‘Life is communicating’

(CLACKAMAS / MILWAUKIE) — When Grace Saad graduated from college, she took a risk and moved across the country from Mississippi to Oregon to work for the United States Forest Service.

She’d never been to the location she’d applied for and, in hindsight, laughed at the idea there was a time when she didn’t know anything about Timberline Lodge.

“Timberline kind of just fell in my lap. It just happened to be one of the places that had an opening in the Northwest, so I didn't really have any connection to the building until I actually got there. Then, of course, it's hard not to fall in love with that place,” said Saad.

Saad now teaches business and management at Sabin-Schellenberg Professional Technical Center, the North Clackamas School District’s technical high school in Milwaukie. As a business educator, she is uniquely positioned to help students bridge the gap between high school and adulthood while making a difference in their Milwaukie community.

“Sabin-Schellenberg itself is just such a special, almost magical place because you have all these different professional people from different industries,” said Saad. “I think it’s really neat to see those non-teachery perspectives on how to teach. I would say a common thread is application, project-based hands-on learning, no matter what class you’re in.”

While working for the Forest Service, Saad had the chance to give tours, learn about the surrounding area and teach young kids conservation education around Mt. Hood National Forest. Eventually, Saad transitioned to communications and public relations within the Forest Service.

Taking the education experience from Timberline, Saad pursued a master’s degree in teaching and worked as an alternative education teacher in Canby before making her way to Sabin-Schellenberg.

She began as the high school’s PACE Coordinator, overseeing the school district’s program for pregnant and parenting teenagers.

“The local Clackamas County community, in general, has always been really supportive of the school system,” said Saad. “At the start of my Schellenberg journey, I was working with the pregnant and parenting students. I had to really get myself dug into the community because I needed people to support us. I needed people to drive kids from place to place. I needed clothing for kids. We needed housing, resources, all kinds of things, right? Luckily, the community was super supportive.”

Saad brought that same real-world problem-solving and respect to her role as the business and management teacher at Sabin-Schellenberg.

“The most important skill that I can teach them is ‘how to people.’ I want them to understand that life is communicating with other people from a variety of backgrounds, and so is business,” she said. “I'm going to be myself, and I'll make mistakes — and they're going to … they're allowed to be themselves and make mistakes.”

Earlier this year, Saad received the Joseph Krumm Humanitarian of the Year award from the Milwaukie Chamber of Commerce for her work as a teacher, specifically helping students run the school store. Last year, students made ​​more than $56,000 in revenue at the student-run school store through classes taught by Saad.

“I’ve learned how to really make kids feel the relevance of what it is they’re learning,” said Saad.

Another way she’s able to do this is by serving as the DECA advisor, working with students on entrepreneurial projects they present in a business pitch competition. Saad and her husband own Lazy Day Brewing and Bethany Public House, so she brings real-world experience to the classroom and her advisor role.

Saad said she knows she’s in a special position as an elective teacher who can connect her lessons to the things about the “real world” that interest her students most. This puts her in the stressful position of knowing that her class is a favorite for some students.

“I had one girl tell me, my first year, she actually cried in class. I was like, ‘What's wrong?’ She said, ‘I just realized that one day you're not going to be my teacher anymore.’ I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life.’ She graduated and came back,” said Saad. “That's not something I've thought about, but I imagine I will be that person for some people, which is really cool.”

Outside the classroom, Saad is an adult staff member for 4H Wildlife Stewards and on the board of Friends of Timberline, where she continues to give tours as a volunteer.