James Seaman Moves to New Orleans!

one of my students from the Bronx and I, clowning around at a school dance a couple years ago

last day of school: this was me and a couple fellow teachers on the last day of school in new york. we were pretty happy for summer.

brushing my teeth: i never forgot the lessons about oral hygiene that i learned at granger.

attacked at the jukebox: this is the crazy thing about new york--you can just be sitting there minding your business and weirdos will attack you.

After graduating from Granger, I attended the University of Utah. I had a strange mix of jobs during college, from waiting tables at the Cracker Barrel, to gutting salmon in a fish cannery in Alaska, to serving as the Field Director on Jim Matheson's first congressional campaign. I graduated from the U in 2001 with degrees in History and Political Science. I spent the year after my college graduation as the director of a non-profit organization in Salt Lake City called the Pro Bono Initiative. My job was to recruit attorneys and law students who would take on cases pro bono (free of charge) for people who could not afford legal help. That was fun but I had to spend too much time with lawyers. After a year at the Pro Bono Initiative I moved to New York City. I worked for the city's Department of Consumer Affairs for a year, mostly helping elderly people find strategies to afford their perscription drugs. Then I changed jobs and became a public school teacher in the Bronx. I did this for two years, teaching 8th grade social studies. The students were a mix of African Americans and Latinos and I was fortunate enough to foster really great relationships with some of my students. The kids could also be really tough to handle! I loved New York--the people, the excitement, the architecture, and especially the baseball games in Yankee Stadium. Even so, three years was enough and in August 2005 I moved back to Utah. I got my masters degree in history at the University of Utah while working at Heartland Elementary School in West Jordan. I also ran Sim Gill's campaign for District Attorney which, unfortunately, ended in disappointment. I finished my graduate degree in May 2007, then moved to New Orleans where I am currently teaching 6th grade writing at a public charter school. The student population is low-income and African American and the kids are incredibly motivated and eager to learn. The climate is oppresively hot and humid, but it's amazing to work down here as the city continues rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina. If any Lancers find themselves in New Orleans for Mardi Gras or any other reason, please drop me a line because I'd love to show you around. Granger pride, always!

James Seaman
seaman.james@gmail.com