CPR?" And that's when I kind of just shoved everyone out the way and just kind of just got started, just giving compressions and trying to get everyone to stay back. And I did three rounds of compressions, 90 compressions, and I was really lucky to have my auntie there to help, and she just started counting, counting for me, cause I was losing my mind at the same time. I was kind of losing track of how many, like compressions I was going for. And I think after the third round, that's when I got up behind me and grabbed the AED and put it on him, and I told everyone to back up, and it shocked him. We gave him one shock.

Doug: Wow, very, very dramatic. And walking up to a scene like that and having someone, "Does anybody know CPR?" and the high school student says, "Yeah, I know CPR." Where did you learn CPR?

Ethan: Right here in this classroom, Ms. Dahl. I learned it two years straight, sophomore year and junior year. Ms. Dahl really helped me like, it just came muscle memory, cause I wasn't really thinking in my mind, it just became just muscle memory and staying on beat. And there's a lot of things to remember, but I think Ms. Dahl did a great job just getting it down in my, my muscle instead of my brain.

Conor: And that is a great segue to our second guest here. We've got Kristyn Dahl. She's a Spanaway Lake High School sports medicine teacher. So, you just heard that very dramatic retelling of a very, very dramatic afternoon for one of your students. What does it mean to you to see that the work that you're doing in this classroom actually has practical applications? This isn't just theory; these are lifesaving techniques you're teaching.

Kristyn: Well, first of all, I'm so proud. I've been teaching CPR for over a decade. I've been certified since I was 16 and worked in the medical field, and I have never had to give compressions. I've been the 911 caller, I've been on scene for many cardiac arrests, but like Ethan and I talk about, you, you tend to have somebody else that will jump in. And the fact that my 17-year-old student is the one that was like, "Okay, here we go," I'm super proud of that. So, that's first things first. So proud of you. And then second of all, being able to teach real-life skills is what we try to do in CTE, and making it fun while we're in the classroom, but then making it something that they can take out into their life. Because I tell them, it will be someone you love, unfortunately. That's typically when we use our skills, is on somebody that we love. And so being able to kind of take that emotion out of it is something that I do try to teach them when we're in here. It's huge that he was able to do that.

Doug: Yeah, you mentioned CTE, Career and Technical Education classes, of which sports medicine is one of many that we offer here in the Bethel School District. I like that you said you try and take the emotion out of it, and Ethan, you said it was just muscle memory. Is that just part of CPR being a good trained CPR person, is just that repetition and you just get into the zone?

Kristyn: It is. It's repetition, and I make them get out of their comfort zone. They do not like the first day or two that I do it, because they, you know, they're 16, 17 years old, they want to play around, they want to, "Mine's dead!" and, you know, they want to do that kind of thing. And so I just, I make them do it till they're fatigued. Um, I do do silly songs...

Doug: I was going to ask about the songs, because when I learned CPR the first time it was "Staying Alive." Is that still the song?

Kristyn: Or "Another One Bites the Dust"! No, it's actually, it's actually, uh, we use Kendrick, "Not Like Us." And so, and it's awful because it starts with, "Shh, I see dead people." And they all know, but that's actually American Heart Association. So it's not even, I will, I will say they did, but I will say I was doing it before they did. I'm just going to say that. I was an early adopter. Uh, Bad Bunny has a song that the American Heart Association is using now, too. Um, but it's the, we role-play the whole thing. Like, they have to run to find an AED, they have to go through all of it. Like I said, I push them out of their comfort zone, and it is, it's awkward. That first couple times when you're yelling, "Hey, doesn't have a pulse! Call 911! I need an AED!" They don't get to say it like that. They're screaming, they're yelling, they're awkward, and by about the third or fourth time, um, they start understanding what it is. And I will tell you, I now have an amazing example of why that practice is so important, because he was able to go back into that moment. Did you have a little Kendrick in your head, I hope?

Ethan: Yeah, I did.

Kristyn: Good, he did! He had a little Kendrick. So, in, and it helps because it will center you and it will ground you. And so, teaching it as a theory is one thing, but now being able to teach it with a kiddo who actually did it in our halls and getting the outcome that we got, cause that's not a typical outcome, I've been processing how to make sure I keep teaching it this way and making sure that kids have that success.

Doug: Yeah, Ethan, you mentioned CPR, you mentioned the AED. What else did you learn in the sports medicine class that came into play that day?

Ethan: Definitely just, I think situational awareness definitely played a, um, a role. I think, uh, telling people, giving them a role and communicating what you need and how, how they can help is was crucial in, um, helping that day. Just telling people, "Uh, call 911," or "Count for me," or "Switch with me," then that was, that was really good help from Ms. Dahl.

Doug: Outstanding.

Conor: Yeah, it's really an amazing level of confidence and self-awareness and all these things, and it reminded me, we in our district, we have something called Portrait of a Graduate. These are five skills we want students to graduate with: they're communication, critical thinking, compassion, competence, and confidence. Obviously, Ethan, you kind of demonstrated all five of those. Kristyn, what about your class do you think is setting kids up for success in that realm?

Kristyn: The number one thing I teach these kids is curiosity. I have curriculum, I have things that I have to meet, but what it comes down to is if they're not curious and wanting to push and learn and review and do all of that, then it's just memorization, and I don't go for rote memorization. I want them to have it in their, like you said, in their body. So I do a lot of kinesthetic things with them. Obviously CPR is kinesthetic, it's hands-on. But I try to take some of the really mundane tasks, because it's, you're learning anatomy, you're learning physiology, and so the way we were taught, our generation, it was: memorize, flashcards, things like that. And I try to get a real hands-on approach with the kids so that they can truly understand A, the why, and then B, want to dig deeper with that curiosity. And then also, I want antici...

Ethan: ...pation.

Kristyn: ...pation. I want them to anticipate, and I think that's what hap, that helped him so much is he was, the way he explained it to me and the way the fire department explained it to me, is he was kind of anticipating all of those needs. He saw where things were kind of going askew, and he was able to come in and be like, "Actually, I think you should do this." The fact that he was able to kind of anticipate what those needs were going to be...

Doug: I love that. So, Ethan, we heard just yesterday you were over at the fire station getting an award. Tell us what award that was, tell us about that experience.

Ethan: They granted me with the Citizen Lifesaving Award, yeah. And it was a great experience. They brought my family in, did a little ceremony, and showed me around the place, and I asked a lot of questions, especially in the ambulance, so I got to learn a lot that day, yeah.

Conor: You, you experienced something that a lot of students thankfully don't experience in their time, uh, even when they have the skills to put it to use. Do you think this is something that might affect what you do for a living? Uh, we, we always like to talk to our seniors about what they're going to do post-graduation. Uh, did this change your idea about what you might do in the future?

Ethan: Um, definitely. I always thought that I would stray away from really high-pressure jobs and jobs that just happen really fast in a snap, like, um, a paramedic or an EMT. But I think after that and after some reflecting, I believe that I could definitely do those jobs, and I think Ms. Dahl has always pointed me in the direction of like, anything medical, but I think this really helped point me in the direction that I want to go.

Conor: Definitely calm under pressure. You, you've got the proof there, like put that on your resume.

Doug: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. When, when we first heard about the story, we heard about the CPR, the AED. I didn't think about, basically you became incident commander until 911 showed up. That is something I wouldn't put on any young person, you know, but you were there and you took charge and, and got a great result. Kristyn, you were at the fire station yesterday, too. What were they saying about incidents like this and the survival rate?

Kristyn: That's, that was what was really exciting for me. Um, so when Ethan was doing his tour, they were talking with me about the fact that they were shocked that h, that Vincent had already been shocked by an AED. So by the time incident command got there and EMTs and paramedics got there, they could not believe that three rounds of CPR had been given, a shock had been given. And so they just kept kind of asking like, "Really?" And so it took them, um, medicine, another shock, and more compressions to get Vincent back. And so what Ethan and his auntie did was give Vincent enough oxygenation to his brain, they definitely bought some time until the professionals got there.

Doug: Boy, Conor, Conor makes fun of me because I say "wow" on this show a lot, but wow, I'm just...

Kristyn: The more I learned yesterday, too, the more wows I had. I mean...

Doug: Yeah, you're more mature than me, Ethan, today, let alone when I was in high school. I was, yeah, good grief.

Kristyn: Well, and he's just such a calm kid anyway, and then I asked the family, too, and they were like, "Yes, he's just kind of this stoic, you know, person that, I'm shocked that you didn't think you could handle under-pressure jobs, cause I think you'd excel."

Doug: That's exactly who you'd want in charge of a very stressful situation.

Kristyn: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Conor: Yeah, so Ethan, obviously you got a lot out of, uh, Ms. Dahl's class, but if, if you were talking to a younger student, maybe someone a freshman who's just coming into school, what would be kind of your sales pitch to get them to come and take this class?

Ethan: I think Ms. Dahl's class helped me, uh, grow my opportunities and start talking to people. I definitely got really out of my comfort zone and started branching out my, uh, my connections with people and taking more opportunities. You definitely learn a lot, you definitely learn to ask more questions, and I think it helped me in a lot of my other classes. Getting out of your comfort zone and then preparing you for the next level after high school.

