My mother’s mother was a “coal-miner’s daughter”; born in Pennsylvania. After she completed third-grade, her family moved back to Finland, where she grew up working as an upstairs maid at a neighbor’s farm. When my grandfather (the son of a Colorado miner, also a U.S. to Finland transplant) proposed marriage, her “deal” was that he would bring her and her siblings back to America. Their second daughter was born in steerage; they named her Ellen for Ellis Island. Education was Grandma’s number-one goal for her children, and all 5 of her daughters attended college; two became ministers, and one completed her doctorate in Special Education.
I’ve been involved in adult education since 1975 in a variety of venues. These include coordinating an anesthesiology residency program, counseling in a health clinic, directing a cooperative education program, and several teaching positions. I have a Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers (Livingston College) in English Literature, and completed an Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology at Temple University in 1980. American Sign Language is an interest of mine, and I completed about 40 quarter units at our local community college. I am a licensed mental health counselor, and have been a private practitioner for over 15 years.
Currently, I’m the academic advisor for about 250 adult students at Whitworth College, a private, Christian, liberal arts college in Spokane, Washington. Whitworth has a long involvement in cohort-based education, at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I’m also an adjunct instructor at Whitworth and the local community college. For over ten years I have taught in ChangePoint, a program for “displaced homemakers” at the Institute for Extended Learning – my specialty is career assessment, job hunting, and dealing with change. At Whitworth I teach a study skills course for returning students which focuses on critical thinking, writing, and learning styles.
On a personal note, I grew up in and around Philadelphia and New York City, lived in San Diego; Bend, Oregon; Port Townsend, Washington; and managed to settle in Spokane! I married my sweetheart on a Rhythm and Blues Cruise in the Caribbean in 1994. Since then we’ve traveled extensively in the Pacific Northwest, the east coast of the U.S., and various European countries. My husband is a collector, teaching me the art of appreciation of beautiful things. I am a Friend (Quaker), teaching him the possibilities of simplicity. Two of my best personal traits are my sense of humor (my nickname is Ms. S.A.) and my curiosity (like Kinsey Millhone, I am a snoop).
My interests include reading (mysteries, literature, my “hero” Steinbeck, all of the Jeeves novels by Wodehouse, anything on learning, newspapers, history, psychological journals, cereal boxes), cats (we have 5), music (all kinds; yes, including opera), art, walk/running, dance, learning about languages and cultures, learning just about anything, listening to public radio, Rick Steves’ travel shows, live (certainly not dead) theater, creative writing, collaborative projects, Italian food, German cars, French attention to details, English manners, Swazi acceptance, Microneasian hospitality, shopping at the Bon clearance sales (75% off the already twice-marked-down price), and naps.
