LYNNWOOD — Pulled by a team of sled dogs, Laura Daugereau chased her childhood dream across the frozen landscape of Alaska.
In Lynnwood, a classroom of children learned from her journey.
The third- and-fourth-grade students at Cypress Adventist School used computers and the Internet to track Daugereau, 25, the first Washington woman to complete the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
They got an exercise in geography, learning about the places and people along the 1,150-mile course from ÂAnchorage to Nome.
They practiced math, converting the times of day that mushers arrived at checkpoints from military time into Pacific Daylight Time. They used writing and reading skills, penning letters to mushers and clipping newspaper articles.
The students also learned about courage, goal-setting and determination.
“They don’t really know how much they’re learning, but they’re just excited about the event itself, and they love the dogs,” said Roxanne Wright, who teaches the third- and fourth-grade combination class at the Lynnwood school. “It motivates kids to learn and enjoy school, and to learn just for the sake of learning itself.”
On Friday, Daugereau, of Port Gamble, stopped by the school to share her experiences with the students. She brought along one of her dogs, named Bella, who isn’t used for sledding. Rather than pull, Daugereau keeps Bella as her mascot, she said.
“The biggest thing we look for when breeding sled dogs is their desire to do this,” Daugereau said. “They don’t need to be trained to pull, that’s already in them.”
Daugereau showed the students the protective gear she uses, both for herself and her dogs, that keeps them warm in sub-zero temperatures. She donned a giant green parka, a black musher’s hat and a neckwarmer. She dressed Bella in a blue shirt, a harness and bright orange booties, then held up the large dog for the students to see.
Daugereau — who has learning disabilities including severe dyslexia — started mushing when she was 10 years old. After an injury prevented her from racing in the Iditarod in 2004, she was overjoyed to undertake her lifelong dream when the 2008 race started March 1.
“You’ve got to keep climbing, keep working at it, but with God’s help you can still achieve your goals,” Daugereau said.
By lunchtime on Friday, the students had learned one more valuable lesson.
“If you ever have a dream, you can do it,” said Hannah Ruffcorn, 10, the same age Daugereau was when she started mushing. “You don’t have to wait until you’re older.”
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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