Evan Walker: Bellingham High dance coach

How did you end up as the coach for Bellingham High School Dance?

I started coaching dance at the beginning of last school year, and I was on the Bellingham High School dance team when I was in high school. I joined my sophomore year, and then I was captain my senior year, and it just had a really, really big impact on me.

I was a huge band kid, and I wanted to be the drum major. The same day that I didn’t get drum major, I was like, ‘Oh, well, dance team is now my journey in life.’ I just formed this vision of, like, ‘I’m going to coach the dance team.’ I went away for college, and at the end of my fifth year working down in Corvallis, [Oregon,] Ronni Weston — who’s the head coach now — texted me and said, ‘We’ve got an opening. Would you like to join us in the fall as a coaching staff member?’

From working in the counseling center to coaching dance, your roles encourage others. What draws you to that type of work?

I was a really stressed-out kid in high school. I was one of those kids that just did absolutely everything. I was in dance, band, [Associated Student Body]. I wanted to put myself out there, and typically, those kids are ones that don’t know how to cope with their stress properly. As soon as I left high school and went into college, for the next three years of my life, the entire focus was on slowing down and learning how to take care of myself. It just meant a lot to me that I shared that with the rest of the world.

What’s it like working in your old high school?

When I got hired, everyone was like, ‘Oh, an alumni coming back to work. This is exactly what we want. Like, we’re growing this next generation of staff at the high school.’ There was a lot of celebration. It’s really, really nice going into a school and a setting that I’m already familiar with and I’m comfortable with. I knew the entire building and the culture of the building before I got hired.

What do you do in your free time?

I am a really big house plant enthusiast. I love, love house plants. One of the classrooms I worked in when I was in Corvallis was called the urban farm program, and it was horticulture, farming and working with nature and plants. That grew to be a hobby of mine after I left that school. So, a day off for me looks like going to the Garden Spot Nursery [or] My Garden [Nursery]. At My Garden, I actually just walk around their inner greenhouse and … that’s my safe place, just being around plants. Then also going to Cornwall Park or Whatcom Falls. Whatcom Falls was really important to me when I was growing up.