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<< Previous   of   Next >> Courtesy Photo  (click to enlarge) Kirsten Kramer (left) with her sister, Alissa Kramer, at Granite Falls High School's graduation June 5.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, June 19, 2009 Granite Falls grad sets her own destiny By Julie Muhlstein Herald Columnist Kirsten Kramer is doing what she's done for years -- working hard and making her own solid choices. While many teens scramble for employment, this 2009 graduate of Granite Falls High School juggles two jobs. She works at a tanning salon and as a restaurant hostess. This fall, she'll be in Bellingham as a Western Washington University freshman. She's interested in physical therapy or sports medicine. She has several thousand dollars in scholarships, and will need a student loan. On the face of it, this polished 18-year-old's story doesn't seem unusual. There is one big difference between Kramer's life and that of a typical college-bound teen. "I'm a normal kid, I just have a little extra baggage," she said Tuesday. Since middle school, she said she's been largely on her own. Kramer said while she was in middle school her mother had personal problems and was in and out of the house. She said her mother's doing better now. "I'm proud of her," said the teen, who now lives with her 22-year-old sister, Alissa Kramer. Although she's in touch with her mother, Kirsten Kramer said for years she felt like a motherless child. Through high school, she lived with friends, a boyfriend's family and with her sister. "Whether it was prom or a bad day at school, there were some days I really needed my mom," Kramer said. Other people were there for her, especially Mark and Lacie Neuman. The Granite Falls couple teach at the high school. Both coached Kramer as a volleyball and basketball player. Since graduation, Mark Neuman said Kramer has told them they played a key role in her success. "She did not want to let us down," said Mark Neuman, who was Kramer's varsity basketball and volleyball coach and her math teacher. He recalled one particularly brag-worthy event, a big calculus exam on which Kramer scored 95 percent. "From what I understand, her mom has kind of been in and out of the house. She was living with her dad for awhile, then moved out to live with different friends before she moved in with her sister," said Lacie Neuman. She taught Kramer in two Spanish classes and was her junior-varsity volleyball coach. Kramer remembers being the kid whose mom wouldn't be at her games. She would walk to sports practices and catch rides home with teammates. Sports became a salvation. "It would clear my mind when I played," Kramer said. Along with basketball and volleyball, her schedule was packed with tough classes. She also served as a senior class ­secretary-­treasurer. It's not the sort of student profile expected of kids with challenging home lives. Mark Neuman admires Kramer for rising above troubles she didn't cause. "We teachers look at a kid, maybe wrongly, and think, 'What do you expect? That's all they know.' Maybe they come to school, go home, do some drugs, drink on weekends," he said. "There is always somebody who has it worse, but she bounced from home to home. And she kept on persevering." As a teacher, he has heard lots of excuses. "If you don't have a perfect home, there is every excuse to get worse and worse as time goes on," Mark Neuman said. "Kirsten got better and better, more mature and more respectful." Whether it was homework, bedtime or getting to school, some responsible adult wasn't telling her what to do. "She was her own keeper," Mark Neuman said. Kids as their own keepers? I've raised teenagers, two so far. I'm in awe of what Kirsten Kramer has accomplished -- mostly on her own. It can't have been easy, but Kramer easily shares her philosophy. "You're not defined by the things that happen to you, but by the things you make happen," she said. Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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