SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 2019

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 2019

Editors in Chief Erica Greenberg, Kyle Menter & Neill Warfield

Copy Editors Jane Davis-Ward, Guy Fineout & Shannon Orton

Layout Editor Capri Arias

Staff Reporters Amari August Charlie Ellinor Finn Fiona Gavin Izzie Kai Katja Leo Liam Max Niko Nolan Oliver Poppy Savannah Vivienne

Head of School Briel Schmitz

Publisher Spruce Street School

Subscriptions 206-621-9211

914 Virginia Street Seattle, WA 98101 206–621–9211 www.SpruceStreetSchool.org

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 2019

Welcome to the sixth edition of the Spruce

Street School Community Connector! This magazine is filled with stories of people who work in our changing urban neighborhood. Before you start turning the pages to meet your local business neighbors, let us introduce the authors: The writers are ten- and eleven-year-old students in their final year at Spruce Street School.

Community is a core value at Spruce Street School. We believe “that it is important for students to feel connected and able to contribute to the larger community around us.” Most of these Moving-On students have been a part of this tight-knit school In these interviews, students learned community for six years, and all have made answers to questions such as: How are their mark. The school is clearly improved by people in this neighborhood contributing to the time they have spent here. As these their community? What do they love about students prepare to join new school their work? What can we learn from them? communities in the fall, they ventured into the neighborhood around them to interview Combining online research and personal eighteen people who work within a short interviews, students crafted the stories radius of our school. you hold in your hands.

MISSION STATEMENT

Spruce Street School is a nurturing educational community that instills in a broad range of children the social, emotional, and intellectual skills for lifelong participation in a diverse society.

914 Virginia Street Seattle, WA 98101 206–621–9211

www.SpruceStreetSchool.org DESIGNING AND COMFORT Meet Kate Sehulster: Interior Designer and Owner of Guesthouse

even Indiana Jones! Then so important when you’re an eventually she found her love interior designer because you for interior designing when her constantly have to think of ideas family members were all doing to design the space the client jobs that were similar to interior wants you to. Kate says, designing, like being an “Guesthouse is different from architect and an artist. Those other interior designing jobs might not sound similar, companies because we but they both involve being sometimes incorporate vintage creative and designing. After and antique items when most Kate realized she wanted to be interior design companies an interior designer, she went don’t. I love using vintage items to college to get a degree in because of the way it looks and architecture. When she finished it gives it soul. It is also great college, she opened an interior way to stand out from other If you like creating spaces with design company called interior design companies. But decorations and furniture and Guesthouse. we are still thinking of things to making rooms more beautiful, make us different.” then being an interior designer On a typical day for Kate, she might be the job for you! This is does 90 percent designing and Kate helps the community by what Kate Sehulster, interior 10 percent selling. She has making people feel nice and designer, does. Kate works at also been preparing for cozy in their homes. She and owns Guesthouse, an Guesthouse’s big opening. designs their homes so they are interior design company in Kate also gets very unusual more stylish and just the way South Lake Union. requests. One time someone they want it. Now you know asked her to make their house Kate Sehulster, so if you need a Interior designers design land like Starbucks. Another time space to be designed, you areas such as parks, schools, someone asked to put a giant know who to go to. houses, and residential sites. poster in the living room that On a typical day, interior the other family member didn’t designers communicate with like. Another time a client asked other professionals, such as for a sky light in the basement! contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to You’re probably wondering make sure their work is how she conquers all these successful. Besides the typical requests. Here’s how she does day, interior designers estimate it: she goes over to her material requirements and costs inspiration wall, which is a really and present the design to the cool wall with all these fabrics client for their approval. They and pictures of furniture, to get also might talk with the client to some ideas. Then sometimes BY AMARI determine factors affecting Kate’s business partner Katlin interior environments, such as says, “Idea!” and then she has budget, architectural some amazing idea of what to preferences, function and do with the client’s tricky purpose. request. Kate Sehulster is now an Kate says, “You always have to interior designer but when she be creative when you’re an was a kid she wanted to be interior designer.” Being many different things. She creative is a very important wanted to be a princess, an concept in interior design. It is architect, an FBI agent, and

2 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR TEACHING SCIENCE TO KIDS Meet Amy Bergin: Purchasing Supervisor at Institute for Systems Biology and Owner of Rock Solid Science

Amy Bergin is also a small Besides from her job she has business owner. She is the two kids. They go to school so founder and director of Rock Amy wakes up 5:45-6:00am Solid Science and teaches kids every day, then she drops her about rocks and geology. She kids off at school. When she comes into schools to teach comes to work, she works on classes where you can do her computer. And when she experiments to make learning has answered a few e-mails, science fun. She is also she usually goes to meetings available for hire at birthday and is constantly moving parties and summer camps. around. Her job is very service oriented. She helps order Amy has always been a service- supplies, manage the deliveries oriented person. She started and makes sure everything is in working at an ice cream shop the right place. Amy Bergin has always been when she was 13 years old. curious about science, and The shop was called Twist and Amy loves doing her jobs. They when she went to Colorado as Shake. She has been very are a perfect mix for her a kid, it kind of changed her life. curious about science since because she is teaching kids she was a kid, and when she about science and working at a Amy Bergin is a scientist. A visited the Rocky Mountains science company. It was lucky scientist is someone that likes and learned to pan for gold, it she had the chance to go to figuring out why things happen. inspired her to get into rocks. Colorado to inspire her to learn To figure out why something She also painted rocks and about rocks! happens they observe, measure sold them. She always had and communicate. They great science teachers. When observe to know what’s around she was 19 she started to take them. When they observe they geology classes in college, then use their senses. Scientists she finished school and wanted measure things. They use to move to the west coast scales, rulers, thermometers where there are big mountains. and other tools to measure There she applied for job at things. They communicate to camp Orkila, and taught share their findings, sometimes science to kids. Then she got the people they communicate to into biotech and worked at a life have a question or can help science company that did them figure it out. Amy works cancer research. After she had BY ELLINOR for the Institute for Systems worked there for a little while, Biology (or ISB) in South Lake she missed teaching science. Union as a purchasing She started to teach a few supervisor. There she is in classes, where she showed her charge of working “with rock collections and they loved employees to source, negotiate it! Afterward she thought she and obtain quotes for products could make a business out of it. and services. I’m the liaison Two weeks after she got a call between suppliers and from ISB, they asked if she employees.” She is also would like to work there, and of responsible for ordering lab course she said yes, but then supplies. she had two jobs! She has had these two jobs since 2011.

