Walden Stories
We are collecting stories from students, faculty, staff, parents, guardians, and grandparents over the last 50 years at Walden. If you would like to add your story to this collection, you can do so here.
Ashford-Arya Family:
Michael, Alison, Dylan '07, Caroline '09, Isabelle '14, Gemma '20
Interview for the 50th anniversary celebration on the 50th day of school
Cali Selders
Walden Class of 2011
At Walden, I learned ....
... how to think critically, and truly appreciate intelligence from more than an academic perspective. School never came easily for me and it often left me feeling down. As a current junior at CSUN studying Kinesiology - Exercise Science, I often get overwhelmed with the content in my classes. However, I can thank Walden for instilling in me the fact that I am intelligent and have a purpose during stressful academic times.
Do you have a favorite memory?
Back in '05-'06, Terra Toscano was my amazing Kindergarten teacher. For some reason, I was never able to fall asleep during nap time, and only found sleep once everyone was supposed to wake up. Terra would let me fall asleep during that time instead, and I would wake up in her arms while looking at the ground from over her shoulder. I come from an extremely loving home, but having this every day truly taught me what it is like to receive love from someone other than family, and want to give back. I do not think that my desire to go into the pediatric field would be the same without this experience.
What was your favorite subject or Walden tradition?
My favorite Walden tradition would be the Spring Sing concert at the end of every academic year. I had so much fun being able to dance and sing with my peers while having the full support of my teachers. We would always practice during recess, or after school just that we could get even better. Being able to perform on the big stage only instilled more confidence in myself and build my connection with Walden. I also thank these concerts for bringing my 6th grade class so close together, which has further led to us being able to maintain our friendships today.
Lotte Brush
Walden Class of 2016
Brandon Whitaker
Walden Class of 2010
At Walden, I learned ....
Walden definitely taught me how to work well with my peers and learn how to work as a “group.” Walden also taught me to be kind to one another and to never judge a book by its cover. Walden was the best elementary school I have ever been to.
Do you have a favorite memory?One of my favorite memories would have to be the Ponders camping trip that we did every year. I loved doing all the fun activities with my friends and teachers and eating all the great food.
What was your favorite subject or Walden tradition?
One of my favorite subjects was science with my teacher Drew. I remember going to Astrocamp and learning about the planets and stars and I also remember Drew teaching me how to take care of all the class pets in the science room.
Walden has definitely been a great experience for me, and I hope all the new students get the same great experience that I sure did!
Sierra Mackanic
Walden Class of 2016
At Walden, I learned ....
I learned a lot of interesting things at Walden, about how the world works and a lot about myself. Every time I've been asked 'what lesson have you carried with you throughout your life?,' it's always the same thing that pops up in my head. I must have been in fourth grade, but it was an assembly day with Terra Toscano. I couldn't tell you what the entirety of the assembly was about, all I remember is what she said at the end. She told everyone that if you are ever feeling scared, or self-conscious about what other people think about you...chances are, everyone else is having those same paranoid thoughts about themselves. I still don't know why this is something Walden taught me that I will never forget, but I am so glad it did. After I left Walden, there were many days where I found myself surrounded by strangers or new schools. I've gone through phases where I've decided I didn't like people because I thought they weren't gonna like me. I've always remembered that lesson, but it was the day I chose to start applying it to my subconsciousness that it really started to impact how I acted around others. My default response to strangers became friendly and warm instead of defensive and mean. It made me realize that if I could be welcoming to someone, it had the possibility of helping that person feel less paranoid about whether or not people liked them. I love this interpretation, it has definitely shaped a good chunk of my personality today.
Do you have a favorite memory?
As far as Walden memories, those will never end. You could fill books with all the stories I have about Walden. There are too many favorite Walden moments for them all to fit into an email. During quarantine, I have actually gotten back in touch with two of my best friends from Walden. We definitely drifted apart for a while, but we are quite close now. One of them just recently moved quite far away in the hopes of escaping online school, so for a goodbye gift, our other friend created a series of podcasts with different people. Each one talks about memories with him and how much we are all going to miss him. I was asked to do one, and we spent the entirety of our time talking about the evolution of our friendship through our Walden years, and it was a lot of fun. It's very interesting how you spend eight years of your life with the same handful of kids, even if you go on to completely different paths when you graduate, you are always going to have this historical connection with these people, and you aren't gonna get it with anyone else.