Doug: Amazing. Kristyn Dahl, sports medicine teacher here at Spanaway Lake High School. Ethan, senior at Spanaway Lake High School. Thank you for joining us today, thanks for sharing your story.

Conor: Well, thank you again to Ethan and Kristyn Dahl. What an amazing story; I'm so glad we were able to hear that. And we will be back next week with some fresh content for you.

Doug: We definitely will. The fresher, the better. We are the freshmakers here at the Bethel School District. Thanks for listening, everybody. Wherever you listen to, be sure and leave us a thumbs up or a comment. If you're listening to us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, thanks for listening there, and we'll be back next week.

In a world flooded with AI generated content and online clutter, helping kids figure out what’s real isn’t always easy. On this week’s show, we sit down with two of our district's teacher-librarians who share how their exclusive summer experience at the Library of Congress is giving local students the tools to navigate online information with confidence. From historical maps to hands-on programs like Battle of the Books, we’ll learn how primary sources and great reads are sparking curiosity and building critical thinking across our schools. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast

--TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Conor: Hey, everybody! I'm Conor, that's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents podcast, and today we are talking with two of our fantastic district librarians, both of whom went to Washington, D.C. over the summer to attend a very prestigious opportunity at the Library of Congress. In fact, they were the only two librarians in the entire state of Washington to do that.

Doug: They sure were. The focus of the trip was learning about the importance of primary sources and clever ways to teach that to students. And what could be more important, Conor, in this day and age when misinformation is rampant and skepticism is at an all-time high?

Conor: Right you are. And that's actually one reason we kick off each show with useless trivia. Our regular listeners will notice that we always ask each other to provide our sources.

Doug: Just setting a good example for the kids out there.

Conor: And when someone asks how you know something, FYI, Google is not an appropriate answer.

Doug: No, and Facebook is definitely not an answer.

Conor: Well, speaking of all this stuff, Doug, let's not delay our good listeners any longer. What do you got for us? What's your useless trivia this week?

Doug: Well, we're talking about the Library of Congress today, so I was thinking about books, I was thinking about just all the different kind of resources they have there. And so, Conor, did you know that in 2025, there were 4.2 million books published, and my source on this is Bowker. They're the official ISBN agency for the United States.

Conor: That is a lot of books. How many of those did you read?

Doug: I've read... That's a... It's classified. I also looked up... So 4.2 million books. According to YouTube and Alphabet Investor Relations, there were 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute of 2025. That translates to 720,000 hours of footage a day and approximately 7.3 billion video uploads last year.

Conor: Who's watching all this?

Doug: I watched all of it.

Conor: Okay. Glad it's not going to waste.

Doug: But no books. Didn't read any books.

Conor: Well, you and I were actually a little simpatico this week, because my useless trivia is actually book-related as well. So, Doug, you know when you go into a used bookstore or library, you get that wonderful old book smell?

Doug: I love that smell.

Conor: I also love that smell, but did you know that's actually the books decaying?

Doug: That's horrific.

Conor: I know, it's kind of a downer, but as paper ages, cellulose and lignin break down, and they release volatile organic compounds. Researchers have described some of the resulting aromas as resembling vanilla, almonds, grass, and chocolate, so not so bad. So that wonderful old library smell is technically the books dying.

Doug: Fantastic fact. What's your source this week, Conor?

Conor: My source is a 2017 peer-reviewed study in Heritage Science conducted by researchers at University College London. They chemically analyzed the volatile organic compounds emitted by an old book at the historic St. Paul's Cathedral.

Doug: Man, I need scientists to get on bottling that odor, putting it into a candle so I can light that up around my house and just have that old book smell, the smell of dying literature.

Conor: You know, you could just get books, Doug.

Doug: Never, I'm too busy watching YouTube. Well, Conor, let's get on with our show today. Why don't you welcome our two guests to the show?

Conor: Joining us today are two of our amazing teacher librarians. We've got Jerilyn Gerhardstein from Expedition Elementary and Amy Dalin from Kapowsin Elementary. The two of you recently got back from a pretty amazing experience in Washington, D.C. You were only two of about 90 teachers, librarians from all around the country that got to do this. Why don't you start off by telling us what you did?

Amy Dalin: We got to attend the Library of Congress Teacher Institute. Our cohort was 26 people, and it just happened that Jerilyn and I had applied. We didn't tell each other, we just like applied randomly, and then we didn't know we were in each other's cohort until we were all in a group chat, and we were like, "Oh wait, we know each other." And so, we got to meet with 26 amazing educators from mostly the East Coast. We were the only two from the West Coast. We got to work with librarians and history teachers and English teachers, and the whole goal and premise of it was to talk all about primary sources.

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: And they told us some really creative ways to teach about primary sources, looking closely at at a source, and then having the kids walk through it. So, to kind of build excitement and interest. And we would do lessons for each other, we did some mini-lessons, and they were all super excited to learn. So, it's really fun to be with lifelong learners.

Conor: I bet. That's such a cool opportunity.

Doug: And I love that you focused on primary sources. Those really force you to look at the original proof of something instead of taking somebody else, like two knucklehead podcasters', word for it. So, how do you use that concept in the library with kids and build solid media and social media literacy in in young students?

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: Well, the Library of Congress has a lot of free-to-use pictures as well as audio clips and video, and so you can download those for free, and you can use them like I did when I presented in front of the librarians, and I will do this with my students where you show just a portion of it. And then kind of build interest, have the kids first just look, observe, see what they see, then what they think it might be about. So, they're reflecting, and then questioning with "I wonder" statements, and that just builds interest. And I I think it could be a a great way to start, like we talked about, the inventor lessons with CKLA for fourth grade. It's a great way to introduce biographies. It's a really great asset to use with our lessons.

Amy Dalin: Yeah, we focus a lot in fourth and fifth grade on like research and building research skills, and primary sources is an incredible source for students to use that often times I think they will just like Google, like, you know, "Abraham Lincoln," and then you get a secondary source that's, "Abraham Lincoln was born on, blah, blah, blah." But then you have primary sources where it's like letters written by Abe Lincoln or about Abe Lincoln, or newspaper articles, or actual pictures of him. And I think that adds more context to them, and it kind of gets them more interested, I think, in the topic or the unit that you're talking about.

Conor: The other great thing about primary sources, and especially in relations to younger kids, is with the rise of AI, it's so hard to know, especially if you're a younger learner, what's real, what's not real. And this is a really interesting way for them to actually see these things firsthand. And so, not only are they getting that interesting aspect of seeing the audio-visual element, but they're you're kind of showing them what they can trust, what they can't trust, and that's going to be so vitally important for the rest of their lives.

Doug: The Library of Congress has millions of primary sources, original letters. One of you even mentioned they have the copyright for the "I Have a Dream" speech. That's That's a little piece of history that people don't always think about. What What's something that stuck out to both of you?

Amy Dalin: We got to go to the rare books, and so we got to see like a 1200 copy of Aesop's Fables written in Latin, which was incredible, and like I was like, "Can I breathe this close to it?" They also had a 1940s copy of Aesop's Fables, which was written in English, but it was really cool to see how like the pictures were very similar because they're the same stories, but they've been like passed down from generation to generation. So, even in Latin versus in English, you have the same pictures, and so it's kind of beautiful in a way that you can be like, "Wow, these pictures are the same, and the stories have maintained the same kind of lessons behind them."

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: And I really liked the maps section. So, you can, and I looked at Puyallup. I went online to look up, "What did Puyallup look like in the 1800s, and what does it look like today?" And having and centering a lesson around that to kind of, maybe at the beginning of the school year, "This is your hometown, and look at how it's changed over time." And because students don't really necessarily look at maps anymore either, and so it's really fun to see and layer the maps on top of each other so they can see and look for the differences. And so that it's close reading, and then maybe you could do a lesson on mapping, so...

Conor: It It really is like insane how much just like American artifacts are in the Library of Congress. When Doug and I were doing our little bit of research prior to the show, we got kind of hung up on just the list, the incredible incredible list of things that are in the Library of Congress. Things like Thomas Jefferson's handwritten Declaration of Independence. Like, what?

Doug: Yeah, and Jerilyn, in your training, you just said the Library of Congress has the biggest comic book collection in the world.

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: Yes, 165,000.

Doug: And that's printed copies.

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: Unique, yes. Unique, and they're digitized, so you can look them up from the 1930s to today.

Doug: Yeah, that's fantastic. So, they have Amazing Fantasy #15, that's the first appearance of Spider-Man. And not only do they have that, donated in the early 2000s was the original black-and-white art for that issue by Steve Ditko, the artist of it. And that's just one piece of Americana that's in the Library of Congress.

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: Yeah, if it's been copyrighted, it's there.

Conor: That's so incredible. I mean, just like the depth and breadth of available information there is like just, it goes forever, it seems like.

Amy Dalin: I think we didn't realize that until we got there, and then they were like, "No, we have all this, and we have all these artifacts, and everything's They're working on digitizing everything, and thousands of things are being digitized a day." And so, even if you're in Washington state, you can access a ton of things from the Library of Congress, which is helpful for students if they're researching, helpful for teachers if they need artifacts, helpful if you just are into history.

