Graduating Seniors – Where are they headed?

Ransom Hatch: Dream Project has given me so much, and I have loved every minute of it. I started as a mentor at Technology, Engineering & Communications (TEC) High School, and after just one quarter I quickly jumped into the High School Lead (HSL) position at TEC with some prompting from my fellow HSLs. I am currently a College and Career Readiness Assistant (CCRA) over at TAF Academy, and helping there has been a wonderful experience. This June I will be graduating with a degree in Law, Societies and Justice. The main question I’m asked is “Are you going to law school?” I promptly say, hard pass (for now that is). I recently secured a job with the Seattle Storm in their marketing department under gameday experience and digital marketing. I am very excited about this because my experience working with UW Athletics this year has given me the chance to really try my hand in the athletics world. Come fall, I will be running the Mascot program here at the University of Washington on top of my position with the Storm. Both are blocks that I am looking forward to building a career on.

Katie Burkhauser: I began working in Dream Project as a mentor at Global Connections during Spring Quarter 2014. After learning more about the program, mentoring and realizing I wanted to contribute more to Dream Project, I became an HSL at Global in Spring 2015. This past year has been amazing–filled with new friendships, fun and so many opportunities to grow as a person and a leader. During Fall Quarter 2015, I co-led a Dream Project seminar on Supporting Students with Disabilities. Dream Project has become such an integral part of my life that it is hard to imagine a day where I am not doing something Dream Project-related. I graduated last month with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Education, Learning & Society. At the end of March, I began UW’s Masters in Teaching program to become a secondary mathematics teacher. At the end of this one-year program, I will be able to fulfill my lifelong goal of becoming a teacher. I want to spread my love of math and show my students just how awesome it is!

Hannah Toutonghi: I started working in Dream Project kind of on a whim the fall quarter of my freshmen year. I started mentoring at Federal Way High School, and from that first quarter on, I decided to stay. I made this decision solely because of the students I got to work with, the spirit of the school and the community support. Through Dream Project, I got the opportunity to be a lead at Admissions Workshop Weekend and Spring BBQ, I got to help facilitate a seminar that supported mentees who came to UW and finally I got to spend my last year as an HSL at Federal Way. I can never thank this program and the Federal Way community enough for the opportunities I’ve gotten and the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and befriending. As for after graduation, I have accepted a full-time position at the Center for Pediatric Dentistry as a research coordinator for an NIH-funded BPA study. I feel lucky that I will be able to stay in Seattle, and next June, I will be applying to dental school. This has been my lifelong goal since second grade, and I can’t wait to (try) and improve the health care monster that dictates if people can get the care that they need, which should be a human right.

Katy Scott: I have been a mentor in Dream Project for five quarters, and in my first quarter I joined leadership. I started as an event lead on the Recruitment Team, applied to be an HSL and was leading at TEC for the last co-hort! I am also a CCRA at Decatur High School in Federal Way. This experience has changed my life plans (multiple times). I am graduating with a major in Political Science and a minor in Law, Societies and Justice. This fall, I will be attending the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. I am planning to study either Juvenile Justice, Education Policy, or Child and Family Law.