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 3 THE WORLD BEHIND THE DESK Meet Matthew Santiago: Front Desk Supervisor at The Hyatt Regency

front desk supervisors have a going okay. At 11:00, check-ins complex job. and check-outs start, so he makes sure that those are Matthew has lived in Hawaii for going smoothly. Eventually, he most of his life. He grew up has lunch, and then gets back there, and that is where his to work. Finally, at 3:00, occupational adventure began. Matthew heads home. As a kid, Matthew wanted to be a cowboy. That changed when While it may seem kind of he started high school. It was simple, Matthew’s job is far then that he decided that he from it. He has to deal with wanted to work at a hotel and many problems, like when he started studying travel and people come before check-in hospitality. “I wanted to time, or billing and credit card experience the world and see a issues, like when someone puts When you walk into a hotel and bunch of things that way,” he in the wrong number, or the see the person behind the says. computers have trouble reading desk, you might wonder what the card. It’s a hard job, but they do all day. In college he was required to Matthew likes many parts of it. do two internships, one for 500 For one thing, he likes meeting Matthew Santiago is one of hours, and one for 300 hours. new people from around the those people. He is a front desk He did two shifts, back to back, world and talking with them. It supervisor at the Hyatt Regency one after the other, unpaid. He ties in to his reason for working in downtown Seattle. Most did get some benefits, like at a hotel in the first place. In people don’t know all the being able to get a free, three- the future, Matthew hopes to responsibilities of front desk month stay at one of the travel more and gain a higher supervisors, but there are company’s hotels. Matthew got status in the hotel. If you were many. They handle check-ins to spend a lot of time in Maui to ask him what his dream job and reservations, like dealing that way. Eventually, he is, he would definitely say this with dates and distributing graduated college and flew to one. room keys. Also, they Seattle. He has been here for communicate between other just over two years, and began Now you know what the people hotel workers and patrons who working at the Hyatt only six behind the desk do, so go to are staying at the hotel. This months ago. It might not seem the Hyatt Regency and say “Hi” saves a lot of time for the long to you, but that’s as long to Matthew. You won’t regret it. housekeepers because they as the Regency has been open. don’t have to stop to find the room. Instead, the person When he is not working, he working behind the front desk likes to go to Pike Place can answer the calls easily, and Market. “Going to Pike Place is then contact housekeeping and a reminder that I’m not in tell them which rooms need Hawaii,” says Matthew. When cleaning, which housekeeper he IS at work, Matthew’s should go, and when they need schedule starts at 7:00am when to do it. Front desk supervisors he heads to work. When he also have the task of gets there, Matthew starts up representing the hotel. They are the many systems his the first, last, and sometimes employees use. After that, he only hotel workers that the likes to check the check-ins and BY CHARLIE people staying at the hotel see, departures of the coming day. so they’ve got to make a good Then he checks the switch impression. As you can see, boards, and makes sure that everything in the lounge is

4 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR A WARM AND COZY STAY Meet Amanda Kenning: Sales Manager at Homewood Suites

Some sales workers may have 7:00am. If you win the raffle you little or no experience, so they get Hilton points that are worth really need to know how to limit a free stay. After that she has their sales, which is making her first meeting a 9:00am. That sure their prices for their hotel meeting is to talk about the big rooms are not high but not low groups that might stay there either. Here are some either for work or because they additional responsibilities just really want to be close to Amanda has: she needs to the convention center for assign sales territories to sales events like Comicon. Then she workers so they can sell hotel reads online comments about rooms in different territories. their hotel. She said, “We want to see where we can do When she was a kid, Amanda better.” Then she has to was inspired by an amazing, respond to people who want a When you walk into Homewood nice church worker named discounted hotel room. Amanda Suites, you get the feeling that Janet. Janet was like an aunt to also has many emails that she your stay there will be warm Amanda. Amanda is the always has to go through. and cozy. You will be greeted youngest in her family and by a friendly desk worker, sometimes she just didn’t want One of the hardest parts of her Amanda Kenning, who is a to be at home, so Janet would job is maintaining customer sales manager there. invite her to summer parties satisfaction. She wants to make where she met a lot of friends sure that her customers stay Homewood Suites is a hotel in and had fun within that with Homewood Suites and not Seattle, Washington, that lets community. Janet’s kindness go to a different hotel. Another you extend your stay for many inspired Amanda to be kind, important thing is her favorite nights. They have plenty of friendly and welcoming to other part about her job. She loves hotels for you to stay at. They people, which is what she does how there is always something have around 450 hotels in in her current job. else to do in the hotel, so she America, Mexico and Canada. can do different things and not The company was founded in Amanda found her current job just the same things each day. 1989 in Nebraska. If you love a when her old company, an good breakfast, Homewood office furniture company, So remember the next time you Suites provides you with a free closed because of cutbacks. need a place to stay in Seattle, one every day. Homewood Amanda was in need of a job. It visit Homewood Suites and Suites is ecologically friendly was then that she stumbled Amanda will be there to help! and they help the community by upon a hotel that was run by a saving soap bars. If someone person who owned the hotel uses a soap bar once and then and the land, so the hotel would leaves, Homewood Suites not close. The fact that the sends it to a company so they hotel would not close gave can clean it, then turn it into a Amanda some stability, and she new soap bar and send it to knew that she would work there third world countries. for a while. Later she was moved as a sales manager to As sale manager, Amanda likes Homewood Suites. to say, “I love to put heads in beds.” She also must have Amanda’s day is always very great ways of communication. busy. “There is always a She needs this so she can problem we need to fix around BY LIAM explain her plan to her sales the hotel.” Amanda’s daily team so they can understand it. routine starts with a raffle at

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 5 LEAD SERVING AT ITS FINEST Meet Fernando Nunez: Lead Supervisor and Server at Mala & Satay

same, while being friendly and challenging to work at a talking with customers! Last but restaurant, Fernando says, “I not even close by a tiny bit…he enjoy restaurant work because is a lead server! As a lead of all the people I get to meet.” server it is his responsibility to When he is not working, he is set up in the morning, and as mostly hanging out and playing soon as the first customer is in, with his Pomeranian snow dog. he greets them and makes She is also a service dog so conversation while taking their she is allowed inside the order. When it is very busy he restaurant. I know it sounds just focuses on what you order challenging to balance two to keep things moving. different ways to live, but Fernando loves to get to know Fernando Nunez has got it everybody’s stories so he can down. better interact with them. Having three jobs is very challenging, but as you as you I walked into Mala & Satay and have probably noticed, Now remember, if you’re ever saw Fernando Nunez. The first looking for a bite to eat, head thing I sensed was his work Fernando is up to the challenge. over Mala & Satay and be ethic. greeted by quality food, serious work, and a friendly, easygoing lead server. Before Fernando became a Fernando works at Mala & lead Satay, a Vietnamese style restaurant, located at 224 server/bartender/supervisor he had to rise through the ranks of Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA the restaurant. He started 98109 in the Denny Triangle, bussing tables and then started whose name means Hot and Spice. It is the only restaurant waiting tables. And it only took him eight months to do this! in Washington which serves You may ask how did he do mala and satay pho; after all, they created the dish. this? Well I will tell you: through serious and friendly customer service and a strong work ethic.

Fernando has not one but three BY LEO jobs! First he is a supervisor, Fernando’s daily routine, work which sounds simple but is far from it. A supervisor makes life, and personal life are very sure the employees are doing interesting. He wakes up and heads to work (his hours are good work. He is also from 10am-9pm) and is already responsible for ensuring good customer service. Finally he is a in work mode. When he is at work, his attitude is lot different huge role model to fellow than when he is at home. At employees. Second, Fernando is a bartender, which was a home he is more calm or as he says, “Chill.” When he is at huge challenge for him at first work, he is super focused because of all the recipes for drinks he had to memorize. He because he says, “In a had to know the difference restaurant anything can happen.” And even though it is between drinks that sound the

6 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR BRINGING ART INTO OUR LIVES Meet Emily Kelly: Director at MadArt Studios

fact, she says, “The most MadArt Studios is an inspiring exciting part of my job is and important part of our working directly with artists to community because it’s a place realize their projects.” trying to make our world better by building community and involving people in the arts, since art is important in our Emily grew up in San Antonio, world. Emily is one of the Texas but she always wanted to people who makes this spend more time in nature. So possible. when she moved to the Pacific Northwest she was delighted when she got to do more outside hiking and camping. She had always wanted to work with artists ever since she was a little girl. Another thing she For a lot of people balancing also wanted to do was to your work life and personal life become an animal and plant can be a challenge, but Emily biologist. Other jobs she has Kelly, the director at MadArt performed include a barista, Studios says, “You can figure waitress and volleyball coach. out ways to accommodate it if you maintain boundaries and remain flexible.” In the morning when she arrives BY KATJA at work at 8:30am, she is unsure if her day is going to be MadArt Studio is a challenging or fun, and she contemporary art space in doesn’t know what it is going to Seattle where artists make art be like. “My days are fast- on a large scale. The art moving and exciting.” It’s inspires people within the challenging for her when they community and all around. are working on a project, MadArt Studios has a purpose because each project has its and goal for their business: own set of problems that she “Our mission is to support has to work through. All the artists in our community, bring problems they have to work art into our lives in unexpected through are difficult and ways and create community different. For example, one time involvement in the arts.” Their the gallery hosted a light artist current exhibit includes who needed their art to be sculpture of people wearing shown in a dark room, so you Mexican-inspired clothing and could see the art, but it was playing instruments. difficult because it would be unsafe, and people would run into and trip over things. “The Emily is the director at MadArt MadArt team had to problem- Studios. Her main responsibility solve for keeping visitors safe is the management of large- by providing proper way-finding scale art pieces. That means and signage in a completely she gets to work with artists. In darkened studio," Emily says.