Doug: Well, to wrap things up, you're both librarians, you know all the books better than anybody. First, what are you both reading right now? And then second, what's a book you'd recommend to a student?

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: I just read Whistler by Ann Patchett, and I really enjoyed that book. And for the Battle of the Books this year, I just read Spy Ring... super good book. It actually is focused on the Revolutionary War, and it's based on true facts that there was this spy ring that would funnel information to General Washington, so that's kind of a neat thing. Yeah, it's a very neat book, and that's one of our battle books this year.

Conor: Amy, what about you? What are you reading?

Amy Dalin: I'm listening to an audiobook right now. I'm listening to The Martian... from Andy Weir. Yeah, I was like, yeah, and he also did Project Hail Mary.

Doug: Sorry, jumping in. I love Andy Weir. He's fantastic.

Amy Dalin: It’s Wil Wheaton who narrates it.

Doug: No, is it really? Oh, my god!

Amy Dalin: So, I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful audiobook, and so I've just been listening to that while I've been setting up the library this year.

Doug: Oh, that's great. Have you read Redshirts? Also narrated by Wil Wheaton, it's a Star Trek parody. It's fantastic. Yeah, really, really good. Jerilyn, you mentioned Battle of the Books, and that's a competition that's held at our elementary schools and our middle schools. There is one book this year that actually is on both lists. It's Monster Locker. How does that one book go from middle school to elementary school?

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: Well, it is a graphic novel, and so they're always written at usually somewhere between 2.4 and 3.0 as far as reading range goes. And so, it's kind of nice, maybe you want to encourage middle schoolers that are maybe not reading at a super high level to be able to participate. We really want everyone to participate in Battle of the Books, because reading is is a lifelong thing, and we love, obviously, to read. That's why we're librarians. Shocking! Breaking news right here!

Doug: Yeah, the Battle of the Books is really fun. All the kids, they compete at the school level, then the school forms, they have their kind of A-team, and they go to the district competition. It's like a quiz-style show. It's really fun. Parents can show up, community can show up, and just watch the kids really shine.

Amy Dalin: And it's a great way to introduce kids to different genres, so it's a great way to just kind of diversify what they're reading.

Doug: Awesome.

Conor: Well, Jerilyn Gerhardstein, Amy Dalin, thank you both for joining us.

Jerilyn Gerhardstein: Thank you so much for having us.

Conor: It was great.

Doug: Well, thank you again to Jerilyn and Amy for joining us this week. We had a great conversation with them.

Conor: Absolutely, and be sure to like, share, comment, and if you are in the Tacoma area, listen to us Saturdays at 2:00 at 101.9 Radio Tacoma.

Doug: And everywhere else, just find us on your favorite podcast platform, whichever one it is, and be sure to share it with a friend if you liked what you heard today. We'll be back next week.

What actually determines how long, and how well we live? This week we dive into the fascinating world of the Blue Zones and explore how the Parkland/Spanaway community is actively turning the tide on low life expectancy through movement, simple nutrition, and strong social connections. From free neighborhood fitness classes and pop-up cooking demos to walking school buses and community garden projects, discover how everyday, micro-level changes are creating a healthier, happier future for everyone. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

--TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Doug: Hey everybody, I'm Doug. That's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents podcast. And as our name implies, we have a very educational show for you today. In fact, one of the preeminent pontificators of Pierce County is joining us today. She is an expert in all things health, including diet, movement, connection, and purpose. That's right, we are talking Blue Zones today with Queena Tupou, and she's going to join us in just a few minutes after Useless Trivia. And Conor, that's where I'm going to kick it over to you.

Conor: Well, thank you there, Doug. And in honor of today's show, my Useless Trivia is all about longevity and health. And so, Douglas, did you know that the oldest person alive at this very moment is Ethel Caterham of the United Kingdom? Ethel was born August 21st, 1909, which means she just turned 117 years old. Congrats on that, Ethel, if you're listening, which I'm sure you are. That's old, but she's not close to the all-time record. That record, the oldest verified person ever, remains France's Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years, 164 days. Source on both of those: Guinness Book of World Records.

Doug: Amazing, Ethel. Wish you were from Bethel. Congratulations, happy birthday. That's a fantastic piece of Useless Trivia, Conor.

Conor: And what do you got?

Doug: Nothing as tied to the show as that, unfortunately, but I have a fun fact. Did you know that every original James Bond book written by Ian Fleming was written in Jamaica?

Conor: I actually did know that, but only because you told me.

Doug: I guess we talk too much out of the show, I probably spoiled that one. But after discovering Jamaica during a naval mission in World War II, Ian Fleming bought a plot of land there, built a simple house, and he retreated there from January to March each year, getting away from those London winters. And during those three months in Jamaica, he would write a new James Bond book. He started with Casino Royale, and over 12 years, he wrote 14 Bond titles—that's 12 novels and two short story collections—entirely from Jamaica.

Conor: That's fascinating, and I too would like to work from Jamaica. Can we make that happen, Doug?

Doug: Let's call the superintendent right after this show. Joining us today now to get us back on track is Queena Tupou. She's the Executive Director for the Blue Zones Project Parkland-Spanaway. Queena, thanks so much for joining us.

Queena Tupou: Thanks for having me.

Doug: I'm really excited for our listeners to get to know you and the work that you and your team are doing. But first, let's talk about Blue Zones. A lot of our listeners watched the Netflix docuseries a few years ago called Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, and we all saw remote places like Sardinia and Okinawa featured. These were places where people are amazingly healthy and living long, long lives. So for those that didn't see the show, what are the folks in the Blue Zones doing that the rest of us aren't?

Queena Tupou: Yeah, so a little bit of background about the Blue Zones. Blue Zones are areas of the world that have the most centenarians, so the most people that live over 100. And our founder, Dan Buettner, went out and researched these areas. He's who you'll see on the Netflix docuseries. And what he learned about these areas was that actually most of the people that live there live below the poverty level of those areas.

Doug: Interesting.

Queena Tupou: But they did four basic things, which we implement in the work that we lead here in Parkland-Spanaway. They encouraged folks to move more, eat wisely, connect, and have purpose. And those small changes that each of the communities implemented added on to longevity of their lives.

Conor: It's a really interesting concept and a really interesting thing to study, and kind of discover what are these things that may be driving this longevity. We're very curious, living here, what made Parkland-Spanaway a good candidate to bring this program?

Queena Tupou: I have to give a shout-out first and foremost to the sponsors, and it's the reason why we can do this work in Parkland-Spanaway. It's Pierce County, MultiCare, and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. They're the ones who are contributing into making this project possible. When Blue Zones came into the area and did a discovery of Pierce County, it was discovered that Parkland and Spanaway had the lowest life expectancy than anywhere else in the county.

Conor: Wow.

Queena Tupou: And so, from there, that was how Parkland and Spanaway was selected as the community. It wasn't that they were like top scorers or anything. It was noticing that there was a need here, and also looking that it's an unincorporated area. There's not a lot of resources that are coming out here, that we really, as a collective with the sponsors and community partners, could make an effort to do more work in Parkland-Spanaway. And so that's initially why it was selected.

Doug: Yeah, that's a sobering fact for our listeners to hear about life expectancy here. The core Blue Zones philosophy—and you can correct me if I'm wrong on this—but it's that health isn't about willpower. It's about making the healthy choice an easy choice. What does that look like in practice for our folks here?

Queena Tupou: So, what that looks like in practice in Parkland-Spanaway, we take the four core values, which eating wisely, moving, connecting, and purpose, and we apply that into the community through three pillars: people, places, and policy. And so what we do to encourage that is we have currently a healthy pledge campaign that folks can go online to bzp-parklandspanaway.com and pledge to live a healthier life.

Two, we have health and well-being events throughout the community. We have movement classes that are available at no cost, and we try to make our movement classes available to all ages and families because we don't want there to be a barrier for them. Those movement classes can look like yoga, Mat Pilates—we added in July, in partnership with Day 1 Fitness, hip-hop step, which is a fun movement activity. Zumba, of course, is a fun one that's held at Brenda's Fit. Burrito's Boxing is every first Friday of the month. So there's just multiple ways that folks can get involved.

And even thinking of all ages, shapes, and sizes, Qigong at Trinity Lutheran Church is really meant for our elderly population. The other piece, we noticed there's no pools in this area, so we partnered with PLU Pool, and that's open every Tuesday of the summer. Our goal is hopefully to have more opportunities, but we know the school year's starting. But just recognizing there's not enough spaces for people to come out and gather. We're also putting on healthy cooking demonstrations, and so teaching people how you can cook with foods that you might find at a food pantry, or even just providing low-cost meals that you can make for your family, and we have amazing cooking instructors for that.

Conor: It's fascinating because it does really sound like you have this roadmap of these pillars and things that I'm sure are proven to work. But I'm curious because the original Blue Zones were obviously places where there was a high percentage of 100-year-olds and people living these healthy lives. We obviously don't have 100 years right now to figure out, "Okay, is this working or not?" So how does your team judge success as we go along in this project?

