PTHS: Salmon succeeds despite turbulent home life

Credits high school teacher for success

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Before she arrived in Port Townsend in eighth grade, Port Townsend High School graduating senior Rosalyn Salmon’s home life was somewhat turbulent. Her dad was a single father for much of her upbringing, and at one point, their family was split up into several different foster homes, but he was able to bring them all back under one roof by the time they moved to Port Townsend. “It was really rough, going from six or seven together to living with just one of my siblings,” Salmon said. “It inspired me to keep my head and make sure that, if I ever have kids, they’ll never go through what I did, because I’d want the best possible life for them.” The 17-year-old is heading to Central Western University to study environmental science in the fall, because she enjoys science and wants to benefit the environment, but there was no guarantee that she would reach graduation in the first place, especially after she and her siblings were split up into foster care. Salmon’s troubles didn’t end after she arrived in Port Townsend, but she is thankful for the supportiveness of her high school classmates and instructors alike. “It’s so loving,” Salmon said. “Even though every school says something like this, there’s no bullying here.” Nonetheless, when a close family friend who’d been especially supportive of her efforts in school went away, Salmon felt like she’d lost an external driver for her academic career. “I saw my grades drop during my sophomore year as a result,” Salmon said. “She always pushed me to do better, and without her, all my motivation was gone.” Salmon rebounded with the encouragement of one of her teachers, Tom Gambill. “He saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself,” Salmon said. “He told me I could do great things, if I just kept at it.” If Salmon has any advice for other students facing similarly turbulent circumstances, it’s to offer them the hope that, regardless of their family’s situation or other people’s choices, they can still do what they want to do with their lives.