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 7 DONUT MISS OUT, THESE DELICIOUS DONUTS WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF Meet Ariella Adorno: Store Supervisor at Mighty-O Donuts

school? The she came to see their face light up over a Seattle to look for work. “I was sprinkles donut. It’s like they blown away by Seattle because get to be a kid again.” So, go to Florida is definitely not as Mighty-O. It’ll make your day environmentally conscious,” and knock your socks off. said Adorno. She wanted to open a bakery or work at one and she found a job listing for Mighty-O. Adorno originally asked to be a baker but Mighty- O said she would have to work overnight but she was uninterested in working overnight so she decided to work as a barista instead. She ended up enjoying her job as a Managing a popular coffee and barista and the time she spends with her employees. “Almost all donut shop like Mighty-O in of my friends are from Mighty-O downtown Seattle isn’t easy. While fast-paced, the days are because everyone here is so BY VIVIENNE also packed with opportunities nice.” to have fun. A day in the life of Adorno looks something like this: She wakes Ariella Adorno is in charge of up at 4:00 AM and gets ready managing Mighty-O Donuts in Seattle, Washington. She often for work. She arrives at Mighty- O around 5:30 and opens up has fast-paced and busy days, by counting donuts, making but also has a lot of fun while working hard. Adorno is in coffee, and opens the doors by 6:00. Sometimes she makes charge of ordering supplies and drinks on her “secret menu” by products, driving sales results mixing different syrups and and tracking spending. drinks together. For example, she once made a drink that tastes like a blueberry muffin in Mighty-O is a coffee and vegan a cup. “I’ll sometimes tell donut shop that originated in people, ‘I made this really cool Seattle. Mighty-O believes in drink that tastes like a blueberry having no food waste thrown muffin in a cup’ and they’ll try it away, so they compost all food and the next time they come in waste and donate all extra they’ll order it.” donuts to non-profit organizations. Adorno loves making people happy and seeing them smile Adorno grew up in California when she gives them a donut or and moved to Florida for coffee. “The most exciting thing is watching adults come in and

8 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR FEEL FREE TO RETIRE Meet Jessica Poznick: Registered Client Associate at Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management

joined the financial industry year-old daughter and husband. more than 20 years ago, so she Some things that she enjoys are has more than 20 years of gardening and hiking. She experience. would also like to go to the Smith Tower and the Pinball Museum. Jessica’s first job was to bag groceries in a grocery store. Later, she went to college and Jessica helps the community by got a degree in English. She making sure that her clients feel also had to take a series of informed and ready for their financial tests to get her current retirement. So if you want to job at RBC Wealth retire, now you know who to go Management. to.

Jessica Poznick always loved helping people, but she had no A typical day for Jessica would idea that her job would revolve be to come to work at 7:00am, around it. answer some emails and do some paperwork, set up some meetings with clients and prepare meetings for plan- Jessica is a Registered Client committee members. The hours Associate for RBC Wealth that Jessica works are from Management. RBC Wealth 7:00am to 3:00pm so she has a Management helps people save pretty full day. She does some money for a variety of reasons, of her work away from the which includes saving money office. “Sometimes I go visit BY IZZIE for their client’s kids or for clients off site,” Jessica says. retirement plans or sometimes both. Basically, RBC Wealth Management helps with saving and investing money. Everybody has a favorite part of their job. Jessica’s favorite part of her job is teaching clients how to use their retirement At RBC, Jessica’s plans. The easiest part of responsibilities include Jessica’s job is to fill out and file organizing meetings for four paperwork. The hardest part of relationship managers. She also Jessica’s job is to teach clients works hard to keep client about their retirement plans. paperwork accurate, organized, Jessica says, “I would say it’s and up to date. Jessica says, what I like the most too, doing “The scheduling is very the education.” important.” Another thing that Jessica does is that she teaches clients that are employees for other businesses On the weekends Jessica likes how their retirement plans work to hike, walk, play card games and how to use them. Jessica and hang out with her fifteen-

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 9 WHAT IS AN OPERATIONS CREW CHIEF? Meet Ryan Patterson: Operations Crew Chief at Cornish College of the Arts

When Ryan was little he wanted to be an astronaut. Ryan Patterson’s first job was at a gun club setting up targets while he was in 5th grade. He was involved in art since high school. He wanted to go to art school but he did not have enough money to attend. When Ryan is not at work, he likes to spend his free time playing music in a heavy metal band. BY GAVIN

Ryan Patterson had always During the work day, Ryan is in wanted to go to Cornish charge of managing a small College of the Arts. But he did crew of maintenance workers. not have enough money, so he He and his crew are applied for a job there as an responsible for the upkeep of operations crew chief, and got the Cornish College as well as handed the keys to his dream planning for changes that may school. occur. Ryan and his crew make things happen on campus. They are the ones who set up every performance. For Ryan each day looks different, typically Cornish was established in busy with meetings. 1914 by Nelly Cornish who believed in education through exposure to the arts. Now an arts college, they offer a lot of programs to study the arts. Ryan loves that he gets to work with artists and the art community. “The thing I love most about my job is working with artists and creative people,” he says. An operations crew chief is in charge of a small group of maintenance workers, and in charge of setting up art shows, the stages and other performance venues. “I manage As you can see, being an a small crew of maintenance operations crew chief at people for the upkeep of our Cornish College is a very campuses,” says Ryan. interesting job and takes skills to do. Ryan Patterson has those skills.

10 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR OFFICE MANAGEMENT AT ITS BEST Meet Carylann Nelson: Office Manager at DCI Engineering

Zoo with structural design services for their penguin exhibit.

A typical day for Carylann starts with setting up the office. She says her days can be “hectic sometimes, it’s depends on the project.” She assists engineers with their projects. She also spends her time doing BY AUGUST document control, reviewing project drawings, contracts, and emails, and archiving them all. Her favorite part of her job When you look at an office, you is that she gets to set up events might not realize how much like the summer picnic or work it takes to keep it in order. holiday parties. The hardest Carylann Nelson is the part is multi-tasking and the mastermind behind keeping quick turnover for job tasks. downtown Seattle’s DCI Engineering office up and running. When she is not managing the office, Carylann enjoys travel, food, and canvas painting. Office management is a very Carylann has been working at important job because without DCI for 15 years and has been an office manager the office the office manager for 5 years. would not run smoothly. Some She was a document control of the important jobs are to person for ten years. Before keep supplies in stock and help working at DCI Carylann ran an the front desk administration in-home day care for 10 years. prepare the office for the day. When she was younger Carylann wanted to be an archaeologist. “My mother wanted me to be an attorney so DCI Engineering was founded in 1988 and has many offices I compromised and became an office manager!” she says. across the country, though they are based in Seattle. As a structural/civil engineering company, they are responsible In conclusion, being an office for design and construction of manager is very hard, and public or private works. In Carylann knows how to get the Seattle, DCI has built and job done. designed many high-rise buildings, such as the Amazon Apollo building in South Lake Union. They are also known for providing the Woodland Park

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 11 LIBRARIANS DON’T ALWAYS WORK IN NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES Meet Sarah Griffith: Law Librarian at the U.S Court House

larger court system called the As you can see being a law Ninth Circuit Court. librarian is a really hard job, and now you know all about law librarians like Sarah Griffith. Before Sarah got her job as a law librarian she went to college, and got a master’s degree in law. She loves to do jigsaw puzzles, and watch plays. She also babysits for her niece and nephew in her free time.

Sarah’s job has a lot of When Sarah Griffith did her responsibilities but here are just BY MAX twentieth year in the same some of them. In Sarah’s job as position as Branch Librarian a law librarian, she needs to she got promoted to be the send emails, buy books for the boss of all the other law library, keep track of books, librarians, and she was amazed. and be open to the public. She’s open to the public by doing tours and hosting mock trials for schools. Some Did you know that a librarian challenging things about her job can work in a courthouse? are assigning jobs to people, Sarah Griffith is a law librarian and keeping books up to date. for the federal court house in “We have to sometimes change downtown Seattle. She works pages in a binder for new with two other librarians in pages or add paperback inserts Seattle. “The most important to the backs of our books with thing I do is help judges and the latest information.” law clerks with legal research,” Sarah says. She also works with those who have visited the legal clinic. They also buy a lot Most importantly, a law librarian of books and magazines and contributes to the community in the information in their catalogs. all types of different ways. Through tours and mock trials, people know what the library and courthouse look like. The But do you know what really information and research in the happens in the U.S library also help people know courthouse? Our whole country how to legally defend is divided into circuits, from the themselves. first to the twelfth. The U.S District court for the Western District of Washington is a federal trial court. It is part of a

12 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR EVENTS AND LEASING AT STRATUS Meet Samantha Lytle: Apartment Concierge at Stratus

make residents’ appointments. She also plans events to showcase different businesses. For example, “We do events with the restaurants near the spheres.” She works a typical 40-hour week.

As part of her education, Samantha got a high school diploma. She also got trained at BY OLIVER Stratus to become a concierge. Her favorite part of her job is being the first person to greet the people who come in to When you walk into Stratus, Stratus. “It was kind of the next you are greeted with a warm step in customer service, smile by Samantha Lytle. She is instead of working in a the concierge manager at both restaurant I’d be helping find Stratus and Cirrus apartment different ways to help people, buildings. which I enjoy. I like talking with people and seeing how their day is going and if I can be An apartment concierge is a helpful so it is still in the same realm as customer service; just person who is at the apartment in a different area.” The most site and manages the front desk. They also help the challenging thing for Samantha is sorting boxes and big residents with personal tasks packages. like shopping, and personal chores. Without an apartment concierge, the residents wouldn’t be able to take their When Samantha was little she dog out or pick up their dry- worked with a friend on her cleaning. Samantha runs the friend’s farm. She took care of front desk and helps the clients the horses and their stables. with these sorts of everyday When she was older, Samantha tasks. She says that Stratus is had another job, and it was an apartment community, working at a hotel. Her dream though “we take examples for job is to work at the front desk how hotel concierge work at a Disney World hotel. In her and…we strive at Stratus to free time, Samantha likes to provide similar customer cook. service.”

Stratus is a warm and A normal day for Samantha welcoming place because of includes checking email, Samantha Lytle. helping residents move in and move out, and also helping

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 13 A VERY HEALTHY AND HARD-WORKING PERSON Meet David Thomas: Studio Manager at Barry’s Bootcamp

hiring and eventually they working to walk dogs. David opened a Barry’s in South Lake likes health and keeping other Union! people healthy, but he also keeps himself healthy and goes on runs in his free time. As studio manager, David is the person who keeps the studio together and keeps things As you can see David Thomas going. If something happens he is a very hard-working person. will be responsible for it. David He loves his community and doesn’t exactly have a normal keeps them healthy. day. He wakes up at 4:00 AM

and goes to work, but does different stuff every day at work. For example, he greets customers when they enter the Meet David Thomas. He works front door. He also keeps the at Barry’s Boot Camp as the staff full and manages their studio manager. schedules. David not only keeps people happy and keeps people on track, he also teaches people and has fun Barry’s Boot Camp is a high doing it! ‘’It’s like a family,’’ intensity workout environment. David said. On their website they say that, “A Barry’s class can burn up 1,000 calories (sometimes BY NOLAN more).” Barry’s is famous for David’s job comes with joys their red room. “The red room and challenges. Parts of the makes you run faster and lift jobs he likes are working with heavier.” They combine cardio the other employees, training and weight training and bursts people, hiring new staff, of anaerobic exercise and teaching people how to stay they’re known for it. There are healthy and interacting with many Barry’s locations in the new people. His biggest world, and the one in Seattle is challenges include opening a their fifty-fifth studio! studio in a new area and building fixes.