Queena Tupou: Yes. So, since we work under the Blue Zones national brand, the current assessment that Blue Zones is using is the Gallup Well-Being Index. That will be conducted again mid-September, and will last about a month in community. It's randomized. The last time we did it was 2025, and we have seen measurable changes here in Parkland-Spanaway community.

And so, that assessment has to be done in order for us to become a certified community. So I should kind of take a step back and say all of this work is for us to lead to become a Blue Zones Certified Community by January 31st when our project ends. And that has been the ultimate goal, and we have to show that through meeting all of our individual goals that was set locally with our partners and with Blue Zones national. We will be successful because that's just how my team works. We will get the certification for Parkland-Spanaway, and we'll be the first Blue Zones of Pierce County, and actually of the west side. Walla Walla is the first Blue Zones Project in Washington State.

Doug: That's amazing. Wow, just incredible work that your team is doing and really setting up the community to continue it forward even after we get the blue checkmark, which is great. Tell me about how Bethel School District fits into all of this. We heard you speak at an all-staff meeting recently where you talked about the work and the connection with Blue Zones and Bethel School District. Tell us about that.

Queena Tupou: We're working with schools, worksites, grocery stores, and restaurants through a list of items to move them forward in order to become a Blue Zones Approved organization. Bethel School District Education Service Center became a Blue Zones Approved worksite. Congratulations for that, which is the first within Bethel School District to become an approved worksite.

But basically means that you're meeting all of these well-being metrics and supporting your staff in becoming a Blue Zones Approved worksite. With schools, we typically come in and work with the principals to see what would you like as health and well-being programming, where we're there to increase capacity. And so for some of the elementary schools that we've worked with, we've helped to launch walking school buses. Really identify that some of the schools don't have safe, walkable routes.

Doug: Right.

Queena Tupou: And how can we highlight this with the county planning and public works while also encouraging the students to get involved and active in another way for a walking school bus. We've also held healthy cooking demonstrations within the classes themselves. Another way that we've engaged schools is school gardens. We understand a lot of the schools may have a school garden or may be interested in a school garden, and we've partnered with Pierce County Environmental Services to launch those school gardens.

Doug: That's amazing.

Conor: Yeah, it's really fascinating, and great that there are so many different avenues. It's not just about more movement or eating healthier, there are things that are kind of out of people's control that are more environmental things. But if someone was listening today and they wanted to make one small change in their life that could kind of more align themselves with the goals of the Blue Zones projects, what are a few things that you'd recommend for them?

Queena Tupou: Just remembering to eat wisely. So when you're out in the community, we don't have to eat till we're 150% full. I totally get it, I'm Pacific Islander, I get food can be part of culture, but remembering that, and remember you can also have a take-home box. Around movement, adding just little, small movements in your day. If you're at work, you can do a walking meeting, you don't necessarily need to always sit and meet all day. You can get up. Throughout your day, one thing we encourage too with worksites is 5-minute microbreak. Give your team the time to get up from their desk and remind them to go outside and maybe go for a walk. So at home, encouraging your loved ones maybe to go for a walk, not just grandparents, but your kids as well. Teaching them these small habits can be a part of your daily lifestyle is a great opportunity to connect.

Conor: So, you've been at this for a while now. Do you have any cool success stories you could share about people getting involved in the program?

Queena Tupou: Obviously, we have a lot of events. There are so many a week. My team is on the go, and I'm so blessed to have them. We recently just wrapped up our food crawl where we highlighted and spotlit the restaurants in Parkland-Spanaway. One gentleman actually attended all of the events, but what was beautiful about him, since we started engaging and having more conversations with him—I met him at the first food crawl event—and he had shared he goes to everything. He'll be at the PLU Pool, and then later on he goes to the gardening group, and then he'll attend one of the events at Sprinker.

So for someone who's retired, this has been a great opportunity to motivate him, to keep him going, and to make him feel like he's part of the community. He's retired military. It's great to see him as we host these events. He's popping around, he knows someone from another event. And just the community that has been built around this has been just the most successful story from it, but seeing those individual changes from folks who are participating and noticing their own health increase because of it has been beautiful to see.

Doug: Yeah, it's really amazing how all of those things compound and lead to living a healthier life. And I know our listeners, especially ones that have lived here a long time, have heard some common themes here: lack of a pool, lack of safe walking routes. And so I really love the work that you all are doing here and connecting with organizations all around the Parkland-Spanaway area to really make the world a better place for the folks that are living here. The work you all are starting here is just incredible, and Queena Tupou, thank you so much for joining us today.

Queena Tupou: Thank you.

Doug: Well, that was a really interesting conversation. Love the work the Blue Zones Project is doing in Parkland-Spanaway. It's amazing stuff. And while Queena was talking with us here, the rest of her team was actually out with our McKinney-Vento team. That's the team you heard about last week that helps our students who are experiencing homelessness. They were doing a giveaway, giving away bikes and all kinds of things getting ready for the start of school. Fantastic stuff.

Conor: Indeed it was. And if you liked what you heard, please join us next week or, if you're in the Tacoma area, listen to us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma Saturdays at 2:00. We'll see you next week!

On this week's show, we tour the brand new Bethel High School and share highlights from the grand opening event. Hear directly from students, staff, and local tribal partners as they reflect on what this milestone means for the future of our district. This building represents decades of planning, perseverance, and dedication to student success. A tremendous thank you goes out to our community whose unwavering support made this dream a reality! New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

-TRANSCRIPT--

Conor: Hey everybody, I'm Conor, that's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents Podcast, and we have a very, very special show, and I know we say that every week, but this week we actually mean it. This week is all about the brand-new Bethel High, and we were at the ribbon-cutting last Friday, and, boy, was it a special afternoon, Doug. But before we get to that, as we always do, we're starting with our little useless trivia section. Doug, what do you got this week?

Doug: Well, I got a good one, and mine is tied to the ceremony in that I welled up with tears a little bit at the ceremony, and this movie makes me well up with tears, too. Conor, did you know back in the 1980s, they were making a little movie and they auditioned 8,000 girls to play this one role? Any ideas what that role was?

Conor: I'm going to guess Annie?

Doug: That is it, man! Off the top of your head, too. Very well done. Back in 1980, they began auditions for the movie version of Annie. 8,000 girls auditioned, and Aileen Quinn eventually won the role. Now, a lot of people don't know that Aileen was also in the Broadway production of Annie. She was what they call a swing orphan, meaning that she was trained to play any of the orphans except for Annie. How about that?

Conor: That's impressive work on her part and good job. She nailed it in the movie. And Doug, what's your source on this one?

Doug: My source this week is Mental Floss: 15 Hard Knock Facts About Annie. Conor, what do you got for us this week?

Conor: Well, I am also trying to tie my useless trivia into this week's show in that it's about a big, beautiful building, just like our new Bethel High School. So, Douglas, did you know that the Burj Khalifa is so tall, you can actually watch the sunset twice?

Doug: How is that possible?

Conor: So let me break it down. The 2,722-foot Dubai skyscraper is high enough that the sun sets about two to three minutes later near the top than it does at ground level. So, in fact, in 2011, Dubai's Islamic Affairs authorities actually advised the residents on floors 80 to 150 to wait an extra two minutes before breaking their Ramadan fast, and those above the 150th floor to wait three, 'cause the sun was still visible from that high up.

Doug: Yeah, it is an amazing building, for sure, and I love the Burj Khalifa's cameo in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol where Tom Cruise is hanging off the side of it and really did those stunts. That was pretty, pretty incredible.

Conor: It certainly was. And speaking of incredible, let's get right into the show because we had the chance to see the incredible new Bethel High School on Friday, and what a ceremony that was!

Doug: Do you think Tom Cruise would come hang off that building?

Brian Lowney: It is an absolute joy to welcome you all, finally, to the new Bethel High School.

Doug: That is Superintendent Brian Lowney at the official dedication for the brand-new Bethel High.

Brian Lowney: Looking out across this room, seeing our incredible community partners, our tribal partners, parents, colleagues, and, most importantly, our students gathered together here today, my heart is incredibly full. Years ago, well before my time here, during some of the long planning sessions, county water modeling reviews, or legislative hurdles, it must have been very hard for many of you to envision today. But through every twist and turn, the warmth, resilience, and spirit of the Bethel family kept us moving forward.

Conor: And move forward we shall. One of the first speakers at the dedication was Brandon Reynon, Director of the Tribal Historic Preservation for the Puyallup Tribe.

Brandon Reynon: Ha-Ska-He-O, Twa-Kla-Poo, Twa-Kla-Poo, Twa-Kla-Poo-Dah-E-Shah, Dah-E-Shah, Dah-See-Yah-Yah-Yah.

Doug: That's Brandon beginning his remarks using the language of the Puyallup and Nisqually tribes.

Brandon Reynon: And I said See-Yah-Yah-Yah three times. In our language, when it's repetitive, it means the significance, the greater significance. And See-Yah-Yah-Yah in Lushootseed or Twulshootseed, the Puyallup and Nisqually language, that means family and friends.

Conor: And it was really amazing to hear Brandon speak so passionately about the history of the area, specifically where this high school's actually sitting.

