This story is an excerpt from the Winter 2022 issue of the NWCS 通讯. Would you like to receive a copy of the newsletter directly to your inbox?
帮我报名!
To read more stories like Laura’s, click below to view the full newsletter:
阅读更多故事
“This Place Has Been Perfect for All of Us”
Ask Laura West what brings her joy and she’ll likely reply, “family, teaching, and coffee.” She brings all three of these together in her role at Northwest Christian 学校.
Known affectionately to her students as Señora, 劳拉教授高级课程, 高中双学分西班牙语.
“For me to teach a college-level class and be gospel-centered while students receive college credit is just the best,” 劳拉笑着说. 她也是ASB的顾问, providing guidance and oversight for student elections, 班干部和精神日子. “My role as ASB Advisor includes pretty much anything where students are leading and interacting.“这包括事工的机会. Laura and her husband have accompanied NWCS students on four Central American mission trips.
Being where the activity is isn’t new to Laura. During her years as a Northwest Christian 学校 student, 劳拉参加排球比赛。, 垒球, 学生领导. She began dating her husband, Kyle, when she was a junior and he was a senior.
She was ASB vice president that year and Kyle was president. 她高三的时候是丁香公主. After graduating in 1996, she joined Kyle at Washington State University. 一年后他们结婚了.
“I majored in Spanish at WSU,” Laura says. “During our time as students, Kyle and I had the opportunity to study abroad in Ecuador for a year. It was then that we decided to pursue adoption to build our family.”
劳拉和凯尔有三个孩子, 利维亚, 谁在2021年从北威大学毕业, 亚设亚维, 分别是大二和大一的学生. Both boys play on the NWCS basketball team.
“Once we had our kids, I knew I wanted them at Northwest Christian. With each of their adoption journeys, I wanted them to be part of this community, because the NWCS 社区是很神奇的.”
利维亚 was adopted from Guatemala at eight months old. Asher and Avi are 13 months apart and share the same birth mother. “亚瑟从出生起就加入了我们的家庭. 与Avi, 生母有些犹豫, and we waited an additional 13 months after he was born before he joined our family.”
Besides the emotional pain this delay caused for Laura and Kyle, 还有额外的财政负担, 国内的研究, and legal fees when the adoption eventually did go through.
“我的孩子们在这里茁壮成长. 我很感谢西北基督教会. For their education and for this community. 我不会有别的选择.”
还有咖啡. Years ago, Laura started working for a local coffee roaster learning the art of coffee roasting. 她把这种技巧带到了课堂上, teaching a high school elective where students learn business and marketing skills. 反过来, her students put those skills into action at CRU Coffee, the student-run coffee station selling hot and cold espresso drinks during morning break. As they learn marketable barista skills, they also have the opportunity to get a food handlers permit.
“当我还是学生的时候，我就喜欢北威大学. And it’s great to come back and see it grow. To be here and help build our programs is really incredible.”
Kyle’s parents both graduated from Northwest Christian, making the West family a third generation NWCS family.
“This place has been perfect for all of us.
I’m so proud of NWCS and the caliber of our education. We have high academics, an amazing community, and are centered on Christ. 这是完美的三连胜!”
Laura West and her two sons – Avi and Asher
劳拉和她的学生在CRU咖啡
This story is an excerpt from the Winter 2022 issue of the NWCS 通讯. Would you like to receive a copy of the newsletter directly to your inbox?
帮我报名!