David used to live in Los Angeles. He went to Barry’s on David has a passion for keeping a regular basis. Then he moved people healthy. First, he works to Seattle. He called Barry’s to keep people in shape (which headquarters to ask if they keeps people healthy) and would ever start up a Barry’s in second, he works with child Seattle, and if they were going health research. Furthermore, to, then he would love to help. when David was 7 years old Barry’s agreed and then there (you read that right, when he was a lot of interviewing and was 7) he kept dogs healthy by

14 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR A TEACHER, CHEF, AND SUPPORTER OF THE COMMUNITY Meet Meg Trainer: Founder and Co-owner of Bounty Kitchen

appointing them tasks and enjoys it. “[I]… find it really occasionally checking how well rewarding,” she said. they do. In addition, she works to improve the team community. Aside from the ones already noted, Meg has a few other Meg`s job helps the community responsibilities, including by providing space to talk, promoting the restaurant, serving healthy food, and creating a comfortable buying local ingredients to environment and managing support the economy. Meg also finances and inventory (food educates young members, ingredients, kitchen tools, working with them and in the silverware, and food products process teaching them about that the store can’t prepare the job and about overall work. because they don’t have the When Meg was a kid, she time). All this may seem hard, wanted to be a teacher. “And but Meg enjoys her job anyway. guess what I am?” Meg now When you walk into Bounty asks. “I’m a teacher.” Kitchen in the Denny Triangle, you see small blackboards on the wall, a freezer shelf Before Meg got her current job, showcasing special juices, and she had other jobs, and she’s a friendly smile from behind the worked with food the whole counter. Meg Trainer is founder time. First, Meg worked at and co-owner of Bounty Whole Foods Market. She Kitchen, supplying the made sure the salad bar looked community with healthy and better, working behind the delicious local foods. scenes to make the salad bar you know. Meg also worked at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro as a partner, who worked at the As a restaurant owner, Meg restaurant while owning part of manages the everyday workings of her restaurant, and it. Later, Meg founded Bounty BY KAI also manages factors such as Kitchen, and now co-owns it with her husband. direction, profitability, and public reputation. Restaurant owners like Meg have to prepare business plans and For Meg, there is no typical tactics. They must often watch day. She might work at the many parts of the restaurant`s location in the Denny Triangle, duties and business. They or at her original restaurant on create plans to prevent Queen Anne. Every day brings problems and bolster different customers, and Meg employees` strengths. likes working with them as well Restaurant owners also as with the team. The team has develop menu selections and young members. Meg said, presentation. Meg, as a “Some of them aren’t much restaurant owner, must older than you are.” It can be supervise employees, challenging at times, but Meg

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 15 HELPING PEOPLE BE MORE HEALTHY, ONE JUICE AT A TIME Meet Skylar Lin: Owner of Jars Juice

When Skylar was a kid she productive.” Skylar loves wanted to be a P.E. teacher, providing a healthier option for but that went in the dump when people. Her challenges include she realized that she doesn’t educating some people about like to be sweaty. Her role juice because they don’t believe models were her parents and that it is healthier than other she always looked up to them. foods. Her responsibilities are They were always very to be on-site for the shop and supportive of her. When Skylar its operations. She is in charge was 17 she moved to the U.S. of turning on the machines and from Taiwan. She went to making sure everything runs W.S.U., and when she was smoothly, and making sure done with school she moved tasks like chopping fruit and back to Taiwan. That wasn’t measuring out different what Skylar wanted, so she powders and proteins are came back to the U.S. and completed. started a small juice shop. When you walk in to Jars Juice your senses are overwhelmed, the smell of fresh fruit fills your Skylar contributes to the nose, and you see warm and If you have ever thought that community by making fresh welcoming faces. This shop is owning a cute little smoothie or juice for the neighborhood and owned by Skylar Lin. juice business is super easy educating people about the then you might want to think importance of juice. She also again. It is hard to own a small tries to cut down on waste like Have you ever been on the go juice shop. The cost of buying plastic cups. “When people all of the equipment is very high think of healthy, they think of and wanted something quick, and you need the freshest fruits us,” said Skylar. easy, and fresh to drink? If so, Jars Juice is the place to go. and veggies approximately every week. Also hiring new Jars Juice is a juice shop in employees is always a downtown Seattle, founded in challenge. They also have to 2014 and owned by Skylar Lin. Jars Juice makes custom keep up on updates for money, products, and employees. All of smoothies and juice to fit the that is only a little bit of what the needs of different customers. The base of the shop is brick owner of a small juice business does. and mortar because they believe customers should start with a strong foundation. Skylar Lin believes that everyone To start her day Skylar gets up should have a health-conscious pretty early, takes her dog out diet. So she met up with a on a walk, eats breakfast BY FIONA colleague who at the time was including a juice and heads in also trying to get people to be to work. She starts at between more healthy in their eating 6:30 and 9:00 AM and ends at habits. They decided to work 6:00 PM. Skylar calls her co- together and that’s how Jars workers “teammates”, not staff, Juice was born. because she said, “we work together as a team here and that’s what makes us