Brandon Reynon: This location where the school was built is on the sacred lands of the Puyallup and the Nisqually people. Before the arrival of settlers, we were one people. We were not separated into two different tribes. And the area in which we stand is significant. That is where our people gathered, where our youth would follow their fathers, and young women would follow their mothers, and gather, and hunt. In those places, they would share their stories. This is where our history was taught. This is where our lessons were taught, were on these trail systems. They became temporary homes and permanent homes throughout the year.

Doug: That trail system he's talking about stretched all the way from the Puget Sound to Yakima and beyond.

Brandon Reynon: When settlers arrived and the trail system was destroyed and lost, we didn't know where the trail system was. It wasn't until the Puyallup Tribe asked for an archaeological study when this building was being constructed. And in that study, we discovered over 200 Native American artifacts—Puyallup, Puyallup and Nisqually artifacts. We discovered a handful of homestead artifacts as well on on this same property. But more importantly, we were able to once again identify this trail system. So, once again, we have this center where we can learn and grow. And that's Bethel, this new Bethel High School, which my children will be attending as well. They're they're the future classes here in just a few years. So I'm I'm invested just as much as you are in this school. And this school will now be a same place that it'll be just like we did thousands of years ago. This will be a place where children will gather, they will they will learn stories, they will learn our language, they will learn other languages. They will be able to learn and and adapt and appreciate other cultures, not just from here, but from around the ancient and around the country.

Conor: It was really cool hearing the history of this land and how it's coming full circle from a place of learning back to a place of learning. Very, very cool stuff.

Doug: It was indeed. Well, the next speaker had people drawing their eyes, and I was one of them.

Brian Lowney: So would you please welcome our superintendent, Mr. Thomas Seigel.

Conor: I really love how Superintendent Lowney introduces him as our superintendent. Tom Seigel served our district as superintendent for 23 years, and the ovation that greeted him showed it. He got a standing O that lasted nearly a minute, and everybody was excited to see him.

Tom Seigel: Thank you very much. My kids aren't going to see a video of this. They won't believe that. That's wonderful. Thank you so much.

Doug: It was absolutely great to have him back in Bethel, and nobody knows the history of the new Bethel High School project, which stretches back to the early 2000s, better than Tom.

Tom Seigel: Old Bethel High has served us well for a very long time. But when I got here a quarter of a century ago, the building was already in serious trouble from the standpoint of overcrowding and could not really support all the needs of the students. The opening of Graham-Kapowsin High School helped relieve the crowding, but the old building itself still lacked a great deal of what was needed. Remember, Old Bethel High opened in 1952. I was three years old. And there were no computers for kids or for anybody at that time. New Bethel High School is actually a culmination of 25 years of planning from when it was first envisioned to acquiring the property from the Crate family, whose son, U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Casey Crate, a Bethel High School graduate, was killed in Iraq in 2005, to surviving numerous legislative challenges in the process at the state and county level in order to use this land, including successfully bringing a lawsuit, to working through all the related federal, state, and county land use and zoning requirements, which would have caused the faint of heart to run away. But the team at Bethel did not quit, and as a result, we have this beautiful facility today. Additionally, by providing this new facility, students and teachers have tangible evidence that the community really cares for them and their future. This is an important psychological boost and sets the stage for truly amazing student success.

Conor: It absolutely all comes back to students here in Bethel. Everything we do is done with them in mind.

Doug: And Tom mentioned the community's support. Let's hear more about that.

Tom Seigel: But I want to especially recognize the members of the Bethel community who trusted us and supported the bond measure to make this project a reality. Your trust will be kept, and New Bethel High will be a truly magnificent place for students to learn. Thank you.

Conor: Well said, Superintendent Seigel. We can't say enough about our community. Thank you, voters, and thank you, everyone, who stood by and supported this project.

Doug: Now, Tom mentioned this in his remarks we just heard, but I want to circle back for a second. The Crate family sold some of the land to the district where the high school sits now, and part of the new building is the Casey Crate Memorial Plaza, which honors him and other Bethel High School graduates who have gone on to serve their country. I got to spend some time with Linda Crate and her family after the ceremony, took photos of them out by the plaza. Linda looked around and said Casey used to ride his bike near there when he was young. She also told me that she wished the names of all the Bethel students who graduated and then served in the military could be on the wall, too. It was a really special visit with them.

Conor: Yeah, that was absolutely a special moment. And Doug, I'm going to hit you with a little bit of bonus useless trivia. This one actually has some use. I was on a little walking tour after the ceremony, and I heard someone say something very interesting. The new Bethel High is actually an eighth of a mile long from the front door to the back door, as they say.

Doug: That is impressive! A great place to get your steps in, for sure.

Conor: There is so much to love about the building. It really is stunning. Let's hear from Sara Coccia, our Director of Construction and Planning.

Sara Coccia: Sure. The size and the scale of the campus is impressive. But what I appreciate most is that the building was designed around how students learn and how they will use the school every day. There are flexible learning spaces, collaborative areas, career and technical education opportunities, athletics and performing arts spaces, and places throughout the building where students can gather, connect, and belong. While a school building is made of brick, steel, glass, wood, and thousands of other individual pieces, a school is not really a building. Rather, a school is a place where a student discovers something they didn't know they could do. It is where a teacher changes the direction of a young person's life. It's where friendships are made. It is where students learn to work together, to overcome setbacks, celebrate successes, and begin to imagine what comes next. And I hope for that, for generations of Bethel students, this becomes a building filled with those moments.

Conor: The new school also boasts a dedicated welding classroom, a gigantic industrial kitchen for culinary students, and a 500-seat auditorium complete with an orchestra pit.

Doug: That space is so impressive. As I was walking around the building after the ceremony, the word I kept hearing from people was "wow." And when I went into the auditorium, a mom was leaving with her two kids, and she was literally wiping tears away, just saying, "wow," and how impressed she was with what she'd seen.

Conor: Yeah, that space is really cool, and nobody knows more about the impact this building will have on the students than our students themselves. So let's hear from a couple of them now. First up is Kekoa, an incoming freshman.

Kekoa: Walking into this building for the first time, everything felt big, modern, and full of possibility. I'm especially excited about joining the band. The new practice rooms, the equipment, and the space built for music makes me feel proud to be part of something that's growing. And beyond band, there are so many activities, clubs, and opportunities here for every student to find their place. Today isn't just about opening a building. It's about opening a future. And as freshmen, we get to be the first class to write the beginning of that story.

Doug: It is so cool to be the first class that will have all four years at that brand-new school.

Conor: I can only imagine! Next up, a student who will get one year at the new school, she's a senior. Her name is Ava.

Ava: With moving into a new school comes many past memories of the old school we once knew: the small hallways, crowded classrooms, packed portables, and loud cafeteria. For many of us, it will be hard to forget. Yes, Old Bethel may have been smaller than what we have now, but it gave us so much opportunity to be the students and staff that we are today. This environment gave us the chance to make good friends and relationships that some of us will carry on with us for the rest of our lives. This new building not only brings opportunities for everyone, but a great place for students to find who they are along with who they might meet. With these new big halls, larger classrooms, and great commons areas, this gives many students the chance to meet more people that can bring light into their life, just as my friends, who I once met in the crowded lunchroom, walked into mine.

Doug: I always love hearing from our students, but let's give the last word today to School Board President Marcus Young.

Marcus Young: And so as we walk around this building on today, and as we continue with our lives as we move forward, it is my hope that you will have that same "wow" and that same sentiment of amazement and anticipation, not just at the greatness of this structure, and not just at the beautiful architectural prowess that it took to make what we have, not in the beautiful theater that we have and the great big football field, but it is my hope that you will have "wow" rooted in you at the fact that this will also represent the place where lives will be changed. It will also represent students that will come, and they'll come into this building and be provided with hope. And lastly, it can represent the dreams that will be birthed here, that will be inspired here, and that will be fulfilled here. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Bethel High School, home of the Bison. Thank you so much.

Conor: Well, we hope you enjoyed the show today, and be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share the show any way you like. New episodes come out on Wednesdays on your favorite podcasting platforms, and as of now, you can hear us Saturday afternoons at 2:00 on 101.9 Radio Tacoma.

Doug: And we are closing out the show with the Bethel High Pep Band. They performed before, during, and after the festivities, and they're taking us out with "Low Rider."

Conor: We'll be back next week, everybody. Hey, and someone's got to tell these kids we need a little more cowbell!

For students experiencing homelessness, getting across the graduation stage can feel nearly impossible. But our graduation rate for these youth just jumped to 84%. On this week’s show, we dive into the real-world efforts making that happen, from connecting kids with after-school programs and basic necessities to providing one-on-one math tutoring at the local library. We’ll also share student success stories and much more! 

New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

-TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Doug: Hey, everybody, I'm Doug. That's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents podcast. We have a fantastic show for everybody this week, but before we get started, be sure and like, comment, subscribe, share with a friend. We'd love for you to share the show far and wide, just like Radio Tacoma 101.9 is doing, Saturdays at 2:00 PM. You can hear us there every weekend. And this week, we are talking about students who are experiencing homelessness and the hurdles they have to overcome to get to the graduation stage. And we have some amazing results to talk about. You're going to hear some stories and hear from some folks here that work very closely with those students. That's coming up in just a minute. But first, Conor, it's time for useless trivia. What do you got for us this week?

