Uncertain of what I was going to do once I graduated with a degree in Christian Education from SPU in 1995, I left for Glacier National Park in Montana and spent the summer there with Christian Ministries in the National Parks.
I made my way back to Seattle, and ended up working at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle for three years with a two-year detour in Ireland at the Lucan Youth Center. I came back to Seattle and worked for four years in the Youth Ministries Office at UPC and was ready to try something new.
I went to the Graduate Programs' Open House at SPU, found out about the Master's in School Counseling, started the program, and graduated again in 2007. Since then I have worked at Franklin High School in the south end of Seattle.
I have the privilege of working daily with wonderful students, families, and staff as the college readiness advisor and as a school counselor to the students with English Language Learning Services. I see God at work all around me in the school and in the community, as he works to bring justice and opportunity to the students of South Seattle.
I had no idea when I began SPU that I would end up working in a public school, but it has been a great fit and a real faith-builder to have seen the Lord at work each day not only when I worked at a church, but also in my "secular" workplace.
—Elizabeth Olsen '95
