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I was born on November 14, 2000 in Seattle, WA

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Born and raised in a small town across the water from Seattle, I grew up surrounded by my Scandinavian culture and a strong sense of community.

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Poulsbo celebrates its Scandinavian roots through festivals featuring Vikings, Norwegian Dancing, and Lutefisk

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Coming to Portland in August of 2019 was a shock to me, as I had lived in a town with less than 10,000 people for my entire life. I knew every local grocery store employee by name, had all my family within 25 minutes, and had moved through all of school with the same people. But, my small town home provided me with little experience regarding equity, diversity, and other various challenges faced by those in society. Living in a town where everyone was very similar to me hid the inequalities and injustices faced by so many people and students today.

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After living in a town with students and teachers who were similar to me, I have biases and struggle to connect with diverse students. SJ Miller has been an instrumental resource for working with students facing violence based on their identity, and working to build a safe space for students. Furthermore, Delpit helped breakdown biases towards groups of students, and acknowledged that there is "no achievement gap at birth."

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Food, People, Love: Creating Connections through Food

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Food, People, Love: Creating Connections through Food

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My family has strong roots in a small grocery company; Town and Country Markets. Several generations of the Loverich family have been influential in the foundations of the company.

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We are a family of six stores that focus on fresh and are committed to being of service.

Ballard Market: 206.783.7922

Town & Country Market, Bainbridge Island: 206.842.3848

Central Market Shoreline: 206.363.9226

Central Market Mill Creek: 425.357.3240

Central Market Poulsbo: 360.779.1881

Town & Country Market, Lakemont: 425.653.2261

Town & Country Markets Inc. is a regional, locally owned and operated, independent retail grocery company that began in 1957. Our markets, located throughout the Puget Sound region, include three operating under the Town & Country banner and three under the Central Market banner.
Our Town & Country stores, Ballard Market and Town & Country Markets Bainbridge Island and Lakemont, are neighborhood markets on a relatively small scale. Our three Central Markets - in Poulsbo, Shoreline and Mill Creek - are larger "destination" stores.
All are fresh markets for people who love food.

While the stores share many attributes, each is unique in how they serve the needs of their individual communities, by design.
We strive to offer the freshest, highest quality foods available along with a unique mix of products aimed at satisfying the diverse needs and tastes of the communities and customers we serve. Our features include exceptional produce, a wide selection of natural and organic foods, superb fresh seafood, bulk foods, natural meats and ethnic and specialty foods.
Our staff members are friendly, knowledgeable and passionate about good food.

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We are a family of six stores that focus on fresh and are committed to being of service. Ballard Market: 206.783.7922 Town & Country Market, Bainbridge Island: 206.842.3848 Central Market Shoreline: 206.363.9226 Central Market Mill Creek: 425.357.3240 Central Market Poulsbo:

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The Nakata and Loverich families in front of the Bainbridge Island store in the 1980s

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The Town and Country Markets are one of many foundational pieces of my strong sense of community. Working with the stores threw me into a piece of my own history, and has helped me develop strong relationships with the community.

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A core part of my families connection over food comes from my dad as well. As a chef by trade, my dad values food as a way to connect with others, and ensures food is a large part of our everyday life. Whether this meant gathering each evening at the dinner table with my immediate family, or hosting large family gatherings dominated by excellent dishes, both my parents grew to value food as a core element of our family culture.

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Food is the way my family connects, and the way I have learned to connect with communities. But, most of all it is through my parents, extended family, and grocery store family, that I have learned to so strongly value the love you find within your community. Whether this community is your town, classroom, or workplace, connections are so important in any way, shape, or form.

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Collectivism in an Individualistic Society

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Collectivism in an Individualistic Society

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The dominant culture in America is individualistic, focusing on individual achievement and independence. The culture I was raised in helped me build a strong sense of collectivism that I carry with me in many aspects of life. From a young age, the emphasis was on relationships, interdependence (with the ability to be independent), and collaborative learning. As I work with peers and students today, I see these aspects of my culture strongly reflected. I believe in working cooperatively to reach solutions, and this is reflected in the way I teach and interact with others. But, I have also had to learn that this is not the way everyone functions, and have had to recognize the way my values impact the way I bring together, and be willing to step back from it when it doesn't fit with someone else.

Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor

among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin, a SAGE Company.

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Growing up in the Pacific North West, being in the outdoors has been a key component of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents believed so strongly in the benefits of getting outside and pushed us to explore, whether on a trail or in the backyard.

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Outdoor Education: Growing to Value Unconventional Learning

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Outdoor Education: Growing to Value Unconventional Learning

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I have had incredible experiences as an outdoor education instructor over the summers, and have seen first hand how much children can grow in their experiences outside. As a pre-service educator, I have taken the time to recognize and value the moments beyond the classroom that have such an impact on students.

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So much of my learning through the years has taken place out in the elements. I have learned to be self-sufficient, learned to enjoy reading and moments of silence, and have fostered connections in the outdoors. I make constant efforts to bring others into this space with me as well, believing that everyone can benefit in some way from experiencing nature. I've learned that sharing this space with those who haven't been apart of it before has many positive effects for myself and others, and I hope to continue to bring people into spaces they are new to.

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This visual model displays the three levels of culture as introduced by Hammond; surface, shallow, and deep culture.

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My relationship to nature is a strong piece of my deep culture, and has shaped the way I behave, respond to certain things, and respond to others. My love of food and community is a surface level culture at first look, but plays instrumental roles in definition of kinship and sense of self, elements of deeper culture.

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In examining my own culture this year, I have been able to pinpoint the ways that not only my culture impacts me as pre-service educator, but how many levels of culture each student brings into the classroom.