Conor: It absolutely is, and summer's winding down, so I thought I'd take one last hurrah and give us a summer-ish-themed useless trivia. So, Douglas, did you know that the Popsicle was invented by accident by an 11-year-old?

Doug: Really?

Conor: It's true! In 1905, Frank Epperson mixed powdered soda flavoring with water and accidentally left it outside overnight with a wooden stirring stick in the cup. Happened to be an unusually cold night in the San Francisco Bay Area, and by morning, the drink had frozen around the stick. Epperson apparently tried it, he liked it, and began sharing the frozen treats with other kids. But here's the weird part: he waited nearly 20 years to do much about the idea. As an adult, Epperson began selling the treats and applied for a patent in 1923. In 1924, the patent for a "frozen confectionery" designed to be eaten by holding a stick—no plate, no fork, no spoon—he originally called the invention the "Epsicle," combining his name Epperson with icicle. His own children didn't like that; they reportedly started calling them "Pop's sicles," which inspired the name "Popsicle."

Doug: How about that?

Conor: And my source on that, 'cause I know you're about to ask...

Doug: I'm a stickler.

Conor: ...is Smithsonian Magazine. What about you, Douglas? What do you got this week?

Doug: Well, I love that you took us back to 1905. My useless trivia isn't going to go back that far, but we will go back to the greatest era of all the eras: the '80s, Conor! 1982, when the US Border Patrol decided they were going to do a roadblock on US 1. That's the sole highway connecting the Florida Keys to the mainland, and they were checking vehicles for drugs and other things. This resulted in a traffic jam 17 miles long. And you know who didn't like that? The mayor of Key West, Conor. He seceded from the United States. That's right. Key West seceded from the Union and declared war on the United States. Before I go further, my source is CBS News. This actually happened. Key Westers literally attacked federal forces and naval officers, hurling volleys of stale Cuban bread, water balloons, and conch fritters. Exactly one minute later, the mayor surrendered to a US naval officer and promptly requested a billion dollars in foreign aid for post-war reconstruction. The whole stunt actually did work, and the blockade was removed from US 1.

Conor: Wow, the world's shortest civil war. I love it! And not a violent one, so we love that. But I don't blame him, that kind of traffic jam would drive me nuts as well.

Doug: Yeah, absolutely. And let's not be a traffic jam of nonsense getting in the way of what people came to listen to.

Conor: Joining us today is friend of the pod, Darius Alexander. And Darius is back with a whole new title: he is now the Director of Equity, Access, and Community Engagement. And that title is the result of the merging of two of our departments: our Community Connections team and our Equity and Achievement team. Both of those departments do amazing, tireless work to remove barriers for our students.

Doug: So, Darius, to talk about what that means, you actually grew up here in Bethel, and you've said before your elementary and middle school years were actually tough ones. What kind of barriers did you face as a kid, and how does your department make sure other kids aren't facing the same things?

Darius Alexander: My primary barriers were really just like finding a place to belong, and just being transparent, from 2nd grade to about 11th grade, I was a kid that got made fun of a lot, just really had a hard time connecting. I like to say I was a good bad kid, but a lot of times that means you're stuck in the middle, and where do you really fit in? Grades are really important to me, but fighting to be popular was important to me, so it's really about that sense of belonging. And then also, just the nature of our world, my family is from the Deep South, my parents grew up in the civil rights movement, and so that was an adjustment of trying to figure out where do you fit in in a diverse, but still divided community also.

Doug: Absolutely, that had to be tough. So what kind of work does your team do now to make sure that kids can find out about opportunities and get around the things that are in the way of them sitting in class and learning?

Darius Alexander: One of the main things that I'm super proud of for our department is really working with parents, community members, and community organizations to help kids find something to connect to. Out in our area, we don't have the Boys & Girls Clubs and all those kind of things, and our staff, they do a—they do a lot of work and we have a lot of invested people in our buildings, but how do we provide more opportunities for kids to connect to their school communities? So we're able to bring in organizations to run after-school programs, to run weekend programs, to come in schools and do mentoring. So really just navigating those systems and trying to figure out how can we bring in more support has been amazing.

Conor: Yeah, another thing that your department has been doing for a long time now is you have equity teams in every building. Can you tell us a little bit about what that is all about and what they're doing to help students?

Darius Alexander: At a super high level, each school comes with its own community, own culture. So equity teams are really charged with identifying what that culture is, what's the school climate, and working with students to try to figure out what's working and what's not working, and really expanding the definition of equity and then also our efforts. So one thing I'm really passionate about is equity goes so much further than just the surface level of what we can see when kids walk into the building. So it's really the charge of the equity teams to try to figure out what are those things, what are the barriers for our students, and how can we help them win.

Doug: That's really important work, and I think anybody that meets you would come away with the fact that you have a lot of pride in your work, in your team, and also in your community. You grew up here, you live here, and you've said community pride is something you actually want to see more of. Tell me about that.

Darius Alexander: Growing up here, when I was younger, especially like in high school, our school was so connected. We didn't have social media and things like that that makes our kids' world bigger, which it's a great thing, but then also at the same time, I see just this sense of we lose that pride of showing up and feeling like we really belong to something. One thing I've been really passionate about and really trying to drive out in the community is, because of where we are, how do we get people to show up for our kids? How do we show our kids that, one, that they—that they matter? How do we show up and cheer these kids on so that they say, "My community takes pride in me as a human being," which then takes helps me take pride in my school, the street I grew up in, the neighborhood that I'm in, and our district as a whole.

Conor: Yeah, and one way we can build that community pride is to teach the next generation. And recently, I heard an interview with you, and you said something that was kind of provocative. You said, "As adults, we don't always set a good example of how to handle conflict." What can we do to strive to change that?

Darius Alexander: I think it's all about self-reflection. That's something I really try to push myself in. I'm—I'm very, very hard on myself, but I just think overall we have to stop and pause and say, "How am I showing up?" In every situation and every aspect of our lives, how am I showing up? And especially when it comes to dealing with young people, am I setting an example for them that's going to help them? I keep saying "win," but I mean, how are we going to help them succeed? How are we going to help them find value in themselves and see the contributions that they can make? And let's be completely real about the nature of our world right now. We all have our different backgrounds, our different opinions, and adults have really set the tone of, if you don't agree with me, we can't come together, we're going to argue. Our kids are seeing all of that, but then we still expect them to show up and get along.

Doug: Yeah, that's a really tall hurdle for anybody to overcome, especially with the way society is right now. But before we let you go, Darius, let's circle back to the work you and your team are doing here in the district. You're removing barriers for students so they can make it across the graduation stage. As a district, we have a 91% graduation rate. But when you break it down, you start to look at subgroups—and that could be anything from racial groups to male/female, things like that—it's not true for every subgroup. They're not hitting that 91% threshold, and that's because of the barriers that are in front of them. One group that we look at is our students that are experiencing homelessness. Now, we're not going to spoil the numbers because, honestly, as soon as you leave, we have another guest coming in, and we're going to talk all about that. But talk about the work that your team does all year long supporting students that are experiencing homelessness.

Darius Alexander: Well, one thing I really want to highlight is it's really a collective effort across our entire district and every role that we have in our district of trying to remove these barriers for kids and trying to figure it out. And that's one thing I pride myself on for our team, and that I'm super thankful to be a part of that team for, is really trying to figure out how can we serve our schools, how can we serve our different departments to try to find out, first of all, what the needs of our students are. One thing I love and that I'm super passionate about is student voice. So we work with kids and their families to try to figure out what is it that they need versus what we think that they need. We're super intentional about getting out to schools to really try to work with our students, just building those relationships and making those connections with kids, and then also being intentional about inviting them to programs and educating them about our school system and our school district, of what opportunities are available to be involved. Do you have everything you need to participate in band, or an art club, or sports? I'm super proud of the work that we do, not only for our students experiencing homelessness, but for every single kid, regardless of their background.

Conor: That's fantastic. Well said, Darius. And thank you again for joining us today, Darius Alexander, our brand new Director of Equity, Access, and Community Engagement.

Darius Alexander: Thank you all for having me, appreciate you.

Doug: And we're back, and joining us in the studio is Unaccompanied Youth Navigator Tammi Booth. Tammi, welcome back to the show.

Tammi Booth: Hey.

Doug: Tammi is here with some amazing numbers, some amazing results of our McKinney-Vento—that's students experiencing homelessness. Their graduation numbers are at 84% this year. That is up from 79% last year. Tammi, this is amazing news, and congratulations on the work that you and your team are doing. So tell us about what all goes into getting these rates to keep going up. This is—this is fantastic.

Tammi Booth: Really, what it comes down to is Team Bethel, right? So, I'm there, yes, working with the students one-on-one, but like, it takes a team behind them. And I think like the presence of me there and—and pushing helps to kind of open the eyes to some of our staff to see what's going on, to be, you know, use more of our trauma-informed care with our students, so that way they can feel seen and supported, because our McKinney-Vento aren't traditional students.

