Samuel Kelley

"Exhaust the body, expand the mind, cultivate the spirit"

Hello! My name is Sam Kelley, and I love music and sitting in the sun. I am easygoing and friendly. I graduated from University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA and I Received my MAT at the University of Portland. I am now teaching at Kapa'a High School in Kauai.

I grew up in Boise, Idaho where being active outdoors and going on adventures in the mountains was second nature to me. I love to travel and to learn about the people I meet. I don't like going to a new place and only getting to see it for a week, I like to stay awhile and learn what life is truly like in different places.

I had my first job when I was 12 years old, working at Moo Cycles in Boise, Idaho. I've had a job every year since, whether it was mowing lawns of local businesses or filling out a W-4 to work for them. I gained a strong work ethic when I worked at Pederson Point Cannery in Naknek, AK. There I worked 16 hours a day, 7 days a week side by side with some of the hardest workers I've ever seen.

After getting a BA in history, I moved to Guam, U.S.A. There, I solidified my love for the ocean and for the island. I got my first opportunity to teach there, and I moved back to the mainland determined to pursue a career in education, but with a desire to return to the Pacific.

I began my teaching career with student teaching placements at West Sylvan Middle School and Benson Polytechnic High School in the Portland Public Schools district. They were both very different schools, and they gave me the opportunity to work with very diverse groups of students.

I worked in Denver, CO for three years at South Middle School. I then moved to Kauai, Hawaii and have taught at Kapa'a High School for 5 years now, fulfilling my dream of having a secure job living near the ocean.

Unfortunately, life as a teacher has been getting more and more difficult. With Covid and online teaching, high inflation with no salary increases, and state guidelines that incentivize students to NOT learn; I feel like it is time for a change. I love building strong relationships with my students, discussing history/economics/government/culture with them, and empowering my students to be the best they can be; but unfortunately everything else is telling me that there is more out there for me. I am excited by the possibility of empowering myself to be the best I can be, and finding my place in this world.