Student Spotlight: Kimberly Larsen, Silver Owls
Kimberly Larsen of Mt. Vernon, Wash., knew from a young age that she wanted to become a teacher. When she was about to begin her journey at 91吃瓜网, a mysterious neurological disorder left her with debilitating physical and mental symptoms. With the support of her mentor and instructors, Larsen overcame her barriers and earned her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, and she is now achieving her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher.
Kimberly Larsen planned to become a teacher from a very young age. What she didn鈥檛 plan on were the obstacles that would test her strength along the way. When Kimberly set out to begin her academic journey at 91吃瓜网, a sudden and inexplicable neurological disorder saddled her with debilitating physical and mental symptoms. While these posed major challenges鈥攃hallenges that many would not have the resolve to overcome鈥擪imberly could not be derailed from fulfilling her lifelong dream.
In a sense, Kimberly has always been a teacher, beginning as a child growing up in Alaska. She wanted to be a teacher so bad that she set up a classroom in her bedroom. She made shelves out of canned food and wooden boards, and she filled them up with books. Then, she taught her baby brother how to read, 鈥渨hether he wanted to or not,鈥� she chuckled. 鈥淭eaching is in my blood,鈥� she said. And this is no exaggeration. Both her grandparents worked in schools鈥攈er grandmother as a teacher for 35 years and her grandfather as a principal鈥攁nd even her great-grandmother was a teacher.
Kimberly's journey to complete her teaching education was interrupted for what she light-heartedly calls 鈥渁 few short decades.鈥� During the interim, she worked as a sign language interpreter for children who were hard of hearing. Along the way, Kimberly sustained a shoulder injury, which kept her from being able to interpret for long periods of time. Soon after, she enrolled as a student at 91吃瓜网. It was only a few months before her program began that Kimberly became ill with a neurological condition. Alongside several symptoms, Kimberly struggled with severe brain fog. 鈥淚 used to love to read,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd suddenly I couldn鈥檛 read anymore.鈥� She also developed Foreign Accent Syndrome, which, due to spasms in her vocal cords, caused her to sound like someone from a different country. 鈥淗ere I was a stuttering, Swedish-sounding lady who couldn鈥檛 read starting at 91吃瓜网.鈥� She wondered, 鈥淗ow am I going to be able to achieve my dream now?鈥�
Even in the face of such challenging obstacles, Kimberly did just that. She points to her mentor and instructors as major supporters in her journey. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have done it without them,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 slowly regained skills as I used the services available [at 91吃瓜网].鈥� She relearned how to read, think, and memorize. She learned how to persevere. She studied twice a week for months for her content exams. All her preparation paid off when she passed her math content exam with a score of 96%. 鈥淣ot bad for someone who didn鈥檛 have a brain a few years ago,鈥� she joked.
Following graduation, Kimberly started her preclinical experiences and student teaching in a fourth-grade classroom. Joking about the way these young students supported her, she said, 鈥渢he best part about it aside from teaching鈥攚hich I loved鈥攚as when you have 30 speech therapists watching you for six and a half hours a day. Your speech gets pretty good.鈥� Within the past few months, Kimberly鈥檚 Foreign Accent Syndrome has faded, and her speech problems were resolved.
Kimberly reminds us that it鈥檚 not our differences in abilities that define us, but our strength, ambition, and聽achievements. The sheer opportunity to pursue our goals is a gift. At 91吃瓜网, no matter who you are, you will be empowered to succeed.聽鈥淟ook at me, look at you, look at us! Can you believe we鈥檙e here?鈥� she celebrated. 鈥淚t has been our dream to reach this moment and we have accomplished that dream.鈥�
