Northwood Spotlight: Karen Wilke
School Psychologist

I was born in Vancouver, BC and am a proud Canadian. After high school I worked at the Vancouver Public Aquarium and studied to become a marine biologist. My vocational path, however, was hijacked by calculus and organic chemistry equations, so I did what everyone does: I took a break and moved across the world to live in New Zealand. When I returned to Washington State in the mid-80s, I landed a job on the other end of the nature-nurture continuum, providing day treatment services to adjudicated and group home adolescents. I continued studying and working in social services for the next 10 years, providing home-based mental health and case management services, treatment for domestic violence offenders, case coordination for abuse survivors, and outpatient child and family therapy.

I met my husband-to-be in college where both of us played rugby, and in 1994 I moved to join him on Mercer Island. In 1995, I was doing child and family therapy in a community mental health clinic and it was at that point that I spotted an ad for an elementary school counselor for Mercer Island Youth and Family Services. I was delighted to to become the 3^rd YFS counselor on the elementary team, serving West Mercer Elementary from 1995 to 2002. During that time I had returned to school and was completing my doctoral degree with a specialty in school psychology, so when the psychologist position at West Mercer opened at the same time I became certified, I took that role. After 21 years at West, I moved to Northwood when it opened in 2016 and have been here ever since, happily working with kids from early childhood through 5^th grade and their families. 

Where is your favorite place to vacation?

I have a place in rural central Oregon that I call the “anti-Seattle.” It is incredibly restorative to hike up into the mountains and forests and just let the day-to-day stuff go. That is my Happy Place. 

What is something you've been meaning to try but haven't gotten around to it?

Playing the banjo. I bought myself one a while back but it is sitting in the corner, staring at me accusingly while I noodle around on the ukulele instead.

What are some small things that make your day better?

I love: the first sip of really fresh coffee in the morning; getting a note or a smile from a student; a funny text message from a friend or colleague, especially if it includes a Schitt’s Creek gif; a browned butter oatmeal cookie from Bluebird Bakers; getting an actual card in the mail; Black Forest gummy bears; my Pentel RSVP fine point pen – with ink; a beautiful sunrise/sunset; a clean car (!); finding a Saturday crossword; seeing a kid’s face when s/he figures out a hard problem by him/herself; the smell of sage; hearing someone say, “I’ll take care of that.”

December 2020