Finding Her Way on Her Own Timeline

For Karys Lamb, finding her own path to becoming a teacher meant learning an important lesson: there's no single timeline for getting where you want to go.

Growing up in Scobey, Mont., a town of about 1,000 people, Karys knew she wanted a college experience that would take her somewhere new. Her aunt, who had been part of the swim program at the University of North Dakota, first put UND on her radar. But it was visiting campus that made the decision feel right.

"When I toured the campus for the first time, I genuinely fell in love with it," Karys said. "It was just kind of seeing it in person, like, 'Oh, I can see myself going here.'"

College gave Karys the new experiences she had been looking for, but her path through UND wouldn't be as straightforward as she initially expected.

After dealing with significant health challenges, the loss of someone close to her and what was then undiagnosed ADHD, Karys found herself struggling. Rather than continue pushing forward, she decided to step away from UND for a semester, transferring to a local community college and taking two classes.

"I could keep pushing and pushing and pushing, but I knew I just needed to take a step back and focus on myself for a little bit and get myself in a better space, not only physically but mentally," Karys said.

"That was probably one of the best choices I could have made during college."

The experience changed the way Karys thought about education. She had seen other students arrive at college with credits already completed or move quickly into accelerated programs. Stepping away helped her stop measuring her progress against theirs.

"You genuinely have to remember that it is your own experience. It's your own college experience," she said. "It doesn't have to be anyone else's."

Returning to UND was always the plan. And after a semester away, Karys felt ready to do just that. UND's familiar community was part of what brought her back, along with support from faculty members Sonja Brandt and Theresa Grijalva, whom Karys approached for recommendation letters as she worked through the return process.

Focus on your journey. Don't worry about anyone else's.

"I have this really great support from two professors, and it made me feel so much more comfortable to come back," Karys said.

That experience also taught her something she had once found difficult: asking for help.

"When you need help, you need help, and that's OK," she said. "That's something I wish I kind of learned beforehand, but I learned it now, and that's all that matters."

Now studying elementary education, Karys is preparing for student teaching while working at Lake Agassiz Elementary School, where she has worked with children for several years. She hopes eventually to teach fourth or fifth grade.

And the experiences that temporarily interrupted Karys's education are now shaping her into the educator she hopes to become.

Her own struggles have helped her understand that what happens in a classroom does not tell the whole story of what a student may be experiencing. She wants to build relationships with her students, approach them with patience and help them understand that mistakes and asking for help are part of learning.

"I know what it's like to have that brain where you look at a piece of homework and your brain wants to do anything but that task," Karys said.

"When I see a kid kind of go through the same thing, I can understand how they're feeling and how to help them through that process."

What once felt like falling behind has ultimately given Karys a different way to measure progress. Her advice to others considering college, returning after time away or simply wondering whether they are moving fast enough reflects the lesson at the center of her own experience.

"It's your journey," she said. "So, focus on your journey. Don't worry about anyone else's."