2_________________________________ News
June
Staff members envision their futures after
retiring, look back fondly at years at WLHS
A lison F eldhquse & J ennifer S itton
Together they have
devoted 116 years to the
West Linn-Wilsonville School
District. Those legacies will
come to an end in the 2011-
2012 school year when Tom
Swearingen, Anna Druse, Gary
Eppelsheimer and Marilyn
Ellwood retire from their
careers in education. While
some have specific plans in
mind for after they retire,
others are simply reminiscent
about the relationships they
have developed working
with students and fellow staff
members.
Tom Swearingen, guidance
counselor, 30 years
Tom Swearingen, guidance
counselor, has been a part of
the WLWV School District
for 30 years in addition to 13
years he spent working in
his home state of Ohio, but
his passion for education has
lasted much longer than that.
Both of Swearingen's parents
worked in education in his
small hometown. His father
was a principal and his mother
taught for 43 years. According
to Swearingen, the teachers in
that town made a huge impact
many of the youth.
"In fifth grade, there were
five of us who went out to our
hangout place, Pirates Pond,
After retirement,
Swearingen has plans to
work with homeless teens in
Portland as well as various
outreach programs through his
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Anna Druse, English teacher, explains the symbolism behind the
classic novel, ’’The Grapes of Wrath” to Dylan Musalo, junior. After
Druse retires this year, she says she will miss working with students
as well as her colleagues.
church.
"There are other needs
out there that I would like to
address," Swearingen said.
But before he takes on those
other needs, his service to
WLHS students needs to be
recognized.
"Mr. Swearingen is so
amazing! He has helped me
so much to not only find
colleges to apply to, but to
find colleges that are right for
me," Kendall Weierich, junior,
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Tom Swearingen, guidance counselor, jokes with Mollie Schlunegger,
senior, and Kami Vermillion, junior. Swearingen will be retiring after
this year and plans to continue working with youth through various
programs affiliated with his church.
and we made a pact with each
other to all become teachers
or coaches," Swearingen said.
"Guess what? We all became
educators or coaches."
He has come a long way
from making that pact, but
still finds joy in everything
he does at WLHS, including
working as a counselor with a
"guide and step aside" motto.
He stresses that everything he
does is for students, parents
and teachers because according
to him, they are the "big deal,"
not him.
"I just want to be
remembered as having served
the kids and families. I tried to
give the best service I could,
be patient, kind and helpful,
because that's how I was
raised," Swearingen said. He
plans to take that same moral
approach into his retirement.
his retirement, Anna Druse,
English teacher, hasn't even
had the time to stop and
realize that she will be retiring
after this year, let alone make
said. "He is one of the West
Linn gems, incredibly friendly,
approachable and passionate
about his job. West Linn will
miss him."
While many are sad to see
him leave, Swearingen feels
extremely confident in fellow
guidance counselors Michelle
Olson and Megan Kohl as well
as Jennifer Jolly, who will be
replacing Swearingen. "They
are young, but incredibly
mature. The respect I have for
them is huge and the Jennifer
Jolly will be a great addition to
the guidance department. The
students of WLHS are in good
hands."
Anna Druse, English
teacher, 29 years
While Swearingen has
very specifically planned
out what he plans to do with
tangible plans for the future.
"I'm not counting down the
days or anything like that,"
Druse said. "Gosh, I guess it
hasn't even really hit me until
just now."
Druse, who has taught
English at WLHS since 1982
says that she always knew,
at least a little bit, that she
wanted to teach English, partly
because of her love for school
and partly her love of English.
" I have always loved school,
ever since I was a little kid.
I also had some incredible
teachers who inspired me and
made me think," Druse said.
Those influences propelled her
into a career that is clearly very
important to her. "I love being
in the classroom, interacting
with kids in different ways,
creating lessons and also
working with my colleagues."
The relationships she has
developed with her fellow
English teachers showed when
the English department put
on the opening convocation
assembly for seniors this year,
something Druse considers
one of her favorite memories
at WLHS. While she will miss
events like this, she is looking
forward to traveling more after
her retirement.
"I haven't planned any trips
yet, but I know that we will
travel. We will definitely get
back to Europe. My relatives
are in Italy and we love it
there. We'd also like to explore
countries we have never
seen—Portugal, New Zealand,
Turkey... " Druse said. "I
probably should take a class in
something I'm not very good
at too, like art." While her
future is full of open-ended
possibilities, Druse looked
back on her time at WLHS
with melancholy.
"I'm going to miss
interacting with the kids, being
in the classroom and especially
my colleagues. I love the
days; every day, every year;
they're all different," Druse
said. "I guess I just want to be
remembered as someone who
loved and had a passion for
what she did, treated people
fairly, listened and taught more
than just English, because,
really, we teach more than
just our subjects—we help
kids find who they are and
hopefully help them become
good people." Druse's moral
compass and desire to impart
knowledge beyond that of
literature has rubbed off on her
colleagues.
"She has a very strong
moral sense in terms of what
we should be expecting of
students and what we should
be delivering to them. She has
extremely high standards and
believes that we can't lower
the bar," Sue Raivio, English
teacher, said. "The whole
department is really going to
miss her. The other English
teachers really use her as a
resource because she knows
a lot about literature. She's so
dependable and we have a lot
of laughs. I'm really going to
miss her."
Gary Eppelsheimer,
teacher, 32 years
Gary Eppelsheimer, film
teacher, is someone you
could call a mainstay of the
West Linn community. He
has lived in West Linn for
practically all of his life, and
attended Cedaroak primary
school, Bolton and WLHS.
He graduated from the high
school in 1972 and began
working at WLHS as an
to teach."
For Eppelsheimer, the
best part of his job has
been working with the
students and helping them
on projects that, back in the
day, included shooting 35
mm slides which was how
they made presentations
before technology brought us
computers and PowerPoint.
"I love watching students
experience those "aha"
moments and taking a
skill that I've taught them
to a whole new level,"
Eppelsheimer said.
Before becoming a teacher,
Eppelsheimer wanted to work
for Channel 10 or Oregon
Public Broadcasting to shoot
nature shows. When he
realized that he didn't have to
work for a television station
to do what he loved best, he
took classes at Portland State
University and was accepted
to thfGraduate Teacher
Education Program.
Some of Eppelsheimer's
best memories from his time at
WLHS include when he, John
Othus, deceased, Ward Lewis,
English teacher, and Brad
Freeman sang as a quartet.
They sang in many plays
including "Much Ado About
Nothing" and "The Music
Man."
"In 'Much Ado About
Nothing', the four of us
played the role of The Watch,"
Eppelsheimer said. "We also
sang the national anthem at
pep assemblies and in 'The
Music Man,' the four of us
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Gary Eppelsheimer, teacher, listens in on a group conversation during
class. Eppelsheimer has been in the district as a student, teacher and
technician for 32 years. Some of his fondest memories include his
forays as part of a quartet in school productions such as ”The Music
Man" and "Much Ado About Nothing."
Audio Visual Technician in
1979. In total, he's worked for
32 years as teacher, Library
Media Specialist and AV
technician. Prior to becoming
a film teacher, Eppelsheimer
taught sections of biology,
Environmental Science, Photo
1 and Ecology Field Study, but
he doesn't feel that you have to
be a teacher to teach.
"Everybody here in one way
or another teaches, whether
it's by setting an example or
providing new information,"
Eppelsheimer said. "You don't
necessarily have to be a teacher
doubled with four students to
make an octet."
Eppelsheimer hasn't
completely let go of his
performing career; just last
year, he played Friar John in
the school's production of
Romeo and Juliet. According
to Eppelsheimer, he likes the
breaks from having to work on
things purely related to work
and enjoys interacting with
others on a cooperative level.
Stiff mtmsrnis ___________
continued on page 8