Giving that sparks COMPASSION

Nancy Bowman 
Upper School History Teacher

"My civics class is designed to let students discover what they are interested in and determine what they can do about it. One particular student, Victoria P. '19, took on building care packages for local homeless communities. Her unique combination of curiosity, open-mindedness, compassion, and initiative led her to meet with homeless people across the city.

She asked what they needed, listened to their stories, and then determined how she could help. All of these interactions informed her project, and she shared the information with her classmates and faculty to encourage more engagement. She gave resources to contact a city council representative, suggested non-profits for donations, and reminded us of the power of making eye contact and saying, “hello”.

I am able to imagine the possibilities of this class due to the flexible funding of the Annual Fund. Throughout the year, I help bring speakers to campus in Forums who help promote diversity and offer expanded viewpoints. Every opportunity we get to let the students see another part of the world–Seattle, Washington, the whole country–that is essential to the work I do in my classroom.”