Doug: Right, yeah. And we were talking earlier in the show about removing barriers for students. Students experiencing homelessness have a huge amount of barriers in front of them.

Tammi Booth: Yeah, absolutely. One of the biggest things that, you know, we do is we look at those—we start with those lower hierarchy of needs that Maslow's put out. So, you know, you're making sure that those basic needs are met, and then from there, transportation is huge for McKinney-Vento. So making sure that all of our kids, not only can they get to school, but they can get to every activity that they want to participate in, just like a housed student can.

Conor: So critical. The work you guys are doing is such amazing work. And, you know, a lot of times when we work in education, we hear these numbers and statistics, and you forget sometimes that every one of those numbers is an actual student. And these are students that you work with on a daily basis, and you get to see them grow and achieve these goals. Tell us what it's like, specifically at graduation, when you see a student cross that stage that maybe you've seen face these amazing, seemingly insurmountable hurdles, and then they've reached their goal. What does it feel like for you personally?

Tammi Booth: Yeah, when you look at like statistics and numbers, like I know like as a district those are important, but like you said, what I see is I see those students' faces. And graduation, it's like waking up on Christmas to me, because it's like you have worked so hard with this student, and to watch them, against so many things that are telling them they shouldn't be here, they're doing it. It's been really cool because our actual college-bound for our unaccompanied youth has increased greatly. Like, we have a kid who got into University of Washington's nursing program this year that, you know, is completely on his own, so...

Doug: Wow, that is incredible. Would you share a few stories with our audience about some of the students that you've helped and the barriers that you've helped them get past?

Tammi Booth: Yeah, absolutely. A story that really comes to mind is one of our students that just graduated that's actually bound for WSU. That was kind of like a last-minute decision. She thought, "I'm going to—I'm not going to get into college, I'm just going to apply," and we talked about like that this would provide more stability housing-wise, because she'd be able to live in the dorms. So she did apply, and she got in, but she had to take a math class that she hadn't taken yet. So it was already a couple weeks into that quarter, so we were able to work with the counselors and get her switched into that math class. Because she was behind—I mean, I always say it takes a village—so we reached out and found someone to help keep her up in her math and catch up, and we met that—it was a math tutor, and we met her at the Graham Library like once a week, and she passed, and she's—she's Coug bound, so...

Doug: That is amazing, and go Cougs! And we love seeing kids heading off after graduation to do amazing things, whether it's college, whether it's apprenticeship, whether it's going straight to work. Do you have any non-college-bound students you can tell us about?

Tammi Booth: Yeah, I have a young man who I'd worked with since freshman year. I remember when I first met him, and we talked about—it's one of the first questions I ask, like, "How important is graduation to you?", right? Because they have to have autonomy in this, and they have to make sure that this is what they want to do. No matter how much I want to do, they have to want it. And so freshman year, he's like, "No one in my family graduates, I'm not graduating." But, not only did he graduate, but he graduated early from Challenger, and over the summer I got back and I had a message from him. He graduated in March, and then got a job working in landscaping, and he sent me a video of him with his first car that he bought.

Doug: Oh my gosh.

Tammi Booth: Yeah, that was pretty cool. Like, that connection just keeps going. We're there supporting kids. I just got a phone call from a kid who graduated two years ago yesterday. So, like, those relationships that we build with kids are ongoing.

Conor: Yeah, and it does show that it—it like you—you gave a lot of credit to Team Bethel, and it shows like we have to all come together to help the students who are most vulnerable or need the most help. And it's great to see these results, and we can't wait to see the results that are going to keep coming year after year, 'cause you guys, we're seeing how hard you're working, and the sky's the limit, and these kids are so impressive, and we're just so excited about them.

Doug: Absolutely. Tammi Booth, thank you so much for joining us again on the show.

Tammi Booth: Yeah, thank you.

Conor: Well, thank you again to our guests this week, Tammi Booth and Darius Alexander. We will be back next week with a brand new episode.

Doug: And don't forget you can catch us Saturdays at 2:00 on 101.9 Radio Tacoma. And of course, we're still on everywhere that you listen to quality audio, be it Spotify, Apple News, Amazon Music, what have you. Come find us, come listen. We'll be back next week.

On this week’s show, you’ll meet some Bethel High School students who are getting a massive head start on their healthcare careers! We talk with four top “HOSA – Future Health Professionals” competitors and learn how they stepped out of their comfort zones, scored real-world experience, and found their future career paths. This is what happens when levy-funded programs give local students the hands-on opportunities they need to thrive. Thank you, voters! New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast 

-TRANSCRIPT--

This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio.

Conor: Hey everybody, I'm Conor, that's Doug, and you are listening to the Bethel School District Presents Podcast, and for the first time ever, some of you lucky folks are even listening to us on the radio.

Doug: That's right! Saturdays at 2:00 PM, you can hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma. Thanks so much to their board for picking up our show. We look forward to introducing your listeners to the amazing staff and students in our little corner of Pierce County right here.

Conor: And we have four of those amazing students joining us in just a few minutes. But first, Douglas, it wouldn’t be our show if we didn’t kick things off with a bit of useless trivia, so what do you got?

Doug: Well, I just finished reading a book about one Chuck Yeager. What do you know about old Chuck?

Conor: Love me some Chuck Yeager. The Right Stuff, he broke the sound barrier, right?

Doug: He absolutely broke the sound barrier, but he had a huge career before and after that. Huge—my voice broke there a little bit! But I'm pretty excited about old Chuck here. At one point, when he was training in California before going to World War II, one of his instructors was one Jimmy Stewart.

Conor: Well dang, that is a really interesting bit of useless trivia. Well done, Doug.

Doug: Well, that is not it, of course, because, as it's me, this is going to be a Wikipedia page of useless trivia. Again, sourced from a book that I read. So, while he was in World War II flying his P-51 Mustang, he actually was the first person to shoot down a jet. Now, the P-51 is a propeller plane, Germany had invented jet fighter airplanes, and old Chuck said the first time that he saw a jet engine, he shot it out of the sky, which I thought was pretty cool and a good saying. Not only did he fly in World War II, not only did he break the sound barrier, but 30 years later, he flew missions in the Vietnam War. Can you believe that?

Conor: That's a long time to be flying and shooting and doing all the stuff he was doing, but way to go, Chuck.

Doug: Yeah, really amazing, and I love digging into the history around people that you think you know what they did, and it turns out they did a whole lot more. So, Conor, over to you. What is your useless trivia this week?

Conor: Well, in honor of one of our great students that we're about to talk to, who is studying to be a criminal forensic scientist, I thought I'd go in that direction. So Douglas, did you know your ears are almost as unique as your fingerprints?

Doug: That's a very nice compliment, thank you, Conor.

Conor: Not you in particular! But while fingerprints are still the gold standard for identifying people, the shape of your outer ear is surprisingly distinctive. The curves and folds and little ridges on your ear, they develop before you're born and remain largely unchanged throughout your entire life. Researchers have actually studied ear recognition for decades, and some security systems and forensic investigators have even explored using ear shapes and occasionally ear prints left on things like windows or doors as a way to identify people. Isn't that fascinating?

Doug: Never heard of that.

Conor: I thought of ear prints really early on as you started talking, and I'm glad it came up at the end. What a bizarre thing. What's your source on that?

Conor: So, my source on this one is the Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine on ear prints and forensic use. That's a mouthful.

Doug: I saw that on your bookshelf. I was wondering why it was there.

Conor: Yeah, I know. Light reading.

Doug: Well, let's go meet some of those students from Bethel High School right now. Conor, we're going to pack up the microphones, and we'll be over there in just a second.

Doug: Well, we are here at Bethel High School with four amazing soon-to-be seniors. We are chatting today with Madelynn, Joon, Marcella, and Kaydence, and these four ladies have done some pretty amazing things.

Conor: They certainly did, and we are here talking all about HOSA. And if you aren't familiar with HOSA, think of it as the Olympic Games for future healthcare professionals. It's a massive international student organization that prepares high school and college students for careers in the healthcare industry through intense, hands-on academic and clinical competitions.

Doug: And all the students at the table today that we're talking to placed in the top three in Washington State in their respective events. They are literally the best of the best.

Conor: They absolutely are, and they're doing really cool things, too. So, Madelynn and Joon, your focus is forensic pathology, and you had a really cool thing. You secured an interview with a medicolegal death investigator for Pierce County. Tell us about that.

Joon: Right. So, it basically started off one day. We really, really wanted some firsthand accounts to include in our tri-fold, which is what we were competing in, is displaying our tri-fold. And I just had the thought. We were in one of HOSA's meetings after school where it's just kind of a space for us to study and prepare for competitions, and I was like, "Why don't I just call and see if we can get in touch?" And so we stepped outside for a second, and I—at first I called Pierce County's just Sheriff's Office, and they referred me to Pierce County's Medical Examiner's Office. And they gave me the contact info for just, you know, a bunch of offices that I should email and just let them know what I'm doing, like, "Hey, we're just two high schoolers, and we really want to get in touch with some people that we really look up to." And just later that week, we got an immediate response from Ms. Sarah Pleshe. She's actually the lead, yeah, forensics leader of the whole team for Pierce County. And we sent her over a Google Doc full of different questions that we wanted to know from her, and she just edited her responses in, and it was really, really, really awesome.

