PSCS Staff Sketches...SJH

Nic Warmenhoven

Family:
Kristen (my wife) and I live in Columbia City, and I have a father and three mothers in the greater Seattle area.

Education:
Lakeside High School (1988-1992); Reed College (1992-1996); Burning Man (1999-2005); Landmark Education (2000-2002); and, of course, ongoing every day!

Part of the PSCS community since:
December 2001

What are you all about?
Generosity, humor, and love.

What is something you have done since high school that you never thought you would have done?
(1) Quitting my job, packing up my stuff, and traveling in South America for six months. (2) Falling in love and getting married.

Three books you'd recommend, and why.
Sometimes a Great Notion (Ken Kesey): The great characters in this beyond-the-ordinary novel about the Pacific NorthWet will sink their teeth into your imagination and never let go.
Parting the Waters (Taylor Branch): This first-of-a-trilogy about America during the King years (1954-1968) makes you feel like you were sitting right there in the room with the many great people of the civil rights movement.
Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson): This intricate, smart, and thought-provoking ( and wonderfully entertaining) science fiction changed the genre. (See also The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, etc.)

Have you had any defining experiences that have made you who you are, and that you would recommend to other people?
Taking the courses that make up Landmark Education's "Curriculum for Living" (including the somewhat-famous "Landmark Forum") have given me the communication skills and clarity to get what I want to make me happy in life. And spending six years at the annual Burning Man festival has inspired me to new levels of generosity, self-expression, and belief in what's possible.

What talent (big or small) do you have that none of us know about?
I can sing the names of all of the chemical elements to a Gilbert and Sullivan tune. (Thanks, Tom Lehrer.)

What were you like when you were in middle and high school?
I was definitely not one of the "cool" kids. Sometimes class clown, occasional school bookie, I was on friendly terms with everyone but never close with anyone but other dorks and nerds. I was social, studious, and shy in romance.

What story do you use to illustrate PSCS to people who don't know the school?
When Kristen joined me as one of the volunteer leaders of a four-day school backpacking trip on the Olympic Coast, she was apprehensive about having to be a discipline mom for nine teenagers in the wilderness. After the trip, she raved to her friends about how much she enjoyed the trip. She was able to relate to the students almost as peers because of their confidence and self-discipline, and never once had to act like a mom.

What do you do when you're not at PSCS?
I cook great meals and share them with friends. I create parties, guerrilla performance, and community. I travel and cuddle with my sweetie. I have fun!

Nic Warmenhoven on the Internet