Gems in the Coulee - Cathy Krohn

If you have been around the high school the last few years you know why this lady is a “gem.” If you have not, well let me throw some names at you: Rose Butterfly, Rebecca Hunt, Tiffany Peone, Leland Wellons, Craig Nissen, Kacey Palmer Ankney, Kassandra Norton, Meghan Francis, Amelia McClung, Matthew Timentwa, Charlie Knight, Johnny McCraigie, Kendall Piccolo, Brandin Smith, Daniel Campobasso and Chyenne Kelly-Marconi. What do they all have in common? They are Lake Roosevelt graduates and Gates Millennium Scholarship winners.

Seventeen winners from our school since the year 2000, and all will say Cathy Krohn is the key ingredient in them being winners. Of course, they put in the work but Mrs. Krohn was the person pushing them to meet deadlines.

“She was a huge support,” said Kaycee Palmer, the 2007 winner, “not just because she is so dang knowledgeable but because she is so trusting and compassionate. The essays require you to dig deep and unearth the tougher times in your life.” Chatting with a few winners, a lot of them said the same thing about Cathy.

What we see on the outside is a mom who raised her kids her in the Coulee. We see her as a tough lady, married to Rick, and they had two boys - Eli and Nate. I think way back and see her at Sunflower Graphics. Yes, before she was driving kids to get their paperwork in, she was driving herself to meet t-shirt order deadlines.

When I started working in the school district I saw a different side of Cathy. Yes, she was the same person, but there was a passion that totally involved these high school kids, getting them prepared for their next step. I mean, with only 1,000 awarded nationally each year, we have had 17 Gates scholars come from the halls at LR, not to mention the hundreds of other scholarships that she has had a hand in. Just stop by her classroom in the new school sometime and you will see her awards in her office. Awards from the kids she has helped to achieve big things.

Kids like 2013 winner Kendall Piccolo. “She was always on me about my deadlines, making sure I had all the proper forms and helping me just get started on them,” he said.

“She was my lifeboat in an ocean of uncertainty,” 2014 winner Daniel Campobasso said.

When I asked a few of the winners, via Facebook, to tell me something about Cathy, all of them wrote back lengthy messages full of awesome words about Cathy. All had one thing in common, they would not be where they are today without her push, love and compassion. As a matter of fact, Palmer told me she still goes to Mrs. Krohn for advice and to just unload. They all said they would still turn to her when they get stuck on something in their lives. There is something very grand in that. Very gem-like, I think.

Charlie Knight, 2013 graduate and Gates winner, said it best: “She always listened and let us vent, from school stress to personal life stress. She always was there, never judged and made me feel safe and loved.”

Isn’t that exactly what we want for our kids, to have people in their lives they can turn to in any situation and get good advice, not only for their future but for their life? That is what Cathy is doing and doing well.

So, thank you, Cathy Krohn, for being a “Gem in the Coulee” and for helping to mold other Gems around the world, from UW to Dartmouth and a lot of schools in between. So on behalf of every student you ever forced to meet a deadline and every student who shed a tear in your presence, I say thank you. You are a true Gem in the Coulee.