KATHERINE KOKEOK

“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I went to [Mount] Edgecumbe [High School] for four years. Then I came back after that I went to college. I started college and was able to finish here. I never really wanted to leave here. Everybody expected me to be the one to take off and leave from Shishmaref. I am the only one out of my sisters that stayed. As soon as I graduated, I got offered a job here and I took it. I taught 6th grade for four years and now I teach Kindergarden. I also have three kids. Edward is 14, Carter is 10, and Elizabeth is 6.” — Katherine Kokeok is Inupiaq and lives in Shishmaref, Alaska.