16 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR LENDING A HAND: BEHIND THE SMILE GREETING YOU AT FIRST TECH Meet Tommy Thai: Senior Financial Solutions Representative at First Tech Credit Union

part of his job is multitasking. Tommy Thai’s job is not all that “Maybe I’m on the phone, and he does. Most of Tommy’s someone walks in and I have to extra time is spent taking care help them both.” To be a senior of his eighteen months old son, financial solutions which also has a negative representative, you don’t need impact on how much sleep he any training, you just need to be gets. a people person. There is nothing Tommy doesn’t like Tommy didn’t always work at about his job. He is very happy First Tech. He used to work at working at First Tech. Bank of America, but he wanted to help people in the Because of the name you might world of finance, so, naturally think First Tech is a company First Tech was a perfect fit for that believes in the progress of him. Tommy particularly loves The day Tommy Thai quit technology, but First Tech is doing volunteer work for the working at Bank of America, he much more than that. First Tech company. Now, Tommy is very said “I’ll never work in banking is a bank located in South Lake happy at his job, and this is his again.” But little did he know Union. “Giving back is part of dream job. Clearly, working or his life in the banking world had who we are at First Tech.” First not, Tommy Thai’s life is hardly begun. Tommy Thai Tech used this message anything but boring. works at First Tech Credit several times on their website Union (a credit union is a and in their community Tommy loves volunteering with nonprofit bank that is run by its engagement report, which his business, and doing the accountants), and believe me, confirms they aren’t like any required volunteer work, it is being a senior financial other bank. They think it is how he thinks his job solutions representative is what important to support every contributes to the community. “I you’d expect. A Senior child’s education, and that think my job helps build the Financial Solutions every child should have access community.” He says. If you Representative has to help to the technology they need to ever walk into First Tech, people with finances. be successful in school. They someone will be there, ready to also believe that all students help. And if that someone is A typical day at work for should have access to a STEM Tommy Thai, you’re in good Tommy Thai would mean a education. Right now many hands. good exercise for the females and students of color telephone! Tommy must handle are saying no to technology and innumerable emails and phone engineering-focused career calls, opening old accounts, paths. First Tech is invested in and making sure people who the community. First Tech also stop by have everything they helped found a credit union for need. He also explains financial kids, an organization dedicated concepts to people coming to helping kids, and insuring from outside of the country.’’ they get a good education and Tommy’s favorite part of the job get good medical treatment. is when a customer walks in They also ask employees to do mad and he is able to make volunteer work. “We fund the them leave happy. “It makes me future,” says First Tech. Giving BY POPPY feel like I’ve helped the back really is part of who they business.” The most difficult are at First Tech.

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 17 FROM HERE, FROM THERE, TO YOUR DEVICE Meet Rod Caraballo: Site Reliability Engineer at iStreamPlanet

happening, not hey there’s a responsibilities that Rod has problem and be done with it,” include helping take source said Rod Caraballo. The feeds and distributing them to position of SRE was invented in devices. He also helps out 2003 by Google, but is now a when other can’t solve a common job in large IT problem. “Whenever they see companies such as Amazon, an issue and no one can fill the Netflix, and iSP. The first SRE position or solve that problem, helped websites of companies they grab me or someone on run smoothly, be trustworthy, the SRE team to focus on this and have the ability to grow issue and try to solve it. I am bigger or get smaller. Most of very flexible and versatile),” the work that SRE’s do have says Rod. normally been done by an operations team. A SRE’s job Rod’s favorite part of his job is When I walked in to the friendly varies between companies. At watching free sports while he is lobby of iSP in downtown iSP an SRE’s job is to design monitoring the feeds. The most Seattle I was immediately and code video signals that run challenging part of his job is welcomed by Rod Caraballo, smoothly from the event to troubleshooting real time events the Site Reliability Engineer devices around the world. If you because if something goes there. want a technically challenging wrong you have to fix it right but still creative job in the IT then and there. If you are asking yourself what is iSP is and what they do then world, being an SRE just might be the job for you, like it was for When asked how his job read on. iSP was created in Rod. helped the community Rod said 2000 by former NBA player Mio that it helps people watch Babic to help people stream TV Did you know that Rod television wherever and shows and also to help cut Caraballo wasn’t always an whenever they want to, not just cable costs. The headquarters SRE at iSP? For his very first at certain times. of iSP is located in Las Vegas, job Rod was an intern for Nevada. A few services that NASA in Cape Canaveral, So, the next time that you watch they provide include: Florida. For his second job he a sport event or stream a show transcoding, DRM (Digital worked at Atari, a video game from Hulu, make sure to Rights Management), and Live company, here in Bothell, remember who helped you Event Production. iSP works Washington. His third job was watch it: Rod Caraballo and his with the on-demand streamer at Microsoft. team of SRE’s. Hulu, and the live streaming video platforms like Turner In his free time Rod likes to do Sports and DirecTV. Even many things. The first is to though iSP has only 150 travel. “I like to travel to get employees, they still are doing away from work.” He also likes an extraordinary job. to do work with computers. One more thing that he likes to If you are good with working do is play with his two Siberian with others and love computers Huskies. and solving problems, then being a Site Reliability Engineer A typical day For Rod is coming (or SRE) could be the job for to work and delivering live you. “You also want to have a feeds and video demand, while BY SAVANNAH mindset on how to troubleshoot also trying to improve the end- logically, like why is this user experience. Some other

