Hey Islanders, for this issue, our Teacher Feature is our brand-new associate principal. Mr. Steen. I decided to take the time to sit down with him and learn more about who he is.
Where did you grow up?
“I grew up in the Lynwood area. I was born in San Diego, but my dad was a Navy guy, and he got out shortly after I was born, not even a year after he got transferred up to Everett. So he bought a house right across from the high school. I went to Meadowdale and was basically raised there.”
What were you like as a child?
“I suppose it depends on who you ask. I was always curious about things, you know, I got into some bad decisions and I made some bad situations that needed guidance through my years, for sure, but I was an active kid. I was into sports. From morning until the lights came on during summertime, I just roamed the neighborhood. And my neighborhood wasn’t like a through street; it was a big loop. So, a lot of my neighborhood and school buddies would just play in the woods, ride bikes, do stupid stuff that kids do. Through high school and all that, I felt like my friend group was pretty eclectic. I had friends and all sorts of different interests, that kind of thing.”
Do you have any siblings?
“I have one older brother. We didn’t always get along as siblings. He was almost four years older than me. The only time we went to school together was elementary, and I have a feeling if I asked him, I was the annoying little brother. So I probably found it entertaining to kind of push his buttons a little bit when we didn’t have friends to play with. I just bugged him, and I usually paid a price for it. Now things are different. Now he’s got two kids as well. So we see each other quite a bit, he’s still local. I never felt like he had a reputation ahead of me that I had to live up to or, in spite of. We kind of were separate as kids.”
What was your school life like?
“High school came pretty easy, I was really naturally inclined and interested in history and English. So those things came pretty easily for me, and I think, quite honestly, to my detriment, because when I got to college it was a little different. I don’t feel like I had to necessarily study all that hard through high school, except in math. Never very inclined in math, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed most of my high school experiences. I had great friends, enjoyed most of my teachers. I played sports; I had the quintessential American high school experience.”
Where did you go to college?
“I originally went to college to play football at Columbia University in New York, and I also got engaged early, so that was certainly tugging at my heartstrings. I ended up coming back home. Being so far away from home was hard for me. I also still wanted to play football. I got into Western and played there one year, and then walked away from it after that. So my life took me in a different direction. Along the way, I went to eight different institutions. I think I’ve taken courses through the mail where I actually got stuff in the mailbox and you do the reading, write essays, put it back in the mail and off it goes, and some professor would grade it there. But I graduated from Western with a degree in history, and then I did my master’s program in education at Old Dominion University.”
What were some of the reasons why you came back from college?
“I think really, because I didn’t have adversity in high school in terms of, like, academics, and then I think having that kind of ingrained experience maybe didn’t set me up for success when I did find adversity at the next level. I don’t think I was really ready for that. I had a very little support system around me in New York. Looking back on it now I think I needed that support and guidance and maybe a little kicking butt every once in a while.”
How did you first get into teaching?
“I got to go back to when I was in middle school. I had a teacher that really inspired me and really took me under her wing as a middle school kid. I didn’t know it at the moment, but the way that she engaged our class and connected with my classmates and me really had a big impact on my schooling, Mrs. Kawabury. That was kind of an influence for me going through my undergrad. I think it’s cool, because in the same respect, when somebody does come back and let you know the impact you had on them it really hits home. I’ve got a list of teachers that have really made a huge impact on my life, teachers and coaches and people in and around schools. I think it’s given me insight on raising my own kids and personal life.”
What sports do you coach, or have you coached in the past?
“Most, recently I coached softball at Skyline for six seasons. I also coached football there for five years. I was an offensive line coach at varsity level and then prior to that, I was the head freshman coach for three years. I have also coached girls basketball, football at Meadowdale as well, youth basketball, coached youth baseball and softball.”
What’s your least favorite thing about being an educator?
“Least favorite thing is that you don’t always get to see the impact you make in particular immediately, and oftentimes long down the road. In other fields, you put in work, and you get to see a result. Teaching is a little bit different, because you don’t always get to see the result. In fact, more times than not, you probably don’t see the end result. As kids have you have your time at K through 12, and then you go off and you do cool things, and most of the time you don’t get to see that, there are some students that have kept in touch with me and let me know what they’re up to, but most of time, you don’t get to see impact you’ve had on somebody. So that’s hard.”
