Hello, I'm Julie Swenke! I am honored to be a member of the Hemingway STEAM School staff!   A little about me:  I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Washington, the city of Ephrata, to be exact! My alma mater is CWU, where I received a degree in parks, recreation and leisure facilities management. In 1994, I moved to Sun Valley to fulfill my dream of being a ski bum and to somehow find a way to use my new degree, but only for one season. I realized that my dream was the dream of 'many'- and-'many' of us still live here!  I ended up being a ski patroller for several years. That is where I met my husband, Dave, and then planted my roots. In time, I returned to academic life to pursue a teaching career. I earned a master's in elementary education from Heritage University and began teaching in 2003. I started at our local Big Wood School and then transferred to Hemingway several years ago now. I believe this will be my 20th year of teaching!  Dave and I have two fantastic boys, Jackson and Bo. They both attended Hemingway and grew up in beautiful Sun Valley!  They're big kids now! Jackson is working in the valley and Bo is attending the University of Utah; GO Utes!