18 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR WHO STOPS ONLINE CRIMINALS? Meet Keith Burney: Risk Manager at Amazon Web Services

supervises a group of knew a lot about fraud because investigators for fraud most of the criminals I prevention to make sure no one prosecuted or defended were steals from Amazon. accused of crimes dealing with fraud, and that was one of the What parts of Keith’s job are skills he needed. He also fun and what parts are needed someone who challenging? He really likes his understood computers,” says job, and his favorite part is Keith. collaborating with other people, but that can come with He really likes his job now, but challenges. Sometimes people says his dream job would be an work for personal benefit which orthopedic surgeon. He also hurts the team. He finds this to likes to do many activities in his be a difficult part of his job. free time. “I have two dogs and When Keith Burney was a kid Another thing that is hard for a daughter my daughter is 17 he wanted to be a police officer him is that even though he was so lately we have been when he grew up because he a lawyer he isn’t a lawyer at spending a lot of time looking at found it exciting. He isn’t a Amazon. So, when he writes a colleges for her. I also like to police officer but he helps catch report, the other lawyers have play just about any kind of criminals. He is now a risk to approve it. To him it feels like sport,” says Keith. manager at AWS (Amazon someone is telling him how to Web Services). do something he already knows In his job he finds criminals who how to do. are stealing from AWS and the What are risk managers and whole community, which makes why are they important to Before he was a risk manager people and their stuff safer. So, businesses? The job of a risk at AWS he went to U.S. Naval whenever a package safely manager is to identify, evaluate Academy from 1991 to 1995 arrives at your house from and measure different types of and also Catholic University Amazon, you can think, “Thank risks that effect the business. from 2004 to 2008. He was a you, Keith.” They look at what could go lieutenant in the U.S. Navy for 9 wrong, evaluate the impact and years, 4 months, an associate come up with strategies to for 4 years 9 months, an minimize or get rid of the risk. assistant U.S. attorney for nine Things such as technological months, a law clerk U.S. Court advances and new competitors 9th Circuit for 1 year, 11 in the market can affect a months, and a special counsel business plan causing the for 1 year, 5 months. company to face a lot of risks which means the plan will have He is now a senior risk to adapt to accommodate these manager at AWS which he has factors. As you can see risk been for 1 year 8 months. He managers are crucial to a didn’t really like his old job and BY FINN working business. Keith’s job is saw this new job as a good a little different. He investigates opportunity. “I sort of made my fraud. Because he works at job up. A friend of mine was Amazon, most people think he coming over here to Amazon… is on the retail side, but that’s [and] putting together teams to not true. He fights fraud for the look into fraud and needed a lot web services division which is of different skills. I happened to the part of Amazon that sells be working for Amazon, and I computer services. In his job he was a criminal lawyer… and I

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR 19 HELPING THE COMMUNITY, CUT BY CUT Meet Tiffany Madden: Barber and Co-owner of JAX Barber

at 1007 Stewart Street Suite their needs. One other 102, Seattle, Washington, important thing that Tiffany has 98101. They offer a variety of to do is sanitize and clean her services such as a normal hair work space after each cut, buzz cut, beard trim, head appointment to make sure shave and much more. You can nobody gets sick or leaves a also get a membership there. bad review, or as Tiffany would They are five star rated, and the say “keeping it clean.” She also reviews almost immediately has to come in 15 minutes make that obvious. JAX Barber before hours and set the studio might be the next place you get up and put on some happy- a cut. feeling music to start the day great. Finally, she has to take Tiffany says, “My job is very calls and book appointments so specific.” Here’s why: barbers she knows who is coming in When you walk into the mostly cut, trim and primarily and when. modern, welcoming space of style hair for men. Barbers will JAX Barber you are greeted by use a variety of tools such as With the hard things in the a cute dog and Tiffany Madden, scissors, razors, clippers and business, Tiffany really enjoys who will make your day. combs to cut their clients’ hair. when customers walk out with The goal of a barber is to make big happy smiles on their faces, When Tiffany was a kid she sure their client is happy and and she has made their day. used to cut her friends’ hair and comfortable with their new hair She says, “I love the positive her own hair. She wasn’t style. In other words, they make change.” That’s what Tiffany necessarily good at it but she sure they did the right cut or Madden is doing at JAX Barber, enjoyed it. She would cut her see if the client wants to add making days and giving great own hair instead of paying for something to their hair. Other cuts. haircuts, and her friends would custom jobs and services ask her to cut their hair. After barbers may perform include hours of practice cutting her dying the client’s hair or own hair and her friends’ hair, massaging their client’s scalp. she really started to enjoy it and After the barber finishes the thought about taking it to the cut, he or she may sell or next level. So she decided advertise products to their beauty school would be good, client. Those are the many and she picked up some tricky responsibilities of a fabulous skills there that made barber. her become better with hair. After she finished beauty school For Tiffany Madden she has she decided she wanted to many joys, challenges, BY NIKO become a barber so she started responsibilities and routines. working full time as one, and The number one obvious started a company called JAX responsibility is she has to cut Barber. Now she’s working people’s hair and that usually full-time there as a co-owner isn’t that hard, except when it plus a barber. She really enjoys is. One of Tiffany’s challenges it there and is happy with her is when a client comes in, and career as a barber. they want a haircut but they don’t know what kind. So she What is JAX Barber, you may has to talk to them for a long wonder? Well here’s your time and figure out what they answer. JAX Barber is a very like and a style that might match glamorous barber shop located

20 SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL COMMUNITY CONNECTOR www.SpruceStreetSchool.org