Chris LaMarche

NHS ‘03

            Chris graduated from NHS with the intention of going to a technical college to learn auto mechanics.  Right after graduation he was in a dirt bike accident which delayed his goal by a quarter.  With the help of a scholarship from the Washington Promise Scholarship Program, Chris began attending Bates Technical College for a 2 year program in Auto Mechanics.  Throughout this time he worked at Honda washing cars.  In Dec. 2005 he graduated from Bates and is still employed at Honda, now as an entry level mechanic.  His goal is to stay with Honda, get further training at the Honda School in Oregon, and to keep progressing through the higher ranks of mechanics.  After a full day at Honda, Chris also works at an auto body shop.  He says he is “happy, busy and working hard.”  He points to the support of his teachers, especially Ms. Snyder and Mr. Hines, as a catalyst in attaining his goals.

Kevin Oltman

NHS ‘04

            At the beginning of his senior year, Kevin had a part-time job at Fred Meyer, collecting grocery carts.  After he graduated he continued working there, as well as in his parent’s landscaping business, until April ’05.  He then began working alongside his brother at Rainier Palette as a saw operator.  He continues to work there full-time.

Chris Oltman

NHS ‘99

            After graduation, Chris attended Green River Community College for 1 ½ years.  He then took classes for 9 months, through Job Corps, to become an electrician.  He then found a job working for Rainier Palette and has been there for 2 years.  He began by stacking wood, then became a saw operator, a fork lift operator and is a currently a safety representative.

Dennis Butts

NHS ‘01

            Dennis reports that when he arrived at NHS he was discouraged and depressed and “pretty much a wreck.”  His hobby while at NHS was mapping computer landscapes.  Mr. Jarrett really encouraged this endeavor.  An NHS tour of the computer labs at OSC (Occupational Skills Center) grabbed his imagination.  After NHS, as a transition student, Dennis attended OSC where he was enrolled in the Computer Modeling and Animation Program, learning to use the Auto-Cad and 3-D Max systems.  After graduating from this program he took a UW Extension course on computer animation, then enrolled at Clover Park Community College, in Lakewood, where he earned an Associate Arts degree in Dec. ’05.  He has talked to a recruiter and submitted a resume to Surreal Games in Seattle.  He feels this would be a stepping stone to working for a company like Microsoft.  He says that NHS helped him “get his confidence back” and “his mind back on track to really do something.”  His mother says that by attending NHS he was “able to find a way to make his mind thrive.”

Shannon Morris

NHS ‘03

            Shannon enrolled at Bellevue Community College in the fall of 2003 to work toward an Associate Arts degree.  After about a year, she transferred to Seattle Central Community College to join the American Sign Language Interpreter’s Training Program.  She has just completed the first year of this 4 year program.  She also began working at Wal Mart in her senior year and has continued there to work her way through college.  Shannon says, “NHS encouraged me through my particular disorder.  My family and I thought it was a hopeless cause.  NHS showed me my strengths in learning.  I loved chemistry and the Criminalistics class.  I discovered I actually do like reading.”

Colin Silvestri

NHS ‘02

            Colin began a Transition Program through West Seattle High School half way through his senior year at NHS.  The flexibility of NHS allowed him to spend his mornings in his classes, then he was transported by school bus to the Veteran’s Hospital in the afternoon.  There he participated in a structured, supervised work program with a team of other students.  They were responsible for recycling for the entire hospital.  In Colin’s last year in the Transition Program he developed a relationship with a supervisor in the Rehab Unit and had the opportunity to learn many new skills and overcome many challenges.  Colin graduated from the Transition Program but has been a 24 hour per week volunteer in the Rehab Unit for 2 years now, using Access to get to his job.  He takes wheelchair patients to therapy, doctor’s appointments or wherever they need to go in the hospital.  Colin was recently honored at a luncheon, with a plaque recognizing his many volunteer hours.  His mother says, “Ted and I are very proud of Colin.  Now at 23, even though Colin is different, he is making a difference.”