Doug: That is an amazing interview to get. I think it's also really good advice for other students to reach out and just ask, because you found out people do want to chat, especially with students, about what they do. I think that's really cool. Madelynn, what is it about death investigators that fascinated you?

Madelynn: I feel like forensics usually gets a bad reputation due to it being so taboo, but me and Joon, honestly, we're really interested in forensics and death investigation as a whole to give clarification to grieving families and allow them to mourn in a positive way. Even if it's such a morbid thing, I would say it's a really beautiful thing as a whole because we're able to bring our community together.

Doug: Well said.

Conor: So, Kaydence, your event was respiratory therapy, and evidently you were so interested in this and got so hooked on it that you think you want to do that as a career now. What was it that was so special about that event that really hooked you?

Kaydence: I think what was so special about this event that I did was doing hands-on stuff. I was really kind of bored with the studying on books and just like knowing exactly, like, all the procedures I have to do, but like getting to do the procedures like in person and hands-on was definitely so fun to me, and I was very interested.

Doug: I really love that for you, that you found direction through this process. What were you thinking about as a career before this?

Kaydence: Um, it was nursing, but it was mainly because I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew that I did want to be in the medical field.

Doug: I love that. And this kind of narrowed down your focus, that's fantastic. My mom was a nurse for many, many years. It's a great, great profession.

Conor: So Marcella, you took part in the life support skills. Can you tell us a little bit about what that was like for you?

Marcella: Well, um, part of the life skill support I did, I manage the boys basketball team, and part of the life skill support was stuff similar I did in basketball—the CPR and the, like, nasal stuff and taping—so I had like an idea of what I was doing.

Doug: That's really cool. So what made you want to become a sports manager to begin with?

Marcella: Well, um, I tried to get over like my fear of like being around people and all that, and also I needed stuff to do, and the coaches really liked me, and I had fun, so I'm about to be in year three doing it.

Conor: Why don't we go around the horn now and talk about what interested everyone initially in getting involved in HOSA. Joon, let's start with you.

Joon: I was always interested in forensics and being a part of the medical field and just helping people out. And so when I saw something that gave me an outlet and gave me connections and opportunities to network with just people in my local area and compete and just show off what I know and what I'm capable of, I thought, "I really, really want to do this." My sophomore year, I definitely took a leap and went way out of my comfort zone, and I joined HOSA, and I definitely stuck with it, even when it got really hard, and it definitely paid off. I'm very happy with my decision.

Conor: That's so cool that you took that initiative. Madelynn, what about you?

Madelynn: Um, I would say what got me into HOSA was just getting my foot into the medical field. My whole family has been involved in the medical field and everything, but really, I've always been interested in forensics because I think it is such an interesting topic that a lot of people don't know a lot about. I wanted to get a lot more clarification on it, and then when I found out about death investigating and how you can work in both the lab and on the scene, I thought, "That's two of my favorite things: critical thinking skills and also just biology as a whole." I think it's an amazing thing that to do.

Doug: That's amazing, finding something to put those two things together. Marcella, how about you?

Marcella: Well, some of the people suggested to me saying I would be a good fit in it, and I joined it, and I really love it.

Doug: Kaydence, round us out here. What got you into HOSA in the first place?

Kaydence: So, since freshman year, I've been a part of HOSA. Ms. Frady, who is the advisor for HOSA, was actually my home room teacher. So, as a wee little freshman, I went to her class, I was like, "Hey, tell me any medical clubs you know, 'cause I want to be a nurse in the future." And she's like, "Okay, there's HOSA. I run that club." And I've loved the community. I love being able to do so many different things and like kind of spread my horizon, I think that's the saying.

Joon: Yeah!

Conor: You said it confidently enough. Anything can be the saying.

Conor: Well, we know what Kaydence wants to do when she gets out of school. We haven't yet heard what Marcella, Joon, and Madelynn want to do. So Madelynn, you're—you're going to be a senior here. You got a little bit of time to think about it, but not much. What do you want to do when you graduate?

Madelynn: I have a plan A and a plan B. Definitely my future goal would be to become a death investigator. I was lucky enough to get a few internships through HOSA when I'm 18 over at the morgue and just being a Sheriff's cadet and getting a lot of information on law enforcement and what that entails. Also, I go to another school, Pierce County Skills Center, and I go—I'm in their program for pharmacy, so I've been able to get my license of certification being a pharmacy assistant. So definitely working in the pharmacy, getting a stable job income from there, and being a death investigator.

Conor: That's really amazing, and you're absolutely setting yourself up for success. We love that. Uh, Joon, what about you? What do you think you're going to do when you graduate?

Joon: I definitely plan to go to a university. I know that UW is extremely flexible with their science courses and then also their pathway to get a medical degree, um, because I will admit, I am pretty nervous about me changing my mind last minute. I know it's extremely common. Um, it said online that like 90% of high schoolers have a plan and vision in their mind for what they want to do once they graduate and the career that they plan for their future, but only about like 6% of them actually get there by the time that they're an adult. And so, I have found a lot of comfort and stability in forensics and uh, being a medicolegal death investigator, just because I've surrounded myself with that for so long, and I'm very comfortable with what I'm getting myself into, the pathway to achieve what I want to do. Um, but I will say that genetic counseling or reproductive counseling has perked my interest as in the last month, which is definitely exciting 'cause I thought I was extremely set on what I wanted to do for the longest time. But just now, I found something that I am definitely considering. So, uh, I'm definitely just leaving it open for now. I'm putting myself in a position where I do have a safety net to land on, uh, school with flexibility, a school that is understanding if you do want to change your mind. Um, but yeah, for now, I think I'll just plan to be in the medical field, and I'll see what specialties I want to go into next after that.

Conor: Yeah, that's so cool. And it's good to be flexible. Doug thought he was going to be in the NBA until like two years ago, and he's finally given it up, but it's settled into a nice career, haven't you, Doug?

Doug: Yeah, you picked, uh—you picked a topic I can't really riff on.

Madelynn: I wanted to say, besides pharmacy and forensics, me and Joon are pretty similar with our future plans, but definitely I'm thinking either UW Tacoma or UW Seattle. UW Seattle offers a really great clinical lab, but I know UW Tacoma is a lot more home, you know, and cozy. But I would say definitely major in Biomedical Sciences as a whole, and also minoring in Criminology is really what piques my interest for getting a bachelor's.

Joon: My brother, actually, he is kind of what made me realize that I need to let myself be open to change, even last-minute change, 'cause he was actually set on going to school for accounting at, I think, WAZZU. And last minute, the last day that college admissions were open for Berklee in Boston, he applied, and he got in with a crazy scholarship. And now, he's in a career where he's doing what he never would have even thought was possible. It's his dream job. He's going to school for being composed—a composer for films and writing music for films, and it's the coolest thing ever. And he goes to such a prestigious, high-achieving college that he always encourages me, like, "I know that you think that going to a local school is a safe option, and you've planned things out for so long, but if you ever have a little thing that you think could be cool, just go for it." And so, by my senior year, I definitely will make it a priority to just apply everywhere 'cause you never know what might encourage you to do something completely different and unexpected.

Doug: I love that, and I love the advice for other students to keep all their options open. You never know what's going to pique your interest. Marcella, how about you? What are you doing after graduation?

Marcella: What I'm looking for after graduation is going to college and spending like time with friends and more time with family.

Doug: I love that. And what schools are you looking at going to?

Marcella: UW, some other ones like out of state like Northern, but I'm not sure about out of state yet.

Doug: Awesome. And Kaydence, we already know your goal is to be a respiratory therapist, so we'll give you the final word today. What would you say to this year's crop of incoming freshmen as they're looking to find their foot in the door here at Bethel High?

Kaydence: I would say that my biggest advice for incoming freshmen is to really ask around and learn what type of clubs that Bethel does offer. And I think it's really important to try to go to at least one meeting and see what it's all about and try to dip your toes in the water and see exactly what type of like what type what type of water you like to be in.

Marcella: Yep.

Kaydence: Did I... That was crazy.

Conor: Fantastic metaphor. Words to live by.

Doug: And we'd be remiss if we didn't say thank you to our voters who came through for us on the levy back in February. As you all know, our Educational Programs and Operations levy funds after-school programs like HOSA, it funds our arts, it funds music, it funds sports. It does so much work around this district, and we are forever thankful to all the voters here in Bethel. And I'm also thankful to our students today, to Joon, Madelynn, Marcella, and Kaydence. Thank you all so much, and best of luck at the International Leadership Conference this summer.

Students: Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you, thank you!

Conor: What a fun interview, and we have since learned that at Nationals, Maddie and Joon were ranked as the top Washington State competitors for Health Career Display. All four of them said they had a blast and can't wait to give it their all again this year.

Doug: And if you liked what you'received here today, be sure to share the show with a friend. You can find us wherever you listen to great podcasts, and that now includes 101.9 Radio Tacoma, where we're on Saturdays at 2:00 PM.

Conor: Thanks for listening, everyone. We will be back next week with another great show.