personal updates

Linda (Park) Steketee

I know this is last minute, but as a confirmed procrastinator, I find I always do my best work when I’m under the pressure of a firm deadline.  I didn’t know all of you well, but my high school years have always been a part of who I am, and I think it’s extremely important to stay in touch with those who’ve had a role in my life.  So, here we go…30 years.  How did this happen?!  I really am looking forward to catching up with all my old (literally and figuratively) classmates.

A little about what’s been going on in my life over the past 30 years…

After high school, I spent some time at San Diego State and decided I wasn’t quite ready for the rigors of a university (even a party university).  So, after one year, I left school and went out looking for adventures.  I worked, hiked, jumped out of an airplane, met great people, did a little traveling, and met the man who would become my husband.  After I married, (25 years ago this August!), I became more serious about my career in banking and was on the management track for a few years.  However, I let that career go to move to the Seattle area in 1988.  My husband grew up in this area and we decided since we had spent 5 years together in San Diego with my family, that we would spend 5 years in the Great Northwest with his family.  And 20 years later, we are still here!  We have a great home overlooking Commencement Bay in Tacoma, and plan on staying there until we retire.  After that, who knows?  We’re thinking of selling out and moving to the tropics… Key West?  Isla Mujeres?  Costa Rica?

After our move to the Northwest, I returned to school and earned my bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate at University of Washington (Go Huskies!).  I began my teaching career teaching language arts at the middle school level in an urban district near Seattle. I was there for six years and then made the move to the high school level in a district in Tacoma.  There I taught various levels of English, from freshman English to AP Literature courses and everything in between for four years.  After earning my M.Ed., I made the move to central office where I worked as the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Specialist for the district for three years.  During that time, I returned to school to get my administrator credentials which I put to good use this past year.  I currently am the Assistant Principal at Cascade High School in the Everett School District.  This is one of the larger districts in the state; my school has about 1800 students and about 150 staffmembers.  It’s a wonderful school and an outstanding district, and I love it. One of the challenges, though, is having a commuter marriage.  I have a condo I stay in when I’m working, and I get home to Tacoma as often as I can (which isn’t often), but after 25 years, I think my marriage is stable enough to withstand this hardship for a while.

I still have family in San Diego, and visit at least once a year.  I have the great pleasure of being aunt to my five siblings’ children, and have loved watching them grow up.  My husband and I did not have children, so it’s been wonderful being able to focus all my maternal energy on these amazing kids.  In addition to family, I still travel quite a bit, read voraciously, garden occasionally, and just plain enjoy my life. 

I am truly blessed.  I look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion.