ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS:
Harmony alumni working in education
SAVANNAH MICHEL
Years at Harmony: 2002-2006 (3-6 grades)
Currently lives in: Nashville, TN
Current work: Project Play Therapy, LLC, Early Intervention
College/University attended: IU Bloomington (Bachelors in Early Childhood Education) Ball State University (MA Applied Behavior Analysis)
What did you get out of Family Meetings? A comfort in finding my voice, talking about what was important to me or on my mind, finding respect and value in other people’s opinions.
Academic highlights: I absolutely loved my projects on Germany (where my family is from) and the Beatles (my dad’s favorite!). Being able to learn about material that truly interested us got me started in being willing to research and dive more deeply into material in high school and beyond. I still remember playing “Come Together” by the Beatles as my classmates walked into my final project and beaming with pride!
Impact of Harmony on life and career: My Harmony friends (a group of five of us) and I have talked on Zoom every week since the beginning of the pandemic. They have been my people since meeting back in 2002! …
I work with kids now, mainly pre-school aged. I was able to help out a lot in the ECP when I was attending Harmony which I think helped to foster my love and belief in the importance of early childhood education. I have worked as a classroom teacher as well as an early intervention therapist and have always come back to the importance of coming from a place of love, respect, and learning through the whole-child experience. I got to student teach with Claudio and LB in 2016 in the first and second grade classroom and it gave me deep insight into how a classroom culture can be a supportive and impactful place.
DARA BODE (Beth Backler)
Years at Harmony: 1986-1989 (9-12 grades)
Currently lives in: Aztec, New Mexico
Current work: Teacher, Mosaic Academy Charter School
College/University attended: Friends World College, Long Island University, University of Arizona
What did you get out of Family Meetings? This is probably where most of my learning occurred. I learned how to communicate with people, understand what people were trying to say, when they were struggling to articulate themselves.
Academic highlight: Learning Howard Zinn’s history of the United States
Senior Project: Native American Education systems, mostly in New Mexico, which is where I ended up living.
Impact of Harmony on life and career: When I was in seventh grade, my mother went back to school to be a teacher. She would come home from her classes and discuss all the exciting ideas that she was learning about. These discussions led me to look at my own educational experiences, and start to find them lacking. I wanted to be more involved in my own education. When the opportunity to try something different presented itself, I jumped at the chance to attend an alternative high school, where for the first time, I took ownership of my education, and where I learned I had a voice and what I had to say mattered. That was the beginning of a fantastic journey into different options in education. My interpersonal communication skills are much stronger than they would have been otherwise. And my senior project experience definitely influenced my career as a teacher.