DID YOU KNOW?
Tacoma’s story spans more than two centuries from the time Captain George Vancouver anchored off Tacoma’s north shore in 1792.
In 1870, Tacoma’s natural deep-water port became an attraction that the Northern Pacific Railroad couldn’t pass up, when it made Tacoma a stop on its transcontinental line.
Old Tacoma and New Tacoma merged in 1884 and incorporated as Tacoma. By 1890, the population reached 36,000 people.
Tacoma is home to the Port of Tacoma, the seventh-largest container port in the United States, and it is within 20 miles of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and 36 miles of the city of Seattle.
Katie Ryan,
Assoc Dir of College Counseling, Senior Internship, US Green Key
Katie Ryan is the associate director of college counseling. “It’s especially rewarding when a student finds a great college fit or really learns about him or herself after going through our college counseling program,” she says. “I hope I help students feel good about themselves, regardless of which college they end up attending. I hope they know that I truly care about each one of them.”
“I remember one graduation when eight of my advisees, whom I’d had in my advisory for four years, were all graduating. They were an amazing group of girls and I knew I was going to miss them very much. That day, I sat at Starbucks writing cards to each of them, telling them how I’d seen them grow and how much they meant to me. I started crying to the point where it was embarrassing to be in public.”
Ryan’s own college choice was Occidental in Los Angeles. She is a member of the College Board’s Western Regional Council and is currently working on issues related to access to higher education like aid and admissions for students from low-income families. At Charles Wright she advises the student activities committee and the Green
Key student ambassador club. She also coordinates the senior internship program. She is an avid tennis player and played U.S. Tennis Association team tennis before undergoing knee surgery. She loves yoga, cooking, reading and traveling. “I’m also a soccer mom,” she says. “I’m often cheering one of my children on from the sidelines.”
“I remember one graduation when eight of my advisees, whom I’d had in my advisory for four years, were all graduating. They were an amazing group of girls and I knew I was going to miss them very much. That day, I sat at Starbucks writing cards to each of them, telling them how I’d seen them grow and how much they meant to me. I started crying to the point where it was embarrassing to be in public.”
Ryan’s own college choice was Occidental in Los Angeles. She is a member of the College Board’s Western Regional Council and is currently working on issues related to access to higher education like aid and admissions for students from low-income families. At Charles Wright she advises the student activities committee and the Green
Key student ambassador club. She also coordinates the senior internship program. She is an avid tennis player and played U.S. Tennis Association team tennis before undergoing knee surgery. She loves yoga, cooking, reading and traveling. “I’m also a soccer mom,” she says. “I’m often cheering one of my children on from the sidelines.”
