Stories from Scott 2
Your story matters. You matter.
November 24, 2015
VFES teacher’s varied life experiences help her see the world in a positive light
Every morning, Katie Sawin would wake up when the reflection of the sun bounced off the Pacific Ocean and shone into her bedroom window in Okinawa City.
“I did not need an alarm clock,” Sawin said.
Each day, Sawin and her husband would walk to their neighborhood grocery store and around the Japanese city. The walking even helped the couple become healthier.
“We walked much more and became much healthier and fit,” Sawin said. “My husband and I both lost a significant amount of weight while we lived in Okinawa.”
The couple learned the language as much as they could and explored the city as much as they could.
“I’m a girl from Finley Township — this was nuts!”, Sawin said. “I couldn’t believe this was my life.”
Long before moving to an island in the Pacific Ocean, Sawin, a Scottsburg High School graduate and a special education teacher at Vienna-Finley Elementary School, found her calling in life at home in Scott County.
“I wanted to become a teacher because I love helping people. I was interested in the field of special education, particularly, because I have a cousin with special needs who I have been very close with since he was born,” Sawin said. “I felt a connection with him as soon as I met him as a week-old baby. He is why I wanted to become a teacher because I ‘got’ him and wanted to make the world more accessible for the Gregs of the world.”
To make her passion a reality, Sawin attended Ball State University to earn a degree in special education. However, the evening before her student-teaching interview, she had to have an emergency appendectomy.
“I had to wait a semester to student teaching. At the time I thought it was awful, but it was one of the best things to ever happen,” Sawin said.
Instead, Sawin was able to student teach with the Department of Defense Education Activity in Germany.
“When I student taught, I felt like I was where I belong — living abroad and working with students of military members and state department employees,” Sawin said. “My soul felt filled and I was me. I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.”
After graduating college and finishing her student teaching, Sawin taught two years at Scottsburg Elementary School before selected to teach special education for third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students in Okinawa, Japan.
“I co-taught with Bobbie Heath and Debbie Owens, and it was the most fun I had ever had,” Sawin said about her time at SES. “I didn’t know I could be paid to do something I loved so much, with women I respected so much, and I learned so much. They were paying me to learn!”
Within five weeks of being selected, Sawin and her husband were on a plane to Okinawa City, a city of 130,000 people. Sawin fell in love with the city, the culture, and the community.
“We had our children during this time period and became a family in Japan,” Sawin said. “I cherish this time.”
Then, life changed for the 31-year-old mother of two, wife, and special education teacher. Despite having no family history or risk factors, Sawin was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“…It came out of nowhere,” Sawin said. “The diagnosis was quite a shock…”
Because the health care Sawin needed was not available on the island, she took a plane trip back home to Indiana for treatment.
“My family physician was amazing and connected me with the Norton Cancer Institute. I went through chemotherapy, double mastectomy, and radiation as well as participated in a clinical trial,” Sawin said.
To receive the treatments, Sawin and her children, Finn and Maeve, had to stay stateside, moving in with her parents. Her husband, Jared, had to stay in Japan for seven months.
“While going through treatment, I knew it would be difficult to return to Okinawa and continue to participate in the clinical trial. I was on a ‘miracle drug’ and did not want to go without it,” Sawin said. “To participate in the study, I received infusions of the medicine every three weeks. I could not afford to fly from Okinawa every three weeks for several more months nor was quitting the study an option to me.”
With that reality, Sawin searched the Scott County School District 2 and Indiana Department of Education websites for job opportunities. A resource position was open at Johnson Elementary School, and Sawin applied for it.
“They were kind enough to schedule my interview around my mastectomy as the interview was originally scheduled for surgery day,” Sawin said. “I received a job offer the morning after my surgery — that was the greatest day! I was cancer free and had the opportunity to move home.”
While at JES, Sawin had to receive radiation treatments. During the first year at SCSD2, Sawin received immunotherapy treatments every three weeks.
“Mrs. Marcum was very gracious through that process as was Mr. Heath with the reconstruction process and the follow-up appointments when I transferred to VFES,” Sawin said. “SCSD2 people have been fantastic with my road to recovery. My co-workers at VFES help with watching Finn and bringing him home from school when I have appointments or surgery or whatever.”
After seven months, Sawin’s husband was able to return home after many hours of video conferencing, text messages and phone calls made to one another during her treatments.
“We became a family in a military community, so being apart from my husband wasn’t necessarily the end of the world. It stunk, but you gotta keep moving forward,” Sawin said. “It wasn’t easy… Our tight-knit group of friends, who became family, really helped Jared while he was in Okinawa.”
Despite all that Sawin has been through, she still keeps a positive attitude and does not let cancer define her.
“I prefer to look at it as a bad cell. […] Cancer has made me advocate for myself more, guard my heart more, and only focus on things that bring positivity and good energy into my life,” Sawin said. “I’m a tough cookie. I joke that I flew across the world to conquer cancer with one suitcase, two toddlers, and a strong spirit.”
Sawin’s affirmative attitude, strong spirit, and life experiences help her students see the world through a positive lens. At Scott County School District 2, Sawin’s story is our story. Your story matters. You matter.
SHS student signs letter of intent for NCAA Division I college
Years of training, months of hard work, days of pushing herself, and hours of time spent in the gym have culminated to this moment: Lexie Amrhein signing a letter of intent to become the newest member of the Baylor University Women’s Acrobatics and Tumbling team.
“Baylor just felt like home to me,” Amrhein said of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I school.
Baylor’s varsity sports program in acrobatics and tumbling is one of 13 programs in the United States, and the program is the progression of gymnastics, remaining separate from cheer and dance. Teams in acrobatics and tumbling focus on tumbling, gymnastics, flying, pyramid, lifts and tossing stunts and team members wear uniforms similar to volleyball players. Last year, the Big 12 college won the national championship and will host this year’s competition in April. Throughout the season, Baylor competes against other teams in the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association.
“Something told me to go to this camp in Texas,” Amrhein said about how she found about the acrobatics and tumbling program. “I saved up $1,000 to go. I went and fell in love with acro.”
As a Baylor Bear, Amrhein will spend up to 20 hours per week in training, perfecting her tumbling, gymnastics, flying and pyramid abilities for competitions and tournaments. Spending hours in the gym is nothing new for Amrhein as she grew up in a gym atmosphere — her mother once owned a gym.
“She owned her own cheer gym. I started tumbling out of the womb, I guess,” Amrhein said with a laugh. “My mother was a cheerleader in high school. She started teaching at age 11, so did I. I took tumbling classes at 3- or 4-years-old.”
As she was growing up, Amrhein had several obstacles to overcome to become stronger and the athlete she is today. One of those obstacles is her severe asthma, which once left her hospitalized for one week.
“I run to bring up my air capacity. I do explosive training, where I run for two and one-half minutes, then walk, then run, and walk,” Amrhein said. “I always have an inhaler. I learned how to deal with it and control my breathing.”
Another obstacle was her flexibility.
“I used to not be flexible,” Amrhein said.
To improve, Amrhein and Savannah Smith, her friend and fellow SHS cheerleading teammate, spent three hours every day during the summer stretching and working to improve flexibility. When school started that year, she spent one hour each day on it. Within six months, she was doing a needle, which is where the person’s foot is above their head without bending their knee.
For years, Amrhein spent hours in cheer and gymnastics gyms working on tumbling and cheering. She was part of many competitive cheer organizations, including several local gyms and one in Louisville. She would travel one hour to and from practice to Louisville in order to have opportunities to work with the United States All Star Federation Hall of Fame coach, Debbie Love, who travels the country providing education for athletes and coaches and has been involved in the sport for more than 40 years.
“It was awesome to work with her,” Amrhein said. “I learned more bounding skills.”
Even with all the traveling and training, Amrhein said her most valuable training came locally — from Jason Kendall, Scott County School District 2 board president and former University of Louisville cheerleader.
“Honestly, my biggest influence has been Jason Kendall,” Amrhein said. “He’s been there for me through it all. He’s been a really great mentor. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I still do lessons with him twice a week.”
Another influence in Amrhein’s life is Cindy Howser, SHS varsity cheerleading coach and owner of Indiana All-Stars.
“Cindy has been a second mom to me,” Amrhein said. “I wanted to cheer here because of her. And, I knew the girls here.”
Even though Amrhein’s SHS varsity season is over, she has not slowed down with her training. She spends six days of the week lifting weights, spends each night stretching, and spends each day tumbling. At 4-foot-10-inches tall, she can deadlift and squat 225 pounds, which is more than twice her weight.
To show her progress and growth, she documented her journey on social media.
“I have 14,800 followers on Instagram. It was a personal account and started posting my workout videos, my progress, and my tumbling videos,” Amrhein said.
She hopes her videos and challenges can inspire others.
“At a young age, I knew I wanted to inspire people. If I inspire one person, it’s good enough for me. It means a lot to me. That’s the whole reason I started,” Amrhein said.
Amrhein’s endless dedication and sacrifice to a sport she loves has inspired others online and has paid off for her personally as she will be a member of the tumbling and acrobatics team at Baylor University in the fall. At Scott County School District 2, Amrhein’s story is our story. Your story matters. You matter.
Upcoming District Events
Events For Week Beginning Sunday, November 29, 2015
Executive SessionTime: Starting 12/1/2015 at 5:00 PM
Event Groups: Event Groups: District Events,Board Meetings
Location: Central Office Board Room [Scott County School District 2]
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Board MeetingTime: Starting 12/2/2015 at 6:00 PM
Event Groups: Event Groups: District Events,Board Meetings
Location: Central Office Board Room [